The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board (MGPUB) would like to congratulate Drew Haines of Midletown, MD for being named a national winner of the 2016 National Corn Yield Contest. Haines placed second in the non-irrigated division of the contest with a yield of 324.9316 bushels per acre. He used the DEKALB DKC58-83RIB variety to achieve this high yield. This variety has been an all-time favorite of Hanes, who has found it to be very successful over the past five years.
This was Haines’ second year entering the cntest. LAst year, he was a Maryland state winner in the no-till/strip-till, non-irrigated class using DEKALB DKC62-08RIB variety. He won the class for Maryland as well again this year using the same variety, with a yield of 315.5972 bushels per acre. “There is potential in every bag of seed, you j ust need to figure out how to reach that potential.” Haines said, “it is exciting as you are harvest the corn plot acres off, watching the yield monitor show places in the field that are over 400 bushels per acre. Now the challenge is how to get that yield for the entire field,” he recounts.
Haines was first interested in entering the contest ater reading about Herman Warsaw began harvest recording-breaking yields in the 1970s. “I found a video and must have watched it fifteen times,” he jokes. Haines was impressed to learn that Warsaw broke 338 bushels per acre in 1975, and 370 bushels per acre ten years later in 1985 without access to any of today’s modern technology. Haines tries to incorporate some of Warsaw’s techniques, as well as new scientific advances in his farming.
Maryland state winners in the national corn yield contest are as follows:
- Non-irrigated: Drew Haines of Middletown (324.9 bu/a), Jarod Smith ofWhite Hall, Bruce Bartz of Denton, Brad Rill of Hampstead, Edward Appenzeller Jr of Millington, and Gregory Dell of Wesminster.
- No-Till/Strip-Till: Drew Haines of Middletown (315.6 bu/s), Brad Rill of Hampstead, Tom Walsh of Hampstead, and Ed Lippy of Hampstead.
- No-Till/Strip-Till Irrigated: Bruce Bartz of Denton (311.6 bu/a), Edward Appenzeller of Millington, Michael Bostic of Church Hill, and Gary King of Princess Anne
- Irrigated: Randall Willin Jr of Seford (289.6 bu/a), Bruce Bartz of Denton, Michael Bostic of church Hill, and Dan Dulin of Queen Anne.
Improved seed varieties, advanced productino techniques, and innovative growing practices helped Maryland corn growers achieve ever-higher yields in this year’s contest. The NCGA’s 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 nationwide.
Winners receive national recognition in publications such as the NCYC Corn Yield Guide, as well as cash trips or other awards from participating sponsoring seed, chemical and crop protection companies. In San Antonio, durig the 2017 Commodity Classic, winners will be honored during the NCGA Awards Banquet and the NCYC State Winners Breakfast.
Please visit National Corn Growers Associatin website www.ncga.com for the complete list of National and State winners. For more informaiton, contact Maryland Grain Producers.
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