One Deadline Remaining to Register for NCGA's Corn Yield Contest (7-3-03)
Corn growers, check your
calendars. Only one deadline remains to enter the National Corn Growers
Association's (NCGA) 2003 National Corn Yield Contest (NCYC). As of
July 1 682 entries have been received, with nearly 3,000 expected
before the final Aug. 1 deadline.
NCGA Production and Stewardship
Action Team Chairman Gene Baumgardner said the CYC is a significant
tool for NCGA and a platform for corn growers to show off their production
abilities while maintaining their stewardship responsibilities. "The
Corn Yield Contest is a very important program," said the Pickerington,
Ohio, corn grower. "It's a great membership builder, it makes
people aware of the National Corn Growers Association."
In 2002, the contest fielded
more than 3,286 entries from 46 states, topping 2001's total despite
disastrous weather conditions throughout much of the nation. The resulting
top yields from farmers who placed first, second, and third nationally
in the respective categories ranged from 442.14 to 214.86 bushels
per acre.
This year's weather has
also been a challenge to the nation's corn growers, but Baumgardner
doesn't feel it will deter growers from entering the contest. "It's
hard to determine what effect the weather will have," he said,
"but we're going to continue to see strength in the CYC because
of the program that it is.
"In our case here
in Ohio," Baumgardner continued, "we had 60 days of rain
and it made things pretty tough for us. But if you look around, you
see some fields that look fabulous and some fields that look absolutely
awful. I think there are still going to be growers who are going to
participate in the program and it will be another good year for the
contest."
Winners of this year's
NCYC will be honored at the 2004 Commodity Classic, the combined convention
and trade show of the NCGA and the American Soybean Association (ASA),
March 2-4 in Las Vegas. Along with national recognition, winners receive
prizes from participating seed and crop protection companies.
The entry fee
for the Aug. 1 deadline is $85. Entry forms are posted on the NCGA
web site at http://www.ncga.com/02profits/CYC/CYCform/entry.html.
For more information on this year's NCYC, contact Judy Hall at 636-922-7223
or e-mail at hall@ncga.com.