NCGA: Ideal Conditions Could Lead to New Corn Yield Contest Records
(8-19-04)
As projections
of a record average yield continue to circulate throughout the
Corn
Belt, this year’s National Corn Yield
Contest (NCYC) is sure to produce some eye-popping entries, according
to the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA).
Though not
all of the contest registration forms have been processed, NCGA
is expecting
a near-record number of entries this year. And
if the harvest forms that have already been submitted are any indication,
this year’s contest is shaping up to be the best ever, the
contest’s manager said.
“We’ve already received a significant number of harvest
report forms from farmers in several southern states,” said
Richard Glass, NCGA vice president of research and business development. “And
many of those growers who have already harvested their crop recorded
very impressive yields. This is going to be a remarkable year for
individual yields.”
Glass reminded
growers that the deadline to submit harvest forms is Dec. 1,
adding the
forms are available for download on NCGA’s
Web
site.
The U.S. Department
of Agriculture’s August crop report
projects a record yield of 148.9 bushels per acre, up from last
year’s yield of 142.2 bushels per acre. Thanks to ideal growing
conditions in many parts of the Corn Belt, Glass said the yields
that win this year’s contest could be even higher than those
from a year ago.
“The top yield in all classes last year was nearly 322 bushels
per acre,” he said. “While that’s an amazingly
high yield, we may see even more impressive entries this year because
of the ideal conditions experienced in many parts of the country.
The reports that we’re hearing from crop scouts are very
encouraging.”
A total of
3,601 farmers from 47 states entered the contest in 2003, marking
the second
highest number of entries in the contest’s
38-year history. The record was set in 1996 with 3,679 entries.
Winners of
this year’s
NCYC will be honored at the February 2005 Commodity Classic in
Austin, Texas, the combined convention
and trade show of NCGA and the American Soybean Association (ASA).
Along with national recognition, winners receive prizes from participating
seed and crop protection companies.