Corn and Soybeans Look 'Darn Good' In Ohio, Similar to 2021
Ohio might not be Iowa, Illinois or Indiana, but the state’s farmers have corn and soybean crops that are holding their own compared to what farmers in the I-states have in their fields this season.
“Everything looks pretty darn good for the state of Ohio from what I've seen here initially this morning,” says Brian Grete, Pro Farmer editor, who leads the Eastern leg of the four-day tour. “Their soils aren’t as good here as they are in the central Corn Belt, and they have to have better weather here for high yields, but we haven’t seen any pests or disease. This year is looking like a hit for Ohio farmers."
In fact, the Eastern Corn Belt looks like the garden region -- and the big story for row crops this season -- according to Monday's U.S. Farm Report. You can watch it here.
Grete and a crew of 50-plus scouts – some of whom have participated in the tour for more than 20 years – started out in Columbus this morning and had made two stops to evaluate crops before 8 a.m. Eastern. By early afternoon, Grete had this to say:
In all, more than 100 crop scouts are fanning out across fields to project corn yields and estimate soybean pods in seven states, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio and South Dakota. In Iowa, scouts will sample and measure corn and soybean crops in all 99 counties.
Plenty Of Variability Present This Year
“The first two stops this morning in Ohio showed corn-yield extremes and also the randomness of the stops the tour makes,” Grete says. “We saw bad corn and good soybeans on the first stop, and good corn and not as good a soybean crop on the second stop."
In the first stop, the crop was really short, pollination was poor and the field was in rough shape. “We projected 92 bushels per acre in that first field of corn,” Grete says.
At stop No. 2 the cornfield held a solid, well-pollinated crop with large ears, dark green leaves and excellent plant health. “We projected 208 bushels per acre there,” Grete says.
Last year, scouts sampled nearly 3,400 corn and soybean fields on the tour. Here are the final results tallied for 2022, which can be referenced and compared to this season's results:
Hoping For A Repeat Of 2021
Josh Yoder, who farms near Plain City, about 20 miles northeast of Columbus, Ohio, says he’s encouraged by the crops he’s growing this season and by what he’s seeing on the tour today.
“I think it's going to be a better corn crop than what we had last year. I don't know if it's going to be as good of a crop as what we had in 2021, but we're set up to have an above-average crop,” Yoder says.
Here's a look at the three-year average for Ohio corn crops:
On the soybean side, scouts in Ohio projected 1,500 pods in the first field today and 799 pods in the second field. Scouts don’t calculate soybean yields. Instead, they calculate soybean pods in a 3’ x 3’ plot in fields to get a rough sense of yield potential.
Yoder says his soybean crop looks good, though he has some concerns about disease pressure.
"Sudden Death has really reared its ugly head if you will the last couple of years," he says. "Adding in an extra seed treatment specifically for that is becoming more commonplace here in Ohio. The biggest question mark I have for this season is what did the early season dry conditions do to do to the crop both corn and beans."
Headed West To Indianapolis Tonight
Today, Grete’s scouts are headed west through central Ohio on their way to Indianapolis, Ind., where they’ll stop for the night, compare notes, evaluate the data and provide yield projections for the state.
“We'll finalize our Ohio numbers at the end of today and release those this evening. The goal is to find out what the yield potential is in the state of Ohio,” Grete says.
“We will also be into eastern Indiana today, but we’ll release the Indiana results tomorrow,” Grete adds.
Initial Report From The Western Leg
Chip Flory, host of AgriTalk, is leading crop scouts on the western leg of the tour. He anticipates seeing some struggles underway in dryland crops in some states on the western tour.
“There’s some severe drought that has impacted eastern and northeast Nebraska, so I know we’re going to see some dryland crops that aren’t all that spiffy,” he says. “But from what we can see so far, the irrigated corn crop is in really pretty good shape and carrying some good yield potential out there.”
Flory adds that the soybean crop is showing some signs of drought stress and disease pressure. “On the drive over we saw some yellowing in the crop, so we will be looking for sudden death syndrome as we check fields,” he says.
Some good news is scouts are seeing better corn and soybeans in South Dakota, according to Farm Journal's Michelle Rook.
Looking Ahead The Next Four Days
The goal for the week, Grete says, is to let farmers know what scouts are finding in each state so they can compare the results to what they have in their own fields. “We want farmers to be able to say at the end of the day, ‘OK, here's where my crop stacks up versus what we had in these areas over the past three years for an average,’” he says.
Pro Farmer's National Crop Production Estimates will be released on Friday. Follow along this week here on AgWeb and via social media. For X, check out #pftour23.
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