Scouts on the Western Leg of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour anticipated a good crop in Minnesota this week, and that’s what some scouts saw as well.

“I’m pretty happy with my corn and soybean crops,” says Brad Nelson, a farmer in Freeborn County, Minnesota.

That statement alone may sum up a large chunk of Minnesota’s crop this year. Nelson says it was cold when he planted and it may have created some emergence and stand issues but probably not enough to hurt yields.

“What we have is going to be really pretty good,” says Nelson. “I think it’s going to be one of the top two or three yields in my farm’s history.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) anticipates a record corn and soybean yield for U.S. production. The state also says there’s a potential record yield for the corn crop in Minnesota, too. The department has the Minnesota corn crop at 197 bushels per acre, higher than the possible national average that the USDA pegged at 181 BPA.

USDA is predicting the national soybean yield could be a record high of 53 bushels per acre, and has the average soybean yield in Minnesota at 51 bushels per acre.

There are small problem areas within the state including areas with prevent plant and flooding. There are also dry pockets along the Iowa and Minnesota border but it’s not as widespread.

courtesy: U.S. Drought Monitor

Scouts that traveled through Nicollet and La Sueur counties say they’re seeing some pretty good crops.

“The first two stops, we took two of the highest corn yield checks we’ve seen on our routes this whole way in non-irrigated fields,” says Ted Seifried, vice president and chief market strategist of Zaner Ag Hedge. “For the most part, ear counts have been really good. You’ve got good sized ears, good length and good grain around.”

Seifried says the pod counts for soybeans aren't massive but still impressive.

“We are seeing really nice, full beans. That’s the opposite of what we saw [Wednesday] in Iowa,” says Seifried. “Bean counts aren’t off the charts on the stops we’ve been at so far, but they’re really pretty solid.”

Other scouts traveled through Jackson and Cottonwood Counties. Those scouts say the crop is improving as they move North.

“Pod counts are better,” says Peter Meyer, the head of grain and oilseed analytics at S&P Global Platts. “The plant health in corn is better. It was pretty obvious when you crossed the Iowa, Minnesota border that the southern part of Minnesota is feeling the drought we saw yesterday in Iowa.”

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor was released on Thursday. It shows the moderate drought and severe drought categories in Iowa have expanded since the week prior.

“This crop is holding on a little better than what we saw [Wednesday] in Iowa,” says scout and farmer, Kurt Line.

Scouts say the crop conditions are more unified overall, in a state showing it has just enough moisture so far too.