The Pro Farmer Crop Tour kicks off next week, with scouts hitting parts of Indiana and Nebraska on Monday and Tuesday. Here’s what they’ll be looking for:
Indiana corn saw a better finish to the crop than Ohio did last year. The all-sample average in Indiana was a record last year and USDA corroborated that figure, indicating a record yield of 204 bushels per acre.
The 2026 growing season has proved to be a challenge for producers. Early plantings were common throughout Indiana with many producers getting off to a record start. Meanwhile, heavy rainfall led to challenges over too much was for portions of the state, with precipitation running well over 100% of normal in March, April and June. That has led to crop stress, as Indiana is one of the few states that actually indicate a year-over-year decline in yield according to NDVI data, according to data compiled by Octopusbot.
USDA’s crop condition report shows Indiana’s crop ratings up from from last year despite the satellite data indicating relatively more stress. Corn was rated 66% good to excellent as of Aug. 9, up from 63% last year. Soybeans are up 3% from this time a year ago to 65% good to excellent. The Pro Farmer Crop Condition Index (CCI) shows a rating of 24.37 for the state in corn, up from 24.04 last year. Soybeans are a modest 0.23 points higher from year-ago levels at 28.41.
USDA on Wednesday estimated Indiana’s average corn yield at a record 206 bushels per acre, up from 204 last year. Soybeans were pegged at 62.0 bushels per acre, up from 59.5 last year.
Indiana is continuing the trend from last year’s tour that saw high levels of variability throughout the state. Disease pressure due to high levels of moisture is likely to be a focus point again this year. Ample levels of moisture and high humidity create a breeding ground for fungal diseases.
Soybeans are taking the brunt of the impact from the weather challenges faced so far this year. NDVI indicates yields falling sharply from 59.5 bushels per acre last year to around 55.5 bushels per acre this year. The “wet feet” seen late in the spring led to increased disease and shallow roots. How well the plant is putting out pods remains to be seen.
Expectations are lower for Indiana this year, whether that is going to be corroborated by boots on the ground remains to be seen.
Nebraska
By the week ended May 10, 2026, USDA says two-thirds of the Nebraska corn crop was planted. That was ahead of the five-year-average of 60% but was just behind the year-ago pace of 70% complete. Soybean plantings in Nebraska were just behind at 64% complete and were way ahead of the five-year average of 44% done and the 2025 pace of 58% done. We know the trend has been to plant beans earlier and we know early-planted beans are vulnerable to late-season diseases. We’ll be watching for that this year.
As of May 31, USDA says 97% of the Nebraska corn crop was planted – the pace was sandwiched between the five-year average of 96% and the 2025 pace of 98% done. Bean plantings in Nebraska were at 95% complete, ahead of both average and the year-ago pace. Corn emergence was a touch slow in Nebraska at the end of May at 79%, compared to the five-year-average of 82% and 2025’s 88%.
USDA sees the Nebraska corn crop as 57% good to excellent, down 19 percentage points from last year. The Pro Farmer CCI sees the crop at 41.43 points versus 46.85 last year.
The soybean crop is slightly better at 62% good to excellent, though still well below the 2025 mark of 73%. Pro Farmer’s CCI scores soybeans at 24.82, down from last year at 27.03.
USDA estimated Nebraska’s corn yield at 183 bushels per acre, down from 194 a year ago. The soybean yield was seen at 57 bushels an acre versus 65.5 bushels last year.
Traveling Nebraska on days 1 (northeast) and 2 (southeast) of Crop Tour last year it was tough to tell the difference between irrigated and dryland cornfields. Both crops were very good, but the higher intensity of Southern Rust in irrigated fields robbed the top end off yields. Moisture was not a limiting factor for the 2025 crop.
This year, topsoil moisture at the end of May was 27% very short, 29% short, 41% adequate and just 3% surplus. By the end of June, USDA rated topsoil moisture in Nebraska at 16% very short, 26% short, 49% adequate and 9% surplus. At the start of August, topsoil moisture was rated 33% very short, 37% short, 29% adequate and just 1% surplus. That drying trend through July combined with period of excessively hot day and nighttime temperatures was a threat to yields we will have to assess on tour this year.
The Tour will travel through the driest areas of Nebraska on day 1. Recent rains in the area might disguise crop stress, but the crops were stressed in northeastern Nebraska during July. We cover areas south of the Platte River on day 2 and will see a crop that had a more stable water supply in the heat of summer.
Also read: Scouts eye drought stress in South Dakota, wet-to-dry whiplash in Ohio