Today is opening day for the National Corn Growers Association’s National Corn Yield Contest. Baseball and growing record corn yields may have little in common on the surface, but both feature intense competition, months of preparation and good old-fashioned hard work.
Farmers have through July 31. This year marks the 55th year for the contest that began with 20 entries from four states. Last year, 7,258 growers from 46 states entered.
“NCGA wants to challenge you to take advantage of this opportunity to explore new ideas and production techniques while gleaning knowledge to enhance your future yield potential,” Linda Lambur, yield contest manager, said in a news release. “It’s not just about big yields but promoting innovative production methods and sharpening management skills. It’s about being more precise in how we grow each bushel of corn and that ultimately will make corn production more sustainable.”
A farmer must have an NCGA membership number, which can only be obtained from NCGA, to enter the contest. Call 636-733-5512 or email ncyc@ncga.com to obtain your membership number or to create a new membership number. Your full name, mailing address, phone number and email address are required.
Winners will receive national recognition in publications as well as other awards from participating sponsoring seed, chemical and crop protection companies.
State winners also will be recognized at the 2020 Commodity Classic, slated for Feb. 27-29 in San Antonio, Texas, and national winners receive awards at the NCGA’s Evening Awards Banquet. You can find both entry and harvest rules on the Corn Yield Contest website. A list of state winners and their respective yields also is found on the website.