Crop Tour Exposes South Dakota and Ohio Corn Yields Below Benchmarks

The annual Pro Farmer Crop Tour has revealed concerning weather-related issues affecting corn and soybean yields in South Dakota and Ohio. The tour, which took place on August 17, found that prolonged heat and insufficient rainfall have severely impacted crop development in both states.

In South Dakota, scouts projected corn yields at 149.09 bushels per acre, sharply below the 174.18 bpa recorded by the tour in 2025 and its three-year average of 162.70 bpa. The state's soybean pod count also showed deterioration, with an average of 945.98 pods in a 3-by-3-foot square, compared to 1,188.45 last year and a three-year average of 1,075.78.

In Ohio, excessive moisture rather than drought weighed on crop potential, with projected corn yields at 180.18 bpa, below 185.69 bpa last year and the three-year tour average of 184.31 bpa. The state's average soybean pod count reached 1,197.25, down from 1,287.28 in 2025 and the three-year average of 1,256.71.

The findings have raised concerns about the potential for yield losses across the country due to opposite weather extremes, complicating national production estimates and risk-management decisions. The USDA's recent projection of a second-largest U.S. corn crop on record is under scrutiny as final yields will carry significant weight for commodity prices.