Ohio Crop Tour Archive

In 2021, we had great success combining a Virtual Tour with tremendous response from participants and our in-person tour in fields around the state. With this in mind, the 2022 Ohio Crop Tour included both in-person and a virtual option to let everyone in on the yield estimating fun. The 2022 Ohio Crop Tour is made possible by Ohio Field Leader — a project of the Ohio Soybean Council and soybean checkoff. Also, thanks to Ohio State University Extension educators around the state for working with us on the Virtual Crop Tour.

The in-person tour was held Aug. 8 and Aug. 9 with one group heading north and one group heading south. Each group sampled a representative corn and soybean field in 14 counties. 

This year’s in-person participants in the north were:

• Mike Hannewald, Beck’s agronomist

• Nathan Birkemeier, Putnam County farmer

• Samantha Funkhouser, Luckey Farmer Co-Op

•  Mark Worner, Agoro Carbon Alliance, Richland County farmer

• Dusty Sonnenberg, Ohio Field Leader/Ohio Ag Net.… Continue reading

The 2022 Ohio Crop Tour is made possible by Ohio Field Leader — a project of the Ohio Soybean Council and soybean checkoff.

By Matt Reese and Dave Russell

Variability is a consistent statewide issue for corn and soybeans due to a wide planting (and re-planting) window, along with plenty of weather ups and downs. 

“I have been in corn fields in the dough stage almost to dent, so R4. I was in one field not quite blistered yet. Silks were out but not in the brown silk stage. It makes it hard to estimate yield when pollination is not done. One benefit, though, is we just had some really nice rains and cooler, less humid weather so it may be a benefit for pollination on this later corn,” said Clint Schroeder, Ohio State University Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources in Allen County. “We have a lot of soybeans that weren’t planted until June.… Continue reading

The 2022 Ohio Crop Tour is made possible by Ohio Field Leader — a project of the Ohio Soybean Council and soybean checkoff.

By Matt Reese and Dave Russell

While there was plenty of concern heading into 2022, tar spot has not been showing up on any large scale in Ohio’s corn fields.

“Tar spot is the big concern but I have not been able to verify that in any field I have been in yet this year. Last year is the first year we had it in Allen County and it didn’t come in until mid- or later-August,” said Clint Schroeder, Ohio State University Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources in Allen County. “Then we had the fall armyworm. That all came in county fair week last year. We do not have a ton of experience with tar spot. It is a relatively new foliar disease for us. We have to understand how to identify it and manage it if you do have it.… Continue reading

The 2022 Ohio Crop Tour is made possible by Ohio Field Leader — a project of the Ohio Soybean Council and soybean checkoff.

By Matt Reese and Dave Russell

At least on some farms, there has been a strategy shift in recent years prioritizing planting soybeans first. Will 2022’s statewide narrow planting windows showcase the value of this plan?

“The early planted beans look good and the later beans are just so-so. There has been more of a push lately to plant your soybeans first, or at least earlier. This year may be an example of that working out,” said Grant Davis, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator with Ohio State University Extension in Champaign County. “A lot of this later planted corn looks pretty good where the later planted beans don’t necessarily. I think there may be greater upside potential for planting beans earlier if you get the opportunity and maybe, if it comes down to it, push the corn back if you have to.… Continue reading

The 2022 Ohio Crop Tour is made possible by Ohio Field Leader — a project of the Ohio Soybean Council and soybean checkoff.

For guidelines on how to submit your own entries in the 2022 Virtual Crop Tour (and a chance to win a $250 VISA gift card), CLICK HERE. All yield checks must be submitted by 6 p.m. Aug 11. Thanks also to cooperators from Ohio State University Extension for your submissions.

Virtual Crop Tour: Soybeans

Adams County 

These beans were planted May 10. They are in very good condition with little signs of weather-related stress or disease. There is some grass hopper feeding along the edge of the field. The canopy height is 36 to 45 inches with nodes spaced 3.5 to 4 inches in these 60+-bushel beans.

Allen County

These soybeans were planted May 23.… Continue reading

The 2022 Ohio Crop Tour is made possible by Ohio Field Leader — a project of the Ohio Soybean Council and soybean checkoff.

By Matt Reese and Dave Russell

After a tough start to the growing season — from way too wet to too hot and dry — Ohio’s corn and soybeans seem to be holding their own. Genetics, good management and dedicated farmers have led to better-than-expected yield estimates considering the challenges of 2022.

