Day 1 of Crop Tour always brings excitement from all scouts, particularly newbies. This year in the East we have a great mix of both veterans and first timers eager to see if record crops are indeed in the cards for 2025. The evening meeting on Sunday near Columbus Ohio was attended by roughly 54 scouts who understood their mission; be respectful of farmers that do not want to participate and tread lightly in the fields as we are guests.
Western Ohio was a bit of a mixed bag with dryness to the north and perfect conditions to the south, where one team pulled a 320 bpa corn yield, an anomaly for both Crop Tour and Ohio. Not all the stops were like that however, as one team, also in the southern part of the state, said that two samples, just 15 miles apart, showed a 100 bpa difference. The goal for Crop Tour is not necessarily to prove USDA right or wrong but put hands on both corn and soybean crops for likely the first time this growing season. With Ohio at 196 bpa according to USDA and Indiana at 205 bpa, a new record, there is obvious curiosity. With high yields comes the need for consistency, but as you saw previously, that consistency waned in a lot of places in both Indiana and Ohio. There are areas that need a finishing rain, especially in soybeans, and areas that can finish out the season in style as is.
In soybeans, we saw pod counts from 500 to 2000, also showing a fair amount of variability. Scouts commented on seeing Sudden Death Syndrome in some spots, a phenomenon that I personally witnessed on the Ohio/Indiana border. Corn is not without its challenges as well, suffering from a myriad of diseases in certain locations. Scouts also saw one corn field that was just in the process of pollinating, a nod to just how wet certain areas of Ohio were this spring.
The point in all this is that there was noticeable variability in both crops, something that may not lead to record yields. That is not to say it’s impossible, just more difficult.
From Indianapolis, the East leg of the Tours heads to Bloomington, Illinois tomorrow, Tuesday. At that point we will have a better idea of Indiana as a whole while getting our first look at the western Illinois crops.
Please note that the opinions herein are those of Peter Meyer, Muddy Boots Ag, LLC, and may not represent those of Pro Farmer or Farm Journal.