Updated
Updated · Pro Farmer · Aug 19
Illinois Corn Averages 173.9 BPA on Crop Tour as Western Iowa Misses USDA’s 216 BPA
Updated
Updated · Pro Farmer · Aug 19

Illinois Corn Averages 173.9 BPA on Crop Tour as Western Iowa Misses USDA’s 216 BPA

3 articles · Updated · Pro Farmer · Aug 19

Summary

  • Illinois route reports put corn at 173.9 bushels per acre on one central route and 188.75 on another, with soybean pod counts averaging 1,154.2 and 1,585.25 in 3-by-3-foot plots.
  • Scouts tied the softer Illinois corn outlook to low ear counts, nitrogen deficiency from persistent rain, disease pressure and some wind damage, while soybeans showed more sudden death, white mold and brown stem rot.
  • Western Iowa routes averaged 186.2 and 190.8 bushels per acre for corn, with one tour leader saying the state so far is not showing enough to reach USDA’s 216-bushel estimate.
  • Iowa soybean readings were mixed—939 pods on one route versus 1,564 on another—as scouts reported generally clean fields in places but shorter ears, pollination issues and crops pushed ahead by wet weather or heat.
  • The day-three findings follow already weak results in Ohio, Indiana, South Dakota and Nebraska, helping lift December corn to $4.98, its highest close in three months.

Insights

With scouts uncovering severe disease across the Corn Belt, could this unexpected crop failure trigger a massive global food price shock?
If late-season moisture saves surviving soybean pods, will the current bullish market rally collapse before the final harvest tallies are in?
How are saturated soils and failing microbes secretly destroying nitrogen levels and crippling Midwest corn yields right under farmers' noses?