The 30th Pro Farmer Crop Tour is in the books. The East & West wrapped up Iowa and Minnesota before meeting in Rochester, MN. As with the western leg on Wednesday, Thursday?s Eastern leg travels came through the eastern two-thirds of Iowa. And much to the surprise of many, the numbers were pretty good. Iowa?s corn production was estimated by the tour to be 183.81 for this year. That is down four percent from last year, but in line with the three-year average.
Iowa has been the tale of two different weather patterns. The west has been dry, and the east has been getting their share of rain, and sometimes more than their share. Brian Grete is the Eastern Tour lead, and he sums up what he saw for corn samples along his route yesterday.
The major question in the eastern part of Iowa was disease and pest pressure. Grete says that all things considered, instances were quite low for what was expected.
Western tour lead Chip Flory says that while the southwestern part of Iowa hasn?t been getting the drought attention that the west central and northwestern parts of Iowa, it is there that we are seeing the biggest drag on the state?s production.
Soybean pod counts were down 3.6% from last year at 1,174.4 in a 3×3 foot square. It is still on pace with the five-year average though. Flory says that the numbers are nothing to shake a stick at.
Grete added that Iowa Soybeans showed something that many eastern states didn?t: consistency.
Minnesota finished with some very impressive numbers. Corn is estimated to 190.3 which is 7.3% higher than last year. Minnesota?s soybean pod count came in at 1,100.7. That is up 7.1% higher than 2021. However, sudden death syndrome is creeping into southwestern Minnesota soybean fields.
