Day 1 of The 2014 Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour

Presented by: J & M Manufacturing Co.

See Day 2 results

See Day 3 results

See Day 4 results

My 3rd year on the 4-day crop scouting marathon has begun. I always look forward to this trip as it is one of the highlights of the year. Taking a look at crop conditions from here to Minnesota is always interesting, but add the great company you keep and the dives you find at lunch and it makes for an enjoyable trip.

This year my route of The Pro Farmer Crop Tour starts in Dublin and heads toward Plain City for our first stop. Our designated trek will take us across to Urbana, through Sidney, Versailles and Ansonia. My goal is to make you feel like you are right here in a passenger seat with me, giving you a great look at the 2014 corn and soybean crops.

7:33 a.m.

Our first stop is in Kileville, where both the corn and soybean fields are looking really good but the moisture is hard to find. The ears were about 7 inches long and mostly 16 around. Beans had a very few flowers yet. The rains expected this week would be a great help as these crops beginning to add the finishing touches this fall.

8:07 a.m.

Just past Irwin, Ohio for our next stop and you could really see the variation on our way here. Corn heights were wavy and we noticed a lot of firing about half way up the stalk. At our stop we found a really nice field of corn and better beans too. The lack of moisture was evident in both fields as you’ll see by the cracks in the picture below, but decent nodulation shows that this field got started with a good amount of moisture.

 8:41 a.m.

Next stop was north of Urbana on 29. The soybeans have heavy infestations of Japanese Beetles and a few grasshoppers as well. This corn was tipping back quite a bit and it looked as though that process may continue. So far we are seeing corn yield estimates ranging from 161 to 203 and soybeans, which are measured by pods in a 3 foot by 3 foot square are coming in close to 900 on average.

 9:09 a.m.

In Tawana, Ohio, rains came over the weekend and by the looks of this bean field rains have been timely this year. The population was very low, but the plants were stout by comparison to our earlier stops. The corn was still very young and pollinating. This is a case of “when will it frost?” If a cold snap can hold off until October, this field will be average.

 9:42 a.m.

In Hardin, Ohio we pretty much saw a carbon copy of corn ears in the pollination stage. Beans were as tall as we have seen and very healthy. Close to 2000 pods in a 3 foot square. That is as high as we will see all week. Corn at our last two fields will see about 130-150 bushels to the acre, by our calculations.

 10:11 a.m.

Our next fields are just west of Versailles in Darke County and here things have dried up considerably. Beans still had some flowering on the top 8 to 10 inches and the plant looked to be drying out. Aphid pressure was significant in this field. The corn looked impressive and will yield be above average here.

 10:40 a.m.

Our last Ohio fields are in Union City and these are the driest fields we have been into so far. The soybean fields all over the area have spots like the one pictured below, but we did find our first 4-bean pods of the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour here. Corn was denting  and one of our samples was zippered. Kernel depth was very shallow so yields will be lacking for the corn here.

 10:23 a.m.

We have made our way into Indiana on Route 27, west of Saratoga. The ground here was still on the dry side and you can see the stress being put on both the corn and soybean fields from the need for rain. Corn was firing about half way up the stalk but the ears looked relatively good. For our first Hoosier State stop we estimate corn to yield 180 bushels and there were 1159 pods in our 3 x 3 square.

 12:15 p.m.

Mother Nature did not discriminate when it came to rain in east central Indiana and west central Ohio. The cracks have become more in number and wider and deeper in size as we go. We are just west of Unionport, Indiana where, despite the lack of moisture, this corn will be better than it looked from the road. We project just shy of 200 bushels here. Beans were heavily populated but counting pods didn’t take much time. Japanese Beetles were prevalent in this field as well.

 1:31 p.m.

Right before lunch we stopped in a Hagerstown, Indiana corn and soybean field and found some moisture in this field. That made a world of difference as we estimate yields here to be 185 bushels to the acre and the beans are thriving here with over 1200 in a 3 x 3 foot square.

1:34 p.m.

As far as solid looking stalks and fully filled ears, this field was one of the best of the day along Route 38 near Ashville, Indiana. This will be another close to 200 bushel yielding field, mostly due to rain covering this area in what looks like the last week. The beans had plenty of moisture from the roots up the stalk and we counted close to 1300 pods in a 3 foot square.

We stayed on Route 38 near Cadiz, Indiana for our next stop and with this corn and bean field, what you see if what you got. Plant health was great the beans and corn looks decent but the aphid action could not be ignored. Our estimates will break the 200 bushel per acre number for the corn. The beans came in at 1700+ pods per 3 x 3 foot square.

2:47 p.m.

Emporia, Indiana was our last stop and we once again found some ground that could use a drink soon, as you can see by the bean roots below. The beans had a higher pop but a lower pod count below 1000. The corn had the biggest ears we have seen today, but the field overall had some pockets of baron stalks. By the looks of the ears it should have been over 200, but the ear count brought our number down to 154 bushels per acre.

After our route came to an end we average 168.2 bushels per acre for our Ohio corn fields and 1037 pods in a 3 x 3 square of soybeans

Our Indiana averages were 186.2 bushels per acre for corn and 1168 soybean pods per 3 foot square.

Here are the final results for the entire eastern leg of this year’s Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour for Ohio.

Corn – 182 bushels to the acre (record)

Soybeans – 1342.42 pods in a 3ft x 3ft square (1190.18 3-year average)