Iowa Corn Yields May Rise in Western Part of State, Tour Shows

By Elizabeth Campbell

Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Corn yields may rise in western Iowa, the biggest U.S. producer, based on field inspections during the 17th annual Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour. Soybean-pod counts sampled by the tour were higher.

The tour estimated yields at 186.1 bushels an acre, from 122 samples taken in Iowa. In 2008, the average estimated yield in the area was 171.7 bushels, Pro Farmer data show. On Aug. 12, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the average yield in the state would rise 8.2 percent to 185 bushels.

The Iowa corn crop looked “phenomenal,” said Denny Rollenhagen, a tour participant who farms about 1,200 acres of corn and soybeans in Wells, Minnesota. “They got it planted right. They got the rains when they needed it,” he added.

The tour attempts to gauge corn and soybean yield potential by sampling crops every 20 miles (32 kilometers). The Pro Farmer newsletter will release its own crop estimates on Aug. 22, based partly on the tour’s findings.

Soybean fields yielded an average 1,218.8 pods per 3- square-foot area, based on 117 samplings, up from an estimate of 1,043.8 to 1,160.4 pods from the same area a year earlier. The USDA forecast average yields in the state would rise 13 percent to 52 bushels an acre.

“Farmers today are taking care of their weeds and also are spraying for insects,” said Lawrence Landsteiner, a tour participant who farms about 3,500 acres of corn and soybeans in Minnesota Lake, Minnesota. “That’s why soybeans are doing better.”

Tour participants include farmers, analysts, agronomists, journalists and grain buyers who this week will inspect the main corn- and soybean-growing regions in seven states. The U.S. is the largest grower and exporter of both crops.

Iowa may harvest 2.47 billion bushels of corn, up 13 percent from 2.189 billion last year, the USDA said last week, based on conditions as of Aug. 1. Soybean production in the state may rise 14 percent to 506 million bushels from 444.8 million last year, the department said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Elizabeth Campbell in New York at ecampbell14@bloomberg.net