Eastern Tour – Day 4
My route took me west out of Iowa City and then north through crop districts 6 and 3 in east-central and northeast Iowa. Yield samples along my route averaged 185.9 bu. per acre with a range of 141.7 bu. to 219.6 bu. per acre. Our two poorest samples were the first of the day in district 6. Samples in district 3 were better, though not at levels most of those farmers would have wanted at the start of planting season.
The average soybean pod count in a 3’x3’ square from my route was 1311.4, with a range of 960 to 1670. Soybeans along our route were generally clean and disease free. Some of the fields we samples and many others we didn’t sample along our route were turning color due to a combination of heat and moisture stress.
The final Tour yield for Iowa corn was 182.8 bu. per acre, down 0.5% from last year and 0.7% below the three-year average.
The final Tour pod count for Iowa was 1190.41 in a 3’x3’ square, up 1.4% from last year and 0.9% above the three-year average.
The final Tour yield for Minnesota corn was 181.34 bu., down 4.8% from last year and 3.4% below the three-year average.
The final Tour pod count for Minnesota was 984.39 in a 3’x3’ square, down 10.6% from last year and 8.1% below the three-year average.
Final Day 4 observations
One of the major questions heading into Crop Tour was how much damage was done by the dryness/drought during the growing season. The story during Crop Tour was the extreme heat that hammered the Corn Belt. Crops showed varied degrees of stress, especially west of the Mississippi River. Crop Tour went through the eastern Corn Belt ahead of the extreme heat, so the impacts weren’t yet known. This year’s corn and soybean crops had multiple nicks from Mother Nature, including the heat wave that will push crops hard to the finish line... or in some cases finish them. That’s not the type of finish farmers envisioned. Fortunately for some, their crops had built strong yields ahead of the heat. But weather will keep the hottest and driest areas from adding late-season bushels.
I would like to thank all of the scouts on this year’s Pro Farmer Crop Tour. You worked hard, as always, and adapted to some unusual circumstances. As I say every year, we can’t do what we have to do during Crop Tour without your hard work and extreme dedication. Brent, Chip, Mark and I can’t thank you enough for all you did for us this week. We hope to see all of you back for the 2024 Pro Farmer Crop Tour.