In our first ever Ohio Crop Tour, we split up into two groups of farmers, agronomists and farm journalists and toured the state to get a handle on what kinds of crop yields were out there. One group handled the western part of the state traveling the I-75 corridor and the other went down I-71. Overall, both groups saw quite a bit of variability, but yields averaged 139 bushels for corn and 59 bushels for soybeans. The I-71 group averaged 144 bushels for corn and the I-75 group had 134 bushels. In terms of soybean averages, the I-71 group had 59.5 bushels and the I-75 group averaged 58.75. In general, both groups felt they had a fairly accurate handle on corn, but thought the soybean formula was maybe 10% to 15% too high. Here are some of the County results.

Crop tour audio from Day 1 

County: Medina

Crop:  Soybeans
Height: 30-inches
General Condition: Good
Disease Pressure: Low, generally healthy plants with some weed pressure and some Septoria Brown Spot in the lower canopy.
Insect Pressure: Low
Pod Fill: Many three bean pods and many aborted pods.
Population: 169,942
Yield Estimate: 31 bushels per acre
Overall Rating of Field: Good

 

County: Wayne

 

 

Crop: Corn
Height: 9 feet
General Condition: Good to very good.
Insect Pressure: Low
Ear Fill: Good fill to tips on most ears
Yield Estimate: 165 bushels
Population: 31,000
Overall Rating of Field: There are some skips but very good field considering dry year.

 

County: Ashland

Crop: Soybeans
Height: 35 inches
General Condition: Very good to exceptional
Disease Pressure: Low, with some Brown Spot
Insect Pressure: Low
Pod Fill: Very good, still setting beans
Population: 180,000
Yield Estimate: 61.5 bushels
Overall Rating of Field: Excellent, great yield potential here.

 

County: Richland

 

 

 

 

 

Height: 8.5 feet
General Condition: Good, some small ears and blanks
Disease Pressure: Low with some grey leaf spot on lower leaves
Insect Pressure: Low
Ear Fill: Fair to very good
Yield Estimate: 173.5 bushels
Population: 27,000
Overall Rating of Field: Fair to Good

 County: Crawford

Crop: Soybeans
Height: 39-inches
General Condition: Fair to Good
Disease Pressure: Low with some brown spot on lower leaves
Insect Pressure: Low to mild with some signs of bean leaf beetle feeding
Pod Fill: Good, still flowering
Population: 160,000
Yield Estimate: 54 bushels
Overall Rating of Field: The yield we found seemed higher than the general appearance of the field would indicate.

 

County: Wyandot

Crop: Corn
Height: 5.5 feet
General Condition: Poor, short, leaf firing
Disease Pressure: Low
Insect Pressure: Low
Ear Fill: Poor
Yield Estimate: 97 bushels
Population: 33,000
Overall Rating of Field: Poor, the field had a good stand and good ear set but must have pollinated in extreme heat and dry conditions

 

County: Marion

Height: 30 inches
General Condition: Good to very good, with some lower leaves dropping
Disease Pressure: Low to moderate
Insect Pressure: Moderate damage from bean leaf beetle, grasshopper and spider mite
Pod Fill: Very good
Population: 145,000
Yield Estimate: 74 bushels
Overall Rating of Field: Excellent, but field does not look like a 74 bushel field

 

County: Morrow

 

Height: 10 feet tall
General Condition: The corn looks very good, but there are many holes in the stand with no yield, likely from wet areas this spring.
Disease Pressure: Moderate with gray leaf spot, northern corn leaf blight, and common rust being plentiful below the ear leaf
Insect Pressure: Low
Ear Fill: Good
Yield Estimate: 189 bushels
Population: 30,500
Overall Rating of Field: The corn that is here looks really good, but the holes will really lower the field average.

County: Knox

 

 

Height: 34 inches
General Condition: Good
Disease Pressure: Some disease showing up on lower leaves
Insect Pressure: Moderate with bean leaf beetle and spider mite damage
Pod Fill: Good
Population: 155,000
Yield Estimate: 74 bushels
Overall Rating of Field: There is some spider mite damage along edges but overall a nice field of beans.

 

County: Licking

 

Height: 6-7 feet
General Condition: Poor
Disease Pressure: Pretty heavy with gray leaf spot, northern corn leaf blight and rust above the ear leaf.
Insect Pressure: Mild
Ear Fill: Poor
Yield Estimate: 125 bushels
Population: 35,000
Overall Rating of Field: The 125 estimate is probably pushing the maximum here in this struggling field.