Pro Farmer?s South Dakota corn yield estimates came out 9.7% lower than last year.

by | Aug 23, 2016 | 5 Ag Stories, News

by Ben Nuelle

Pro Farmer released South Dakota results Monday night in Grand Island, Nebraska. Corn yields were estimated at 149 bushels per acre. Chip Flory, with Pro Farmer is the guide for the tour. He was disappointed in the corn he saw. “A lot of issues with the South Dakota corn crop. They went through that June/July period where a lot of areas picked up somewhere near an inch of rain in June/July combined. In early August they picked up about two or two and a half inches across a good chunk of the tour area, says Flory.”

He says those numbers are lower than last year. “A year ago we measured 166 bushels per acre. This year we are down about 9.7% from a year ago. We have to compare that to what USDA is saying for the crop too. USDA a year ago had that crop at 159 bushels per acre, and as of August 1 it was 147 bushels per acre, that’s down 7.5%.

Soybean pod count for South Dakota averaged 970. Lower than last year too. Flory said, “When everything was said and done in the state we were down 8% on our pod counts, USDA On August 1 went from 46 bushels per acre last year down to 42 bushels per acre this year. That is an 8.7% decline. If we are going to line up the pod counts and the yields then we are looking at a similar crop that USDA saw on August 1.”

Today scouts will make their way south from Grand Island to Nebraska City. The tour is sponsored by DuPont Pioneer.