The Pro Farmer Midwest 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. The Tour’s crop scouts — especially the new ones — receive formal instruction before the Tour and training from Tour veterans along the way.

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 Midwest 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 Editorial Director Chip Flory.

Each day's samples and observations are shared with the public at evening meetings.

Find out how to sponsor a Crop Tour meeting.