Cedar Falls, Iowa (Aug. 10, 2020) — Pro Farmer scouts will fan out across the Corn Belt to measure this year’s corn and soybean yield potential during the 28th annual Pro Farmer Crop Tour Aug. 17-20. The Tour is an August ritual covering seven midwestern states and capturing the attention of the industry and national media each year. Due to COVID-19, nightly in-person meetings for this year’s event will be replaced with live-streamed virtual meetings, making the daily recaps more widely accessible.
“USDA’s corn and soybean crop production ratings are strong and well above normal,” said Brian Grete, Pro Farmer editor. “We’ll see if perceived yield potential from these ratings is in line with what we find in field samples. 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 inspection of yield potential during a critical time in the growing season. “USDA budget cuts last year halted field sampling that would have happened this year in August, so the Pro Farmer Crop Tour will be the first to measure ear populations and pod counts from actual fields at scale,” said Jeff Wilson, senior market analyst for Pro Farmer. “This is not a windshield or satellite estimate. It’s boots on the ground.”
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 and Chip Flory.
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 for the past five years of 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 and Jeff Wilson 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 #PFTour20.
Pro Farmer’s national crop production estimates will be published in the Aug. 22 issue of the Pro Farmer newsletter. A summary of Crop Tour findings will also appear in the September issue of Top Producer magazine.
In a year complicated by COVID-19, Pro Farmer thanks the scouts; premier sponsors Pioneer and Pivot Bio and supporting sponsors RCIS, Smart Nutrition, Farm Credit Services of America, Farmobile and Compeer Financial for their partnership in the 2020 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 144 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.