2024 Crop Tour results provide first in-field look at expected corn and soybean harvest.
Cedar Falls, Iowa (Aug. 26, 2024) — Pro Farmer, a division of Farm Journal, shared its much-anticipated production estimates today for the 2024 U.S. corn and soybean crops after analyzing information from the 32nd annual Pro Farmer Crop Tour and other sources. The estimates are informed by Crop Tour data and observations collected throughout the week via an exceptional effort by scouts in thousands of fields across seven key midwestern states.
Corn: Pro Farmer estimates the 2024 U.S. corn crop at 14.979 billion bushels based on an average yield of 181.1 bu. per acre, which is down from USDA’s August estimate of 183.1 bu. per acre.
“One of the major questions heading into Crop Tour was whether the corn and soybean crops could live up to the lofty expectations,” said Brian Grete, editor for Pro Farmer. “Of the two crops, I was more impressed with soybeans than corn, and the corn crop is stellar.”
Soybeans: Pro Farmer estimates the 2024 U.S. soybean crop at 4.74 billion bushels with a national average yield of 54.9 bu. per acre, up from the 53.2 bu. per acreUSDA estimated in August.
“Soybeans could be spectacular as long as there isn’t a weather event that derails the crop ahead of harvest,” Grete said. “Typically, there’s some concern with either the corn crop, soybean crop or both coming out of Crop Tour. There aren’t concerns this year.”
The Pro Farmer Crop Tour, which informs the Pro Farmer national yield estimates, concluded successfully Thursday, Aug. 22, in Rochester, Minn. The tour was carried out by a dedicated group of nearly 100 crop scouts that sampled over 3,300 fields in seven states. For additional information on the 2024 Crop Tour go to ProFarmer.com and AgWeb.com.
Founded in 1973, Pro Farmer is a division of Farm Journal and is the leading subscription-based market advisory organization in agriculture, serving members across the U.S. and globally.
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