Corn harvest in Kansas will be here before you know it. Corn producers in the state are encouraged to keep in mind the Kansas Corn Yield Contest before they fire up the combines this year.
Kansas Corn, in conjunction with K-State Research and Extension, will conduct a 2018 Kansas Corn Yield Contest. All Kansas corn producers are eligible to enter the contest, but they must be active members of the Kansas Corn Growers Association.
The contest is a fun way for producers to showcase their high yielding and high quality corn with other growers in the state, and provide motivation to producers to increase yields. The contest also serves as a vehicle to improve farming operations and increase awareness of best management practices (BMPs) to improve and sustain corn yields.
In addition to grower recognition, cash awards will be presented to the 1st ($300), 2nd ($200), and 3rd ($100) place winners for the 10 districts across Kansas. The districts align with crop reporting districts, plus a NNE district was created to include Doniphan and parts of Brown and Atchison. The overall highest yields in the dryland and irrigated categories each will receive an additional $500. All farmers entering the contest and completing the harvest form will receive a shirt from Kansas Corn. Contest winners will be recognized at the Kansas Corn Symposium in late January 2019.
The contest is free of charge to members of the Kansas Corn Growers Association. Pre-registration must be complete by August 30, 2018 or prior to harvest. All entries must be postmarked by December 1, 2018. The contest is divided into “dryland” and “irrigated” categories in all 9 Kansas crop reporting districts plus a 10th district in NNE Kansas (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Dryland and irrigated contest districts. Note: NNE includes only those fields north and/or east of KS Hwy 73 in Brown, Doniphan, and Atchison counties.
Figure 2. Kansas contest winner entries to the National Corn Contest from 2011-2106. Yield values along the x-axis are in bushels per acre. Graph produced by Ignacio Ciampitti, K-State Research and Extension.
All contest rules and required entry forms can be found online at https://kscorn.com/yield/
If a producer has interest in submitting an entry in the Kansas Corn Yield Contest, they need:
- A minimum of field size of 10 acres with only 1 entry per field allowed
- A KSRE Extension Agent, FFA Advisor, lender, farm manager, or other impartial person to witness the harvest
- The entry/harvest form postmarked by December 1, 2018
The entry forms should be sent to:
Kansas Corn Yield Contest
Kansas Corn Growers Association
1310A Westloop Pl #285
Manhattan, KS 66502
Download here the entry form:
https://kscorn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Kansas-Corn-Yield-Contest-Harvest-Entry-Form.pdf
For any questions concerning the contest, please contact the individuals listed below.
Dale Fjell, Director of Research and Stewardship, Kansas Corn
dfjell@ksgrains.com, 785-410-5285
Ignacio A. Ciampitti, Crop Production and Cropping Systems Specialist, K-State Department of Agronomy
ciampitti@ksu.edu, 785-532-6940
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