An area grower has been named a state winner in the 1999 National Corn Yield Contest (NCYC), sponsored by the National Corn Growers Associa-tion (NCGA).

Jimmy and Edna Elder, Linwood, placed first in the state in the A Ridge-Till Non Irrigated Class, with a yield of 186.4847 bushels per acre. The hybrid used in the winning field was Pioneer 3335.

The local grower was one of 487 state winners named out of a total of 3,049 entrants from 44 states in the contest’s nine classes. The 487 winners produced an average yield of 206.4 bushels per acre, which was up 2.0 bushels per acre from last year’s average winning yield, and 12.2 bushels higher than the 194.2-bushel average for all contest entrants. Top yield in the popular contest was 393.7 bushels per acre, produced by a grower in Manchester, Iowa.

“Our growers have once again overcome adversity to produce outstanding yields,” said NCGA President Lynn Jensen of Lake Preston, S.D. “The growers who obtained these yields have demonstrated their true skills and knowledge when it comes to production agriculture.”

Jensen noted that many of the growers produced these remarkable yields despite huge weather obstacles late planting in some areas due to spring rains and severe drought in other areas later in the growing season.

The top national yields ranged from 224.65 bushels per acre in the A Ridge-Till Non Irrigated Class to 393.73 bushels per acre in the AA Non-Irrigated Class. Average yields, by class, ranged from 170.0 bushels per acre in the A No-Till Non-Irrigated Class to 212.8 bushels per acre in the Irrigated Class.

The goal of the National Corn Yield Contest is to provide farmers with information that can help improve their methods of production to increase profitability, while addressing environmental concerns. Contest participants also improve their operations by getting a unique opportunity to compare their own proven corn production capabilities with other farmers in their state and across the country.

Farmers are encouraged through the contest to develop new, efficient production techniques. Fertilizer is one example of the improved efficiency being reflected in the contest. The average commercial nitrogen use per bushel of yield was 0.97 of a pound for all entrants and 0.99 of a pound for winning entrants, significantly less than the agronomic requirement of 1. 1 to 1.2 pounds per bushel.