Kentucky Yield Contest Winners to be Honored

Chad Lee, Extension Agronomist, University of Kentucky

The 2014 Kentucky Extension Yield Contest Winners will receive their plaques and trophies at the 2015 Kentucky Commodity Conference on Friday, January 16, 2015 in Bowling Green, KY.

Farmers, supervisors and fans of the yield contest will attend the banquet starting at 6:30 pm. But, most farmers will arrive much earlier in the day to attend the full agenda.The Commodity Conference is organized by your commodity organizations: Kentucky Corn Growers Association, Kentucky Soybean Association and the Kentucky Small Grains Growers' Association. Numerous agricultural businesses help fund the conference. The Kentucky Extension Yield Contests are sponsored by these groups and businesses as well as the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. 

Corn Yield Contest Winners

Chad Lee, Extension Agronomist, University of Kentucky

We all knew that 2013 was a good year for corn in Kentucky. That good year resulted in some great yields in the corn contest. The 2013 Kentucky Yield Contest experienced the highest yield for a non-irrigated entry and the highest yield for an irrigated entry.

Greenwell Acres of Union County had the highest non-irrigated yield at 297.22 bushels per acre. The Schwenke Brothers of Boone County recorded 365.11 bushels per acre, which the highest yield measured in Kentucky for irrigated corn.  The Waller Brothers of Union County had the highest white corn yield, which was 294.22 bushels per acre. This also was the second-highest yield for any non-irrigated corn category.

The state winners are as follows.

2011 Wheat Yield Contest Winners

Chad Lee, Extension Agronomist, University of Kentucky

The 2011 Kentucky Extension Wheat Yield Contest winners are reported below. The top overall yield was 112.07 bushels per acre reported by Double P Farms in Todd County. The top no-till yield was 107.53 bushels per acre submitted by Duncan Gillum.

Missouri Soybean Yield Record Broken Again

Chad Lee, Extension Agronomist, University of Kentucky

The Missouri Soybean Association announced that Kip Cullers has broken the record again with a soybean yield of 160.6 bu/acre in the 2010 Missouri Soybean Yield and Quality Contest. To make this valid entry, Kip had to harvest at least two (2) acres and then harvest a re-check of at least (2) acres. This contest field had to be in a field of at least 10 acres in size. A person approved by the Missouri Soybean Association monitored both the check and re-check.

Kip is no stranger to winning the Missouri Soybean Yield and Quality Contest, having recorded yields near 155 and 139 bu/acre in 2006 and 2008, respectively. He is a very intelligent producer and really works hard at finding ways to boost yields.

There is no doubt that each producer reading this is curious as to just how Kip is doing this. What are his production secrets? There is no doubt that if I worked for a company with a product that was used in Kip's fields, I would advertise it like crazy this fall and winter. Since I work for the university, let me caution against getting extremely excited about any one product by itself. As Kip says, there is no silver bullet to high yields.

Kip is employing a very unique system in his operation. It is that overall system that is generating phenomenal yields. Weather is a major player as well. Kip isn't getting these record-breaking yields every year and weather is a major factor in that.

So, as you look at some of the products used on Kip's fields, remember that these products are being used in a very unique system. . . your challenge and mine is to determine what components of his management system might apply to a non-irrigated Huntington, Pembroke or Crider soil in Kentucky.

I am sure there will be more to come on this topic as the fall and winter sales season unfolds.

Click here to see the original press release from the Missouri Soybean Board.

Click here to see the Missouri Soybean Yield and Quality Contest rules.

Yield Contests for Corn and Soybean

The corn and soybean yield contest forms are now available online at the Grain Crops Extension website and the Kentucky Yield Contest Site.

Both of these contests are opereated through the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service and funded by the Kentucky Corn Growers Association, the Kentucky Soybean Board and agricultural industry.

Rules and guidelines are very similar to the 2008 contest. For the 2009 contest, we are asking for soil series (Huntington, Crider, Pembroke, etc.).

The National Corn Growers Association also has the NCGA Corn Contest, which has state and national winners. The rules and regulations are more restrictive than the Kentucky Corn Yield Contest. A farmer may submit a copy of the NCGA entry form to the Kentucky Yield Contest.

For more information about these contests, please contact your extension agent.

Wheat and Barley Yield Contests

Harvest forms and rules for the Wheat and Barley yield contests are available at:
http://www.uky.edu/Ag/GrainCrops/YieldContest/YieldContests.htm

The barley contest is new this year and is being administered by the University of Kentucky, but is fully sponsored through Osage BioEnergy, a company interested in turning barley into fuel ethanol.

The wheat yield contest is administered by the University of Kentucky and is sponsored by the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, Kentucky Small Grain Growers and several agribusinesses.

While the entry forms are different, the rules are very similar for the two contests. Contact your county extension agent if you have questions/comments about either contest.