Crop tour finds record Iowa corn crop prospects; Minnesota sub-par
Writes through; recasts, adds quotes
By Julie Ingwersen and Karen Braun
ROCHESTER, Minnesota, Aug 22 (Reuters) -Iowa's corn yield potential set a new record high for the Pro Farmer Crop Tour while excessive June rains drove Minnesota's corn yield prospects to the lowest levels since 2012, scouts on an annual tour of top U.S. production states found on Thursday.
The tour projected Iowa's corn yield at 192.79 bushels per acre (bpa), well above the 2023 tour average of 182.80 bpa for the largest U.S. corn state and above the tour's three-year average of 185.79 bpa.
But in Minnesota, the fourth-largest corn producer, the tour projected yield at 164.90 bpa, far below last year's estimate of 181.34 bpa and the three-year average of 183.06.
The four-day tour, which began on Monday, projected above-average corn yields for six of the seven Corn Belt states surveyed.
The outlook for bumper harvests comes as grain and oilseed futures prices have slipped to nearly four-year lows amid ample global supplies.
In Iowa and much of the Midwest, crops benefited from near-ideal weather.
"Generally we've seen good growing conditions, and it shows," said Brian Grete, Pro Farmer editor and leader of the tour's eastern leg. "An early frost would be the one thing that could derail it."
Minnesota was an exception. "The corn crop is going to struggle to make the finish line. They have seen too much excess rainfall this season, which has washed away the fertilizer," said Scott German, a North Dakota farmer who was on the tour.
Yet Minnesota's soybeans fared better.
The tour, which does not project soybean yields, estimated the number of soybean pods in a 3-ft by 3-ft (91-cm by 91-cm) square in Minnesota at an average of 1,036.59 pods, above last year's average of 985.00 pods and close to the three-year average of 1,037.70 pods.
For Iowa, the No. 2 soy producer after Illinois, the tour estimated the average number of soybean pods in a 3-ft by 3-ft (91-cm by 91-cm) square at 1,312.31, above last year's tour average of 1,190.41 pods and the three-year average of 1,194.21 pods.
This month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast a record U.S. soybean crop and the third largest corn crop.
In addition to Iowa and Minnesota, the four-day tour this week scouted fields in South Dakota, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
The editors of Pro Farmer, a newsletter, will release their own estimate of U.S. corn and soybean production on Friday.
Reporting by Karen Braun and Julie Ingwersen in Rochester, Minnesota; Editing by Clarence Fernandez
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