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The Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour is done- and the scouts spent their final day in Iowa and Minnesota.  The corn crop in those two states is smaller than a year ago because of the drought- but the drop off is not as severe as was seen in Ohio, Indiana and Nebraska earlier in the tour.  The Iowa corn crop is pegged at just over 137 bushels per acre- off 20% from the three year Pro Farmer Tour Average- while Minnesota checks in at 156 bushels per acre- off 14% from that three year average. As we monitored the tour via twitter yesterday afternoon- one of the scouts offered this comment after several stops in southern Minnesota- "What drought? After 7 stops, my car's corn average is 167.3 bpa versus last years 168.8 and the 3 year avg of 174."  

The tour did not attempt to estimate yields on soybeans- but both of these states saw fewer pods counted in three foot by three foot sections compared to previous years- Iowa off 20% on their pod count and Minnesota off 16%- this suggests lower yield potential compared to average as well.  

Pro Farmer will release their best guess as to the overall size of the corn and soybean crops later today- using data from the Tour as well as other factors they will add in- it will be interesting to see how much smaller their yield estimates are compared to USDA's August numbers- if any when they offer their best guess.

I still like what Chip Flory of Pro Farmer offered earlier in the week- USDA already has told us that we have a smaller crop- this tour is simply confirming that- "Honestly, this is all we really need to know about the 2012 crops: They're too small. We're not going to produce enough corn or soybeans to meet all the potential demand."  

Click here for the final Iowa numbers from this week's crop tour- and click here for the Minnesota estimates as developed by the crop scouts.

Canola TV-Canola Crop Insurance Deadline Looming 

Bambi Sidwell of Sidwell Insurance says the deadline is fast approaching for producers to insure their 2012-2013 canola crop. The deadline is August 31 and Sidwell says the price is now set.

"The price is .272 cents per pound which equates to about $13.60 a bushel so now we can run firm quotes if producers are wanting to know what the cost is per acre for the different plan designs."

She said producers thinking about planting canola need to check with their crop insurance agents now to determine proper coverage before the planting window opens. She said producers must commit to a plan before August 31st. If, for some reason, the producer does not plant canola after all, there is no obligation to pay for the insurance.

It is also important to keep in mind that the crop must be planted between September 10th and October 10th, but there is a five-day late planting window that extends the deadline to October 15th.

Click here to watch the latest edition of Canola TV.  You can also watch previous programs by clicking here.  

CanolaTV is a service of PCOM- Producers Cooperative Oil Mill. 

Ethanol Groups Praise Romney/Ryan Energy Plan

Two organizations representing the ethanol industry applauded the comprehensive approach of the Romney/Ryan energy plan.

Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association said, "We applaud Governor Romney's commitment to domestic renewable fuels and his recognition of the importance of the RFS. The RFS is helping to reduce America's reliance on imported oil and create hundreds of thousands of jobs all across rural America. By working to remove barriers to market access for renewable fuels, as Governor Romney suggests, America can help spur an economic recovery while securing our energy future. We look forward to hearing more details of Governor Romney's energy ideas as the campaign continues." (Click here for more from the RFA.)

Brooke Coleman, executive director of the Advanced Ethanol Council, echoed Dinneen's support and said, "First generation biofuels are already competitive with petroleum-based fuels, and next generation biofuels are coming online as we speak. The RFS and market access are two critical pieces of the puzzle when it comes to the ongoing development of the domestic biofuels industry." (Read more from the AEC by clicking here.)

Click here to read Governor Romney's energy plan.

Pfizer Animal Health Support Advances U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance

U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) announced that Pfizer Animal Health has joined USFRA, becoming the first animal health company member of USFRA's Premier Partner Advisory Group.

"It is important that the agriculture industry joins together for the common goal of building public trust in the U.S. food system," said Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau and chairman of USFRA. "USFRA is proud to have partners like Pfizer Animal Health supporting our mission of enhancing consumer trust, maintaining and enhancing the freedom of U.S. farmers and ranchers to operate in a responsible manner, and strengthening collaboration within the food production, processing and distribution systems."     

As a member of the Premier Partner Advisory Group, Pfizer Animal Health has a seat on the USFRA board, the Chief Executive Officer Advisory Council and an opportunity to participate in USFRA committees/task forces, annual meeting and educational activities.

You can read more of this story on our website by clicking here.

Edwards Discusses Wheat Variety Selection in New Video

With wheat planting just days to weeks away in some parts of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University Small Grains Extension Specialist Dr. Jeff Edwards has posted a video discussing variety selection. You can watch the video by clicking here.

Edward says selecting the right variety is important because it sets the yield potential for the crop and then determines the management practices necessary for maximum yields.

"If you don't start with a good variety, it kind of minimalizes or marginalizes many of the other management actions you'll take throughout the season."

Edwards says variety selection should be made on a farm by farm and field by field basis. He recommends two Extension publications to help producers compare varieties which may be suitable for their needs, CR 2143 Small Grains Variety Performance Tests and PSS-2142 Wheat Variety Comparison Chart. A link to both is available on our website; go there by clicking here. 

How Cool is This?  John Deere Imagines a Typical Morning Down on the Farm  

How will farming change in the future? Only one thing is certain: technology will continue to change how we farm.

John Deere has produced a video predicting what tomorrow's farm will look like. It's a really cool peek into what the farmer of not too many years down the road may be doing to manage his resources, people, time and interactions with suppliers.   

Of course, one thing where the future has already arrived is the ability of folks like yourself to check out our daily email of the latest agricultural news- which arrives on your computer, Ipad, Iphone, Android or Blackberry.  For example- this morning- from this email- you can click and get video updates on Crop Insurance for Canola- Ideas on Wheat Variety selection for 2012 as well as a chance to listen to our morning farm news report that has aired on great radio stations across the state on the Radio Oklahoma Network.  And- we have details on markets and even a link to track rainfall as it arrives today through the weekend.  

It's an exciting time to be in agriculture- and John Deere reminds us that the future looks pretty incredible as well!!! 

Click here to see the video. 

This N That- New AgriTourism Resource, Rain Arrives and Express- Pollard Reminder

The Oklahoma Department of Food and Forestry has launched a new monthly e-newsletter highlighting agritourism destinations. It's called the Agritourist- and you can sign up for it by jumping over to the Oklahoma Tourism website's Agritourism page and clicking on the "Sign Up for Our E-Newsletter" graphic.   

Of course- there's a lot of great stuff on the Agritourism website maintained by the ODAFF as well- click here for that.

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As we finish up the daily email this morning- we have rain in western Oklahoma- and pretty good chances for a good bit of rain across a lot of Oklahoma before the weekend is done. To help you keep track- here's a link for the Mesonet Rainfall totals over the last twenty four hours- this is realtime so it will roll over as the weekend progresses- click here for a three day version of that rainfall map which will help you keep tabs on how rainfall piles up as the weekend progresses.

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Express Ranch has the Big Event getting underway today and continuing on Saturday- Click here for our calendar listing which gives you info on both the Friday and Saturday sales. 

Then on Sunday- you can up Highway 81 for the Fifteenth Production Sale of Pollard Farms- offering a great set of Angus females- click here for the details of this sale that starts at high noon on Sunday.