Corn, Soybean Maturity To Aid Crop Tour Estimate Accuracy

Near the end of August, roughly 100 scouts will head to the fields across the corn belt to gauge the nation’s corn and soybean crop’s yield potential with the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour. Because the crop is further along in maturity than most years, Pro Farmer analysts expect results to be very close to actual yields.

“Our yield methodology has a tendency to be more accurate, the more mature crops are,” says Pro Farmer editor Brian Grete. “In 2012 for instance, where we were out scouting and there were some combines rolling we got very close because when you’re measuring a mature crop there isn’t much more than it will add or subtract at that point in time.”

The methodology used by scouts will be the same as it is every year.

“Methodology wise there will be no impact whatsoever,” Grete explains. “We still do the same thing that we always do.”

From August 20-23, scouts will be pulling back husks and checking pods on roughly two-thirds of the nation’s corn and soybean acres.

Pro Farmer will release their national corn and soybean yields and production estimates at 1:30 CT on Friday, Aug. 24. These estimates include the data gathered throughout the week, plus other factors – how analysts think the crop will finish, any changes to harvested acreage, and areas outside of the Tour footprint, etc. Because of these other factors, the Friday estimates are Pro Farmer’s and not associated with Crop Tour. All of the data released Monday through Thursday is sample-driven Tour data.