With the deadline for entries to