Agriculture News
Brent Judisch outlines his Day 1 observations on the western leg of the Crop Tour.
The 2026 Crop Tour started off with a bang.
Scouts measured average corn yield potential of 180.18 bu. per acre, down from 185.69 bpa (3%) in 2025 and the 3-year average of 184.31 bpa (2.2%). Pod counts in a 3’x3’ square averaged 1,186.3, down from 1,287.28 (7%) in 2025 and the three-year average of 1,256.71 (4.7%).
Scouts measured average corn yield potential of 149.09 bu. per acre, down from 174.18 bpa (14.4%) in 2025 and the three-year average of 162.7 bpa (8.4%). Pod counts in a 3’x3’ square averaged 945.98, down from 1,188.45 (20.4%) in 2025 and the three-year average of 1,075.78 (12.07%).
Tour leader Chip Flory and consultant Brent Judisch paint a picture of what they’ve seen in South Dakota and Nebraska on Day 1 of the Crop Tour.
Tour leader Lane Akre and consultant Kyle Wendlund recount what they’ve observed in Ohio and Indiana on Day one of the Crop Tour.
Decline in Farm Financial Conditions Slows
Flooding and derecho damage in the east, drought in the Plains, and a surprise USDA yield cut have this year’s crop looking more uncertain than ever right as Pro Farmer Crop Tour scouts prepare to hit the fields.
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Values Decline 3.7% on Inflation-Adjusted Basis
Dryness in the western U.S. is also increasingly impacting cattle
USDA’s corn yield and ending stocks pegs landed below the average pre-report estimate, with harvested corn acres up by 1.2 million. Soybean production was slightly higher than expected despite a 0.3 bu. cut to yield due to a 1.4-million-acre-increase in harvested acres.
Tapped by Secretary Rollins, Kip Tom is building a faster, satellite-driven replacement for NASS’s aging survey system, one he says could turn monthly reports into biweekly ones by year’s end for multiple crops.
After years of dry falls, a historic El Niño could cut U.S. farmers’ fall field-workable days by 20%, Nutrien’s Eric Snodgrass warns, while drying delays and flat acreage threaten Brazil and Argentina’s 2026-2027 crop.
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Sentiment in the July Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor is improving and no one sees the downturn deepening, but interest rates, elevated input costs and corn’s shaky price outlook still cloud the path to 2027.
Senate Ag Committee’s 10-11 farm bill vote stalls the legislation, but a bipartisan 17-6 vote on mandatory country-of-original labeling keeps mandatory beef labeling alive for a potential September revote.
Tighter global stocks, new trade deals, and a higher MAL base rate alter the downside risk setup as the new marketing year opens.
Acres effected are up nearly 40% over the past month
