(NAFB) – U.S. Soy and Pro Farmer teamed up for the 2021 U.S. Soy Crop Quality Report.

The crop looks good right now, but without moisture, that could fall in some areas. That report comes from Chip Flory, editorial director with Pro Farmer. He presented the results to hundreds of global customers during the U.S. Soy Global Trade Exchange and Specialty Grains Conference. Fields across much of the U.S. have good stands, but Flory says the pod counts weren’t there when they got out into the fields for the Pro Farmer Crop Tour. However, it’s not pod counts that lead to yield, but rather it’s how they fill out.

Illinois took the top spot on the crop tour with an average of 1,279.8 pods in a 3X3 foot area. South Dakota set the low mark at an average of 996.9 pods. The report also says that many bean fields are at a critical stage and in need of rain. With rains in the next couple of weeks, those pods could easily fill out. However, if beans stay dry, they will lose pod fill.

Meanwhile, the USDA says the average Illinois yield should be 64 bushels an acre, up from 59 bushels a year ago, and Iowa yields will be at 58 bushels an acre, up from 53 bushels last year.