In the far south, crops have fared pretty well amid the rolling hills and hollows of Adams County.

“There are a lot of late crops and variability, but the corn and soybeans look really good. I have been in corn fields almost starting to dent all the way to some that have not even tasseled yet. Some producers were actually planting double-crop soybeans and first-crop soybeans at the same time. But, for the most part we have been blessed with sufficient rainfall and heat to help the crops catch up and mature.… Continue reading

Fayette County

Corn: It was a thin stand of corn and the soil type did not help. We saw more GLS than we have seen in other fields. The yield was 140 bushels.

Soybeans: The beans looked good but they had a long way to go. There were a lot of blooms but no pods. Nodes were about 2.5 inches apart. With more rains these beans will make 45 bushels. 

Greene County

Corn: This was thick 20-inch corn with a population of 38,000. The yield was 236 in the best corn on this leg of the trip. It was planted in mid-May. There were discolored, aborted kernels on a couple of ears, otherwise no disease or insect problems.

Soybeans: The canopy was nearly 40 inches. There were some pods aborting with nodes 2.5 to 3 inches apart.… Continue reading

Delaware County

The 10th stop of the North Leg of the Ohio Crop Tour, Sponsored by Ohio Field Leader, A project of the Ohio Soybean Council and Soybean Checkoff was in Delaware County.

Corn

This was a great high population stand of corn at 34,000 plants per acre. The stand was uniform, but there was variability in the ear size.

There was little to no insect or disease pressure.

It had an estimated yield of 207 bushels per acre.

Soybeans

The soybeans we evaluated were a 3.1 bean. They were planted on May 25th in 15 inch rows.

There was some inconsistency in height and holes in some spots as well as pale in color due to excess water.

The canopy was 36″ with moderately spaced nodes.

There were mild symptoms of septoria and 5% defoliation from bean leaf beetle.

The beans were at R4 with a population of 126,000.

The average pod count was 34 with 2 -3 beans per pod and 16 nodes per plant.… Continue reading

We have been crop touring all week and the final results are in! For the in-person leg of the 2021 Ohio Crop Tour we had one group collect samples in 12 counties in northern Ohio and another group collect samples in southern Ohio. In addition, we had nearly 60 entries from around the state in our Virtual Crop Tour for corn and soybeans. Many of these samples were provided with cooperation from Ohio State University Extension educators.

The tour totals (multiplied by an agronomic fudge factor of .9 for corn yield estimates) generated a final yield of 181.83 bushels per acre for a statewide average yield. Our soybean estimate for the state came in right at 55 bushels. 

The tour certainly found some big yields, particularly in the northern part of the state, but also revealed some surprisingly dry and challenging growing conditions in other places. The lack of water in recent weeks for many parts of the state is likely going to knock the top end off of some of those bigger yields for corn and could be a significant detriment to the state’s soybean crop if they persist. … Continue reading

By Matt Reese and Dave Russell

Most of Ohio had enough rain in the early part of the 2021 growing season (in some places too much). In the last 3 weeks or so, though, the rains have stopped in some areas. The Aug. 12 update from the U.S. Drought monitor has a large portion of southeastern and portions of western Ohio listed as “Abnormally Dry.”

Some of those dry conditions showed up in this week’s Ohio Crop Tour.

“The places we have been, I’d say Greene and Champaign counties have had more moisture than any other place we were, Fayette would be in there too. The western side of the state and back to Pickaway County was drier than what I imagined it would be,” said Bill Black, a Pickaway County farmer who participated in the in-person tour.… Continue reading

Adams County

Conditions of the corn were very good. Corn was very healthy and had little signs of stress due to lack of nitrogen. It was planted May 23. Disease pressure was very low and insect pressure was little to none. Pollination looked to be very complete. Yield came in at 230 bushels.

Allen County

This field looked very impressive from the road. Unfortunately, it seemed to be seeing significant tip back and kernel abortion. There was also a small amount of gray leaf spot present. This field also looked to have a higher planted population than several others in the area. I would expect there to be 33,000 harvestable ears per acre. It was planted May 18. The yield estimate was 186 bushels per acre.

This field was planted May 19 with multiple hybrids and there was significant variability between hybrids. Disease pressure was very low and there was no pest pressure.… Continue reading

Adams County

Adams county soybeans resulted in very good condition overall with little signs of weather-related stress. Disease pressure was low. There were some Japanese beetles feeding on foliage. The estimated yield was around 60+ bushels per acre.

Ashtabula County

This field of soybeans were some of the earliest planted in Astabula county. The field was noted as very tall and having strong color. There was no disease pressure noted, but there were some aphids feeding. The yield esitmation of 60+ bushels per acre.

Champaign County

These Champaign county soybeans were planted April 10, and are a consistent field. There were signs of Sudden Death Syndrome and low Japanese Beetle feeding. The yield estimation for this field is 60+ bushels per acre.

Delaware County

The soybean field surveyed in Delaware county was tall and further along in maturity when compared to others around it.… Continue reading

By Matt Reese and Dave Russell

Many parts of northern Ohio have had a solid growing season in 2021 and that is showing up in crop yield checks this week.

Amid rain showers, Wood County Extension educator Nick Eckel has been out scouting fields and, for the most part, has been pleased with what he has seen, especially with the corn crop in the county.

“This is a really nice corn crop out here in Wood County. Most guys got some fungicide sprayed and we have pretty clean fields. I’ve been finding anywhere from 175 bushels to upwards of 225 bushels. The kernel counts are there and we are getting a little rain today and hopefully that can help fill the rest of this crop out and we can have a good corn crop here in Wood County,” Eckel said. “I did a tour of the entire county. I started in the northeast corner and drove a horseshoe around the county and looked at about 10 different corn fields.… Continue reading

Crawford County

Corn: The corn we evaluated was 109-day maturity corn planted on May 16 with an estimated yield of 200 bushels per acre. It was another good crop.

Soybeans: The soybeans we evaluated were a group 2.7 maturity bean planted in 15-inch rows on April 27 with an average pod count of four to five pods per plant and three beans per pod. Fungicide was applied to the crop. Overall, a good looking stand that could yield 55+ bushels per acre.

Wyandot County

Corn: The corn we evaluated was 110 day maturity corn planted on April 26 with an estimated yield of 219 bushels per acre. The crop was sprayed with fungicide and insecticide after some pressure was evident. Overall, an excellent crop.

Pickaway County

Corn: The corn had a good green color with no disease pressure on the upper canopy. The fill to the tip was getting small kernels due to dry weather. This is a nice looking field with a 33,000 population and a 185-bushel yield.

Soybean: The beans were green and looked nice. These were the tallest beans of the day at 39 inches. The distance between nodes was 2.5 inches with very low amounts of frogeye present. There was a little leaf feeding. There were 2-3 beans per pod and most were in groups of 2-3 pods per cluster. These were 50 to 60 bushel beans.  

Fayette County

Corn: There was a nice green color in this field and the corn looked really healthy. The disease pressure was light with tiny lesions of gray leaf spot far down in the canopy.… Continue reading

By Matt Reese

Like most things 2021, our Ohio Crop Tour will be a bit different this year. Last year we had great success with our Virtual Tour with tremendous response from participants. At the same time, we wanted to get back to our in-person tour in fields around the state. With this in mind, the 2021 Ohio Crop Tour includes both virtual and in-person components. The Tour is sponsored by Ohio Field Leader.

The in-person tour will be held Aug. 9 and Aug. 10 with one group heading north and one group heading south. Each group will sample a representative corn and soybean field in 12 counties. 

This year’s in-person participants in the north are:

• Harold Watters, Ohio State University Extension agronomist 

• John Schumm, Seneca County farmer

• Leo Shininger, Defiance County farmer

• Jed Bower, Fayette County farmer

• Dusty Sonnenberg, Ohio Field Leader/Ohio Ag Net.

This year’s in-person participants in the south are:

• Greg LaBarge, Ohio State University Extension

• Ross Black, Pickaway County farmer

• Brent Pence, Miami County farmer

• Bill Black, Pickaway County farmer

• Matt Reese, Ohio’s Country Journal.… Continue reading

By Matt Reese

Great job Ohio corn and soybean growers! We had 102 entries total in our 2020 Virtual Crop Tour (63 corn and 39 soybeans). Special thanks to Ohio State University Extension educators from around the state who sent in quite a few entries as well.

The corn yield averaged out to be right around 194 bushels. Soybean yield estimates came out at 54.3 bushels per acre for the state. For a corn tour by county click here. For a soybean tour by county click here.

It is very clear that the combination of just enough rain, great genetics and solid management can overcome many of the challenges of 2020 to produce strong yields. The impact of dry conditions, though, showed up in several of the reports in some of the driest areas of the state.

 John Hoffman’s Pickaway County corn report summarized the extreme variation around the state on one farm.… Continue reading