Corn is still being harvested in the Western Panhandle, due to almost daily rains slowing progress. What looked like it would be an awful year in April and early May, has ended up rather positive. Much of the corn in the western counties experience a long, cool spring with dry conditions, resulting in corn on dryland acreage standing at waist height till much needed rains began to fall. Many growers are reporting 180 bushels or more in terms of yield.
One Santa Rosa grower, Ryan Jenkins, entered his corn into the National Corn Growers Association Yield Contest. This annual contest is a good way to test trials on your own farm and see how you compete in your state and across the nation. The NCGA’s National Corn Yield Contest usually has an early entry deadline that reduces the cost of each plot, and then the price goes up in mid August. All harvest forms are due by November 30, with contest winners announced in December, preparing winners to participate in the next year’s Commodity Classic to receive recognition.
Ryan Jenkins likes to try out new methods against proven practices in his own corn field. For those interested in learning more about Jenkins Farm Corn Variety Trial, please watch the following video for more details.
