Behind-the-Scenes Look: How Pro Farmer Crop Tour Scouts Gather Data
2023 Crop Tour About Update
Pro Farmer Crop Tour's data-gathering methods are disciplined, which produces consistent results. Those numbers then have a big impact on Pro Farmer's annual crop production estimates released on Friday at the conclusion of Crop Tour.
Scouts: More than 100 “scouts” (farmers, media, agribusiness and Pro Farmer staff) are organized into teams that fan across 20 pre-determined Midwest routes Monday through Thursday.
Read More: How Scouts Use Their Tour Observations
The Eastern leg begins sampling in western Ohio, working its way across Indiana, Illinois, eastern Iowa and then southern Minnesota. The Western leg begins in southern South Dakota, then across eastern Nebraska, western Iowa and into southern Minnesota. Both sides of Crop Tour conclude in Rochester, Minn., on Thursday, Aug. 25.
Scouts attend a training session prior to the Crop Tour and each team of two to four people includes at least one experienced scout. The assigned routes that the scout teams travel have been consistent over the years to assure comparability.
During Crop Tour, scouts stop every 12 to 15 miles along a marked route (or at least once in every county). Each team of scouts gathers about 15 samples per day, preferably where corn and soybean fields are together.
While scouts will search fields during the day, nightly meetings give farmers the unique opportunity to hear those results first-hand. Below is a schedule of the nightly meetings. Click here to register.
2023 In-Person Crop Tour Meetings
WESTERN TOUR
Grand Island, Neb.
Monday, Aug. 21
Riverside Golf Club | 2820 Riverside Drive | Grand Island, NE 68801
Nebraska City, Neb.
Tuesday, Aug. 22
Lied Lodge and Conference Center | 2700 Sylvan Road | Nebraska City, NE 68410
Spencer, Iowa
Wednesday, Aug. 23
Clay County Fair and Events Center | 800 West 18th Street | Spencer, IA 51301
EASTERN TOUR
Noblesville, Ind.
Monday, Aug. 21
Embassy Suites Noblesville | 13700 Conference Center Drive S. | Noblesville, IN 46060
Bloomington, Ill.
Tuesday, Aug. 22
DoubleTree by Hilton | 10 Brickyard Drive | Bloomington, IL 61701
Iowa City, Iowa
Wednesday, Aug. 23
Hyatt Regency Coralville | 300 East 9th Street | Coralville, IA 52241
FINALE
Thursday, Aug. 24
Rochester, Minn.
Mayo Civic Center | 30 Civic Center Drive SE | Rochester, MN 55902
