172 bushels per acre of corn and 49.7 bushels per acre of beans are the Pro Farmer National Corn and Soybean estimates for the 2023 Crop. Pro Farmer Editor Brian Grete has the highlights.

“Ohio is kind of a hit-or-miss state, but this year, it was a real rock star, and I thought that the Ohio Corn Crop was the best corn crop we saw on the eastern side throughout the week. We were in many fields where it showed the stress and just over the past five days since I’ve been gone on Crop Tour. Ears were hanging in some of those fields and stuff like that, so it was a crop that was really pushed hard over the past week here.”  

Of course, these numbers are a snapshot in time, and the final yield can and will change between now and when harvest takes place.

“You know what’s surprising is, some of these beans are – except when you get into the moderate soil –  you know, they are still holding in there, they are still looking pretty green, and I think if we don’t get some rain, those spots are only going to get bigger.”

That’s longtime scout Bryan Coffman from Iowa, who says an early harvest may be on the horizon. 

Mike Zuzolo, president of Global Commodity Analytics, talked about his initial reaction to the harvest predictions.

“I think it will jump out at the trade. I think the trade was very much like a bloodhound on the scent of soybeans and the yield dropping. But I would say a week ago, right before the tour started, I heard a lot of talk and a lot of chatter about how the corn was already made and the yield wouldn’t have changed much. And then, as the tour progressed into this past week, especially midweek when we got into Iowa, Minnesota, and parts of Nebraska, the trade started to realize that we are looking at a situation where the corn yield can indeed be hurt. I think these numbers did show that when you look at the range of yields from 170.3 to 173.7.”

He talks about the soybean numbers.

“Soybeans are even more wide open now in terms of the yield potential loss than what the trade was probably thinking at the end of the week. And so, when I just look at 48.7 to 50.7, if you’re on the low end, and you’re down at 48.7, you’re going to have to ration a lot of demand to not be in a 150, 170, or 175 carryover number at this stage of the game for 2023-2024 soybean ending stocks.”