By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
For the first time, Quebec is kicking off a crop tour to scout corn and soybean fields to predict 2014 crop yields. The three-day tour is being done primarily by bicycle, and a small convoy of cars. About 12 people are experiencing the tour by bicycle and are expected to cover about 70 kilometers over the course of the next three-days. There are also teams of people scouting the corn and soybean fields estimating yields. The crop tour is a rain or shine event.
The tour began Tuesday, September 2 and will conclude on Thursday, Sept. 4. On Friday Sept. 5, there will be a producer-focused event that will feature an overview of the tour, and final yield estimates will be presented. About 400 to 500 farmers are expected to attend. In addition to the presentations, there will also be helicopter rides and UAV demonstrations onsite.
One of the honoured guests present at the inaugural crop tour, is Moe Agostino, Chief Commodity Strategist for Farms.com Risk Managment. This summer, Agostino hosted his third annual U.S. Corn Belt crop tour, where he covered 12-states in the span of two weeks.
He said it was an honour to be asked to participate in a crop tour a little closer to home, the neighbouring province of Ontario, where Agostino is based. “Overall the crops look pretty healthy,” he said in an interview. He would like to thank Daniel Briere who works for Brina, and Jean-Philippe Boucher from Grainwiz for extending the invite for him to participate.
Agostino is live-tweeting from the tour at @FarmsMarketing. On his Twitter account, you will find a series of tweets and photos providing highlights of the tour in action. The risk management team also welcomes questions from farmers who are interested about the tour happenings. When Agostino is not busy participating in crop tours, he provides grain and hog marketing advice. For more information about his services visit www.riskmanagement.farms.com.
(Contributed photo from Grainwiz)