In this 2024 Ohio Crop Tour recap video, presented by Ohio Field Leader, the North and South teams share their perspectives on what they discovered during their trip through Ohio in early August.
For Northern Ohio, the 2024 crop was largely determined by extremely difficult planting conditions, with new plantings, wet holes in plant stands, and less than ideal growing conditions early in the season. In many parts of Northern Ohio, too much water early in the season has limited yields.
In southern Ohio, the effects of dry summer conditions were felt in most fields, especially in Pickaway, Madison and Fayette counties. In many parts of southern Ohio, too little water during the growing season has limited yields.
However, incredible plant genetics, excellent production practices and dedicated farmers have largely minimized challenges for Ohio’s 2024 corn and soybean crops. Yield estimates are still strong but are definitely trending downward starting in 2023.
With a little more rain and a strong finish to August, we expect yields to be close to actual field sample counts. If dry conditions continue and conditions remain difficult nationwide, the cheat factor (multiplying total corn yield by 0.9) will be more accurate. We found many fields that could still benefit from more rain in August. Here are the results.
Total corn yield in the North Leg for the 2024 Ohio Crop Tour was estimated at 214 bushels and 192.6 bushels (with estimate factor as average). Estimated soybean yield in the North was 51 bushels per acre.
Total corn yield in the South Leg for the 2024 Ohio Crop Tour was estimated at 189 bushels, with the estimate factor as high as 170. Soybean yield was estimated to average 58 bushels per acre.
Ohio State University Extension corn yield estimates averaged 211 bushels of corn, 190 bushels of fudge factor and 60 bushels of soybeans. Total tour averages were 203.4 bushels of corn and 183.06 bushels of fudge. The soybean average was 55.6 bushels.
Further information on the northern section can be found here (Day 1) and here (Day 2).
Further information on the southern section can be found here (Day 1) and here (Day 2).
Click here to learn more about OSU Extension.
The 2024 Ohio Crop Tour was held on August 6 and 7, with one group traveling north and one traveling south. Each group sampled a representative corn and soybean field in 12 to 14 counties. The 2024 Ohio Crop Tour is sponsored by Ohio Field Leader, a project of the Ohio Soybean Council and the Soybean Check-off.
Participants in this year’s Ohio Crop Tour were:
• Greg LaBarge, Ohio State University Extension
• Taylor Dill, PhD student, research assistant in horticulture and agronomy at Ohio State University
• John Hummel, Fairfield County farmer
• Matt Spillman, Stark County farmer
• Ray Van Horn, Morrow County farmer
• Josh Kiser, Sandusky County farmer
• Hannah Kiser, farmer from Sandusky County
• Russ Rice, Fulton County crop consultant/agronomist
• Joel Penhorwood, Ohio Ag Net
• Matt Reese, Ohio’s Country Journal
• Dusty Sonnenberg, Ohio Ag Net/Ohio Field Manager
