While USDA has their own estimates, more than 100 pairs of boots are on the ground checking conditions first-hand during the 32nd Pro Farmer Crop Tour.
Around 100 scouts will cover more than a thousand corn and soybean fields across seven states, and five of those are projected to have record yields.
For corn, scouts will look at ear population, length of grain fill, and the number of kernel rows around the ear. For soybeans, the tour looks at the number of pods in a three-by-three foot plot.
Yield estimates by Pro Farmer usually come in below USDA forecasts.
