WELCOME, Minn. - Corn yield potential is below last year in southern Minnesota as crops were stressed by excessive moisture and hot nights during key development stages this summer, scouts on an annual tour found on Thursday.
Soybean crop prospects in the area are in line with 2015 but above the three-year average calculated by scouts on the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour.
On a route that stopped in Martin and Watonwan counties, average corn yields were estimated at 183.94 bushels per acre (bpa), based on surveys of five fields. That compares with calculations of 191.55 bpa in the same area during the 2015 tour and the tour's three-year average of 179.33 bpa.
"I expected better," said Brent Judisch, a farmer from Cedar Falls, Iowa, and a scout on the tour. "I know it was not going to be (as good as) last year. The corn does not look bad but the ears are tipped back way more than I anticipated."
Missing grain on the ends of ears, known as "tipback," is a sign of adverse weather during crop development.
ADVERTISEMENT
Soybean pod counts per 3-by-3-foot plot (0.8 square meter) averaged 1,106.40 along the route, compared with 1,111.78 in 2015 and the tour's average for the area of 1,030.56.
Scouts do not estimate soybean yields but instead calculate the number of pods per square yard to gauge yield potential.
Benchmark Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures slid nearly 2 percent on Thursday on strong crop potential reported from the tour.
On another route through Jackson and Cottonwood counties, corn yields averaged 170.70 bpa and soybean pod counts totaled 814.50 per 3-by-3 foot square.
The U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) has projected Minnesota's corn yields at 184.0 bpa, down 4 bushels from 2015. So far on the western leg of the tour, South Dakota's corn yield was projected above USDA's latest forecast and Nebraska's was below the government outlook.
Yield forecasts for western Iowa were below the USDA's forecast of 197.0 for the country's top producing state. The tour will release statewide findings for Iowa on Thursday evening along with Minnesota estimates.
Scouts on the tour collect samples of corn and soybeans for four days, with the eastern leg starting in Columbus, Ohio, and the western leg starting in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The groups converge in Rochester, Minnesota, on Thursday. Pro Farmer will release its U.S. crop production estimates, using tour data and other sources, on Friday.
