From our friends at On the Farm Radio:

It came close, but no cigar. The current world record for corn production yield remains in Virginia.

The National Corn Growers Association has released the official results of the 2016 National Corn Yield Contest and it was Randy Dowdy of Valdosta, Georgia who achieved the highest yield of corn for grain in 2016. Dowdy’s verified entry was grown using AgriGold A6499 STX/RIB seed yielding 521.39 bushels per acre (just 11 bushels short of the standing world record). Dowdy grew the crop using no-till/strip till methods with irrigation.

The standing world record yield of 532.02 bushels per acre was achieved in 2015 by grower David Hula of Charles City, Virginia. Hula placed second in this year’s contest with an entry of 485.03 bushels per acre

The National Corn Yield Contest is now in its 52nd year and remains NCGA’s most popular program for members. Participation in the contest remained strong in 2016, with 7,972 entries received.

 “The contest provides farmers more than just an opportunity for friendly competition; it generates data that impacts future production practices across the industry,” said Brent Hostetler, chair of NCGA’s Stewardship Action Team. “The techniques first developed by contest winners grow into far-reaching advances, helping farmers across the country excel in a variety of situations.  Our contest emphasizes innovation both from growers and technology providers, thus enabling us to meet the growing demand for food, feed, fuel and fiber.”

 Notable entries from around the Mid-Atlantic region include:

 * Class A non-irrigated

• Heath Cutrell         Chesapeake VA             347.23 bpa

• Drew Haines          Middletown MD            324.93 bpa

 * Irrigated

• Kevin Matthews    East Bend, NC                 304.87 bpa

• Doug Scipioni        Newmanstown, PA        261.28 bpa

 * No-till/strip till irrigated

• Robert Garey        Felton, DE                301.60 bpa

• Bruce Bartz           Denton, MD            311.61 bpa