The Pro Farmer Crop Tour doesn't measure a soybean yield, instead, we calculate pod counts in a three-foot square. That gives us an idea of the “yield factory.” The reason: The number of pods it takes to make a bushel is different from state to state and varies from year to year. What we have learned over the years is that 1,150 pods in a three-foot square will yield the highest bushels per 1,000 pods counted. If the average of all our samples and/or the average of all the state averages is close to that figure it’s going to be a big crop, especially if rains fall during or after Crop Tour to give the crop the moisture to fully fill. Pay attention to the pod counts next week and how they compare to last year and the 3-year averages to get an idea of how big the crop could potentially be.
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