Mike Hawman Supervisors Philip B. Hamm NCGA Representative Ore. State University Extension Donald Horneck Agronomist Ore. State University Extension Rick Weigel Assistant Vice President Key Bank of Washington PHILLIP AND MIKE HAWMAN HAWMAN FARMS INC. Hermiston, Ore. 295.1148 BU/A Pioneer 34N43 Harvest pop.: 38,000 Harvester: JD 9610 Without irrigation, father and son Phillip and Mike Hawman couldn’t grow anything on their farm. “In our country here in eastern Oregon, we’re in desert,” says Mike, noting that they applied about 30” of water throughout the growing season. “As long as the Columbia River has plenty of water, we can irrigate.” Hawmans’ main enterprise is growing perennial ryegrass and bluegrass for seed for the turf industry. The pair enter the contest whenever they grow corn. Since corn requires more water than their other crops, it’s a high-input crop there. The contest plot comes from a flat, 125-acre circle under pivot irrigation. Soil is sandy loam. “It doesn’t matter where we take the yield. Yields are consistent through that whole field,” Hawman says. Their growing prowess has earned them national titles in the contest several times over the last 10 years. They like seeing how they rate with the rest of the nation’s corn growers and trying to do better than they did the year before. “We’re always striving to do our best,” he adds, noting that they’re in a corndeficient region. “When high yields are there and the whole field is doing that, we know we’re making money.” They began preparing the contest plot, which had been in perennial ryegrass the year before, by deep-ripping in fall. They sprayed Axiom and atrazine preplant to control weeds in their minimumtillage system. Hawmans’ fertility program included about 30 lbs. of nitrogen, 30 lbs. of phosphorus and 10 lbs. of sulfur applied in a band at planting around April 10. Seeding rate was 40,000. The remainder of their nutrients went on through the pivot, up to 400 lbs. of nitrogen. All their corn, planted in 22" rows, gets the same treatment.
	Supervisors Kyle Aljoe Crop Consultant Crop Quest Inc. Tim Reh Agronomist Crop Quest Inc. Rick Auckerrman County Extension Agent Texas Cooperative Extension Richard Jackson Vice President First United Bank DON CARPENTER Dimmitt, Texas 290.2539 BU/A Pioneer 33B51 Harvest pop.: 37,500 Harvester: JD 9860 Don Carpenter takes his turn in the winners circle following last year’s win by son Donny. “We do not treat the test plots any differently than we do the rest of our operation.” Carpenter depends on strip tillage in his flat, sandy loam ground, where he rotates corn with cotton. A special plow chisels the row and disks push residue aside and smooth the planting area. The planter then inserts the seed in the strip. “It saves us a lot of trips with other equipment.” Carpenter, who is placing nationally for the first time, says he actually achieved better yields last year. A cool summer meant fewer heat units. Carpenter’s fertilizer program started with 10 tons of manure. He applied about 170 lbs. of dry urea with zinc and phosphorus preplant, then 32% liquid nitrogen through sprinkler irrigation for a total 400 units. He began running the sprinklers right after planting. He starts with a half-inch to wet the seed. Then he applies 1" to 1.5" weekly until a week or two before harvest. Carpenter has planted Pioneer 33B51 for several years, citing good standability and high yields. "Until something better comes along, I'll keep planting it," he says.		Supervisors Bob Estoup Field Technician IRZ Consulting Guy R. Madison Agronomist Watts Brothers William H. Frederickson Coordinator Franklin County Weed Board TODD AND DALAS HARRIS HARRIS BROTHERS LLC Pasco, Wash. 289.8806 BU/A Pioneer 34N43 Harvest pop.: 39,000 Harvester: JD 9610 Todd and Dalas Harris follow corn-growing strategies developed successfully by their father over the years. It’s a template that’s worked for the brothers numerous times. “Try and plant as early as you can. Guess the weather as best you can. The main key I see to our success is the application of potash two to three weeks prior to tasseling,” says Todd. That builds strong stalks and good test weights, he believes. Their contest field consists of sandy loam soil with a half-circle pivot for irrigation, which is critical in their arid climate. “We get nothing in the summertime,” Harris says, noting that they average 26" to 28" of annual irrigation and only 6" to 7" of annual rainfall. The field had been in hay previously. The brothers killed that with 2, 4-D and then sprayed Roundup preemergence. Their fertilizer program included 40 lbs. of nitrogen and 96 lbs. of potash applied in a band with the planter. Then when corn reached about 1', they applied about 30 lbs. of nitrogen weekly with the irrigation water. Then they added 25 to 30 lbs. of potash to the nitrogen in the last two or three weeks before tasseling.