10TH Year of Boots on the Ground with the 2025 Great ON Yield Tour

10TH Year of Boots on the Ground with the 2025 Great ON Yield Tour
Aug 08, 2025
By Denise Faguy
Assistant Editor, North American Content, Farms.com

Ontario yield tour highlights crop challenges

The 2025 Great Ontario Yield Tour is a two-week data tour (corn kernel and soybean pod counting) taking place August 11 - August 22, 2025. Tour scouts will be checking yields in over 400 corn and soybeans fields in farms across Ontario to arrive at a final yield estimate.

As the scouts work tireless to collect samples, Tour Chief Agronomist Henry Prinzen from Maizex and Chief Commodity Strategist Moe Agostino will also be travelling throughout the province to assess the growing conditions in different regions across Ontario.

In the video below Prinzen and Agostino, before embarking on their tour, take a look at some of the challenges from this year’s Ontario growing season, sharing their fears that this year will not be a great year for corn and soybean yields.

The season began with a wet April that supported early planting but May brought the coldest conditions in six years. This delayed growth and reduced plant stands, a key factor for high yields. July and August turned hot and dry, increasing stress on crops.

Heat has aided progress, and cooler nights have helped encourage pollination and grain fill. Still, rainfall is urgently needed, with large-scale rain unlikely without tropical storms.

Prinzen and Agostino current assessments suggest Ontario corn could average around 190 bushels per acre, similar to the dry 2022 season, while soybeans may fall below 50 bushels due to pod abortion, wilting plants, and pests such as spider mites and aphids. One positive outcome of this year’s weather is reduced disease pressure, with tar spot levels much lower than last year.

Final yields, will of course, have an impact on yield and commodity prices, so for farmers trying to decide when to book the price for their corn and soybeans, they can follow the tour each day on X (formerlyTwitter) with #ONYield25 for expert commentary, photos, insight and videos.

Two events will take place at the end of the tour where yield estimates will be shared, the first event will be held in Osgoode on August 21st, and the second event will be held on August 28th in Woodstock at Discovery Farm. There is no fee to attend, but there is limited seating, so registrations will be accepted on a first come, first served basis.

Farmers who attend one of the events will earn a chance to win a Terralynx Muilti-Spectral Imagery prize package worth $2,500 and a chance to enter the yield contest for a chance to win a prize package worth $1,600, consisting of Maizex Seed and a complimentary subscription to Farms.com Risk Management.

The tour’s final events will feature industry experts. In Osgood, Dr. Peter H. Sikma will present on problem weeds like water hemp and fleabane, alongside a demonstration with Holly Byker. In Woodstock, Sean Castile from Purdue University will share research on maximizing soybean yields with early planting and sulfur application.

At the events, a panel of farmers who have participated in the Kernal King benchmark contest through Maizex, will share their high-yield strategies, including higher planting populations, tissue testing, and targeted nutrient management.

The 2025 Great Ontario Yield Tour offers valuable insights for farmers to learn from other farmers about weather challenges, innovative practices, and to aim for stronger yields in the future.

Click here to register to attend a Great Ontario Yield Tour Event: and don’t forget to follow the tour on X with #ONYield25.

For daily information and updates on agriculture commodity marketing and price risk management for North American farmers, producers, and agribusiness visit things; Farms.com Risk Management Website to subscribe to the program.



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