Cedar Falls, Iowa, (August 4, 2021) — Pro Farmer scouts will fan out across the Corn Belt to measure this year’s corn and soybean yield potential during the 29th annual Pro Farmer Crop Tour Aug. 16-19. The Tour is an August ritual covering seven Midwestern states and capturing the attention of the industry and national media. Observations and results will be shared nightly at in-person events and live streamed online.
“USDA’s corn and soybean crop ratings show there’s a great divide between the areas where rains have been prevalent and the areas that have been dry,” says Pro Farmer Editor and Eastern Tour Director Brian Grete. “Crop Tour will give us a first-hand look at whether the good areas are enough to compensate for the poorer locations. This is a service we provide to the industry, and anyone with interest can tune into our live-streamed coverage each night of the Tour.”
“We are honored to have an extremely talented and current FFA member as one of our featured performers for the 2021 #FarmON Benefit Concert,” said Charlene Finck, president of Farm Journal. “Having an FFA member perform at an event designed to support FFA members shows a true love for the future of agriculture from everyone involved.”
“USDA’s corn and soybean crop ratings show there’s a great divide between the areas where rains have been prevalent and the areas that have been dry,” says Pro Farmer Editor and Eastern Tour Director Brian Grete. “Crop Tour will give us a first-hand look at whether the good areas are enough to compensate for the poorer locations. This is a service we provide to the industry, and anyone with interest can tune into our live-streamed coverage each night of the Tour.”
Free registration is required and available at www.ProFarmer.com/register.
The event is the most thorough and most followed inspection of yield potential during a critical time in the growing season.
“USDA no longer collects objective yield samples in August, so the Pro Farmer Crop Tour will be the first to measure ear populations and pod counts from actual fields across the Corn Belt,” said Chip Flory, “AgriTalk” Host and Western Tour Director. “Impacts from drought are a key variable in some areas this year — something that can’t be measured fully from satellite imagery. We’ll pull roughly 1,500 corn and 1,500 soybean samples, which should provide significant insight into where this crop is and how it may finish.”
Farmer-scouts and industry experts will cover corn and soybean fields across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio and South Dakota during Crop Tour. A summary of findings from the Tour will be presented nightly at 7 p.m. CDT, through a live-streamed broadcast hosted by Clinton Griffiths, Tyne Morgan, Chip Flory and Brian Grete.
Each day’s official findings and results for the Pro Farmer Crop Tour will be published on ProFarmer.com, where subscribers have exclusive access to comparative data of past Tour results. Free trials are also available to access Crop Tour data at TryProFarmer.com.
Robust daily coverage also will be delivered on AgWeb.com as well as on “AgDay” TV. Pro Farmer’s Brian Grete will join Tour scouts on “AgriTalk” radio at 10:06 a.m. and 2:06 p.m. CDT to share the latest crop observations every day of the Tour. Real-time reports will cascade across social media at #PFTour21.
Pro Farmer’s national crop production estimates will be published in the Aug. 21 issue of the Pro Farmer newsletter. A summary of Crop Tour findings also will appear in the September issue of Top Producer magazine.
Pro Farmer thanks the scouts; presenting sponsors John Deere, Pioneer and Pivot Bio; international sponsor U.S. Soybean Export Council; and supporting sponsors Ag Leader, Beck’s, Farm Credit Services of America, Kinze, Precision Planting and RCIS for their partnership in the 2021 Pro Farmer Crop Tour.
Founded in 1973, Pro Farmer is the leading subscription-based market advisory organization in agriculture and serves members across the United States and in Canada.
About Farm Journal
Farm Journal is the nation’s leading business information and media company serving the agricultural market. Started 145 years ago with the preeminent Farm Journal magazine, the company serves the row crop, livestock, produce and retail sectors through branded websites, eNewsletters and phone apps; business magazines; live events including conferences, seminars and tradeshows; nationally broadcasted television and radio programs; a robust mobile-text-marketing business; and an array of data-driven, paid information products. Farm Journal also is the majority shareholder of the online equipment marketplace, Machinery Pete LLC. In 2010, the company established the non-profit, public charity, Farm Journal Foundation, dedicated to sustaining agriculture’s ability to meet the vital needs of a growing population through education and empowerment.