The John Deere Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour issued its corn yield estimate and average soybean pod total for Illinois Wednesday night.

The tour’s estimate of Illinois’ corn yield came in at 149.32 bushels per acre, up 9.4% from last year’s estimate, but well below USDA’s most recent projection of 172 bushels per acre. Chip Flory, Editor and Publisher of the Pro Farmer Newsletter, said the Illinois corn crop suffered from high temperatures at just the wrong time. “So there were some pollination problems. There’s some tip back issues,” Flory said. “You know, just kind of the things that go along with a hot season that turns dry late in the year.”

The average soybean pod count for Illinois totaled 1374.7. “That’s a very, very respectable number,” said Flory. “And if you can give that crop some moisture, even at this time of the year… it’s going to help those pods fill, it’s going to increase your bean size, and it’s going to give you a better overall yield.”

Flory leads the tour’s western leg, which traveled between Nebraska City, Nebraska, and Worthington, Minnesota, through western Iowa Thursday. Flory says dry conditions and hot temperatures during pollination appear to have trimmed corn yield potential in western Iowa. “Based on what we pulled and our preliminary look at Iowa,” Flory said, “looks like we’re going to be a little disappointed with those yields in the western part of the state.”

But Flory said western Iowa’s soybean crop is poised to add additional bushels. “What the bean crop’s got is enough moisture to finish,” he said. “Another rain wouldn’t hurt this crop; it would help it some,” Flory added. “But in general terms, it’s got enough moisture to finish.”

The tour won’t issue a corn yield estimate and average soybean pod count for Iowa until the tour’s eastern and western legs link-up in Owatonna, Minnesota Thursday night. The tour will present its corn yield estimate and average soybean pod count for Minnesota at the same time. Pro Farmer issues its estimate of the U.S. corn and soybean crop at 1:30 p.m. Central on Friday.