Agricultural News
Pro Farmer Crop Tour Kicks Off Today- Leslie Smith Reports From the Western Leg of the Tour
Mon, 18 Aug 2014 04:58:18 CDT
Teams of crop scouts organized by Pro Farmer will undertake the task of measuring this year's corn and soybean yield potential across seven Midwest states- starting today and continuing through this Thursday, August 21st. Joining the tour for her third time as a scout is our Associate Farm Director Leslie Smith of the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network. The newsletter's Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour has become a carefully watched August ritual over its 22-year history. It is one of the most thorough inspections of yield potential during a critical time of the Midwest growing season.
Smith and the other observers are expecting bumper crops with above average growing conditions across many areas. "2014 got off to a strong start and didn't slow down," said Brian Grete, Pro Farmer Editor. "As we sample fields, we'll be measuring to see if the corn crop lives up to its lofty billing. For soybeans there are some questions, and we'll closely watch pod counts to see how they stack up to past data." Chip Flory, Pro Farmer Editorial Director, added, "What we're looking to do is confirm those big yield expectations or find quantifiable evidence that yields might not live up to the lofty trade expectations."
More than 100 growers, industry experts and media reporters will scout approximately 2,000 fields across Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Minnesota, South Dakota and Ohio. A summary of the Tour's findings will be presented at the Rochester International Events Center Aug. 22 in Rochester, Minn.
Smith is in South Dakota as she prepares to leave with other scouts for Day One of the western leg of the tour. The western leg will be sampling fields in southeastern South Dakota and Northeast Nebraska, while the eastern leg will sample fields across Ohio.
Smith provides an audio preview of what the Tour is all about in 2014 with Chip Floury of Pro Farmer, who is helping lead the western leg of the tour. Floury cautions those who will be watching the results of the Tour as they come out to not try to directly compare the tour to the most recent numbers released by the US Department of Agriculture. He also tells Smith that the data collected by the scouts will be handled differently this year as the information will be inputed into a special App developed for the tour which is designed to give tour organizers access to the data as it is collected throughout the course of the tour. You can listen to Leslie talk with Chip Floury by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below.
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