Day 5: July 3, 2021
10th Annual US Corn Belt Crop Tour Summary of the State of Nebraska
The 2021 10th Annual U.S. Corn Belt Crop tour in the state of Nebraska on day 5, July 3, 2021, was sunny with a high of 26 Celsius. We started southeast in Blue Springs, traveled north to Malcolm, and west to Seward before we ran out of daylight. We were not able to travel to the northeast corner of the state.
65-75% of the state is irrigated, with the remaining acres dryland. When talking to local farmers many were able to plant fast and early with most done planting by mid-May. Through our travels we were able to confirm that Nebraska is the “garden spot” on tour thus far as it was not exhibiting any moisture or heat stress. But the creek bottom dryland and sandy ground will need timely rains to hold the potential to break 2018 record corn yields at 192 bpa with local totals at 250-270 bpa. Crops are much better looking than last year when we saw yellow soybeans, pineapple corn and late planted dry corn in western NE.
Dryland needs to catch timely rains during pollination to get past the triple digit heat that is expected to return. Topsoil moisture at 58% (adequate-surplus) is up 8% from last year, while subsoil moisture at 54% is down 7% from 2020 at 61% (adequate-surplus). The drought in Nebraska has improved since the start of 2021.
90-Day Departure from Normal Precipitation Chart for July 9, 2021


The state of Nebraska will be contributing to the U.S. national average yield in both corn and soybeans. We still need more timely rains for dryland crops and a great finish to hold the potential for a new record at 200+ bpa in corn and soybeans at 60+ bpa. Rating state an 8.5 out of 10.

Thank You to our proud prize sponsors Azotic North America and Empire Weather.
For daily updates check out our Twitter account @FarmsMarketing and follow the tour using #cornbelt21. Not a member? Sign up today for an 8-week no risk-free trial commodity marketing subscription https://riskmanagement.farms.com/. Try our Members Only Commodity Marketing app and get access to timely recommendations and “pull the Trigger” text alerts 24/7 in the palm of your hands. Never miss another marketing opportunity again!