The Pro Farmer Crop Tour kicks off Monday, with scouts, pulling corn and soybean samples across seven states for the first widespread look at objective yield data throughout the Midwest. The eastern leg kicks off in Ohio, with the western leg starting in South Dakota. Here’s what scouts will be looking for in those two states:
Ohio
Early season rainfall delayed many plantings in Ohio this year while recent heat is stressing crops. Precipitation was above average from March to May, delaying some plantings and likely leading to some shallow roots. Since then, it has turned hot and dry, especially in Crop Tour counties, with June-July rain coming in well below average, according to data collected by Octopusbot. August forecasts again look below average. Pro Farmer member Charles Shulze told us crops look good but need moisture, with the corn crop looking about average while beans are looking good.
In last year’s day one analysis, we noted Ohio had seen the driest summer in years with lots of variability from field to field. While the Ohio all-sample average was a record 185.7 bushels per acre, dryness nipped the top-end off the crop, as USDA published a final yield of 185.0 bushels per acre, above 2024’s yield but below the record 198 bushel yield in 2023.
USDA rated the corn crop as 62% good to excellent as of Aug. 9, with 59% of soybeans in those categories. Both values are even to slightly higher than last year, but below the five-year averages. The Pro Farmer Crop Condition Index (CCI) shows the Ohio corn rating sat at 14.18 points in corn, compared to 13.60 at the same time last year. In soybeans, the metric shows a rating of 22.14, and is also up just slightly from the 21.96 seen last year in early August.
This year’s Tour will provide insight into how the crop has held up from a wet spring to a dry summer. One key will be how far the corn crop has developed. Many crops were planted late and if many samples are already dented, it points to a rushed finish, which would likely weigh on test weight. Ear counts will be key as well to see if drown out was consistent due to ponding early in the season.
Disease pressure will be key in soybeans. Last year, the western leg of the Crop Tour saw a lot of disease due to ample rains throughout the season. Soybeans are known to struggle with “wet feet,” prompting concerns over fungal diseases.
We will get a good idea at the potential of this year’s crop next week with the main keys being how the corn handled early conditions and how both corn and soybeans are holding up to recent heat and dryness.
South Dakota
By the week ended May 10 South Dakota had 53% of the 2026 corn crop planted – 10 points ahead of the five-year average but 12 points behind the 2025 planting pace. Bean plantings were 34% complete – 9 points ahead of average but 13 points behind the year-ago pace.
Corn plantings on May 31 in South Dakota reached 98% and bean plantings were 88% done – both ahead of year-ago. So if the South Dakota corn and soybean crops have a problem this year, it will not be due to a slow planting pace.
The corn crop in South Dakota was rated 47% good to excellent by USDA as of August 9. That’s down sharply from the 77% seen a year ago. The Pro Farmer CCI shows South Dakota at 19.25, down from 23.68 at the same time last year.
Soybeans have also been impacted by the drought conditions, standing at 55% good to excellent compared to 75% a year ago, though not far below the five-year average. The Pro Farmer CCI was at 18.24 versus 21.11 a year ago.
Soil moisture conditions deteriorated through May, June and July. Mitchell, S.D., saw 2.91 inches of rain in June, just 0.6-inch below normal. In July, Mitchell recorded very little rain until nearly an inch fell on the last day of the month. Key corn production areas in the southeastern one-quarter of the state range from Moderate to Severe drought on the Drought Monitor map, but moisture conditions further north (north of the Tour area) have no drought and excellent growing conditions.
But the real story was heat immediately following pollination. A big part of the effort in South Dakota will be to assess the potential impacts of heat and especially high nighttime temperatures.
Last year in South Dakota was a muddy day. Rain fell overnight and as scouts hit the field Monday morning. Pod counts were outstanding and there was plenty of moisture available to finish the crop. We expected the corn crop to be very good, but not a record yield, in part because of a record number of acres planted to corn in 2025. We also saw a crop that was vulnerable to late-season disease pressure.
According to USDA, both crops used the water available and avoided enough disease pressure to reach records of 47 bu. for beans and 171 bu. per acre for corn. We don’t expect to see yield potential like that in southeastern South Dakota this year. A year-ago it was tough to tell which corn fields were irrigated and which were dryland – this year it should be easy to tell the difference.