About Pro Farmer Crop Tour

2024 Crop Tour Schedule  |  Frequently Asked Questions.   

The Pro Farmer Crop Tour’s primary goal is to provide the industry with accurate growing season information about likely corn and soybean yields at the state and regional levels during the upcoming harvest season.

Crop Tour's data-gathering methods are disciplined and produce consistent results. Results from the Tour have a big impact on Pro Farmer Newsletter’s annual crop production estimate released at week’s end. But observations gathered during the Tour can be just as important as the data itself.

“We pull enough samples to provide us with accurate data for a large geographic area. The Pro Farmer Crop Tour does not attempt to predict actual yields for individual fields or even a county, but we do want to have a good handle on likely yields for each of the seven states we survey,” says Pro Farmer Editor Brian Grete.

Take a Virtual Tour to See What Pro Farmer Crop Tour Scouts Saw in Ohio and South Dakota
Take a Virtual Tour to See What Pro Farmer Crop Tour Scouts Saw in Ohio and South Dakota

It's the tale of two extremes on the first day of Pro Farmer Crop Tour. Heading into the tour, USDA painted an optimistic picture for Ohio, while South Dakota's outlook was grim. See what scouts saw during day 1.

crop tour indiana corn sample
Midday Route Reports | Day 1

Tour leaders share preliminary comments and results from their routes through South Dakota, Nebraska, Indiana and Ohio.

Jerry Gulke: A Tale of Two Crops
Jerry Gulke: A Tale of Two Crops

“We are fast running out of gas,” says Jerry Gulke. “If we miss these rains, North Dakota and South Dakota probably deteriorates—North Dakota more so. I will be interested to see what Pro Farmer sees.”

Here's Why Crop Tour Results Are Different Than Pro Farmer's Final Yield, Production Estimates
Here's Why Crop Tour Results Are Different Than Pro Farmer's Final Yield, Production Estimates

Pro Farmer Crop Tour is hitting the fields starting Monday, with a week of roughly 100 scouts capturing more samples across 2,000 fields. The scouts will work their way toward Rochester, Minnesota by Thursday. 

Ohio Farmers Eye Possibility of Record Corn Crop to Kick Off Pro Farmer Crop Tour
Ohio Farmers Eye Possibility of Record Corn Crop to Kick Off Pro Farmer Crop Tour

Drought conditions continue to plague portions of the Western Corn Belt, but in the East, it's a much different story with Ohio farmers potentially sitting on an above average crop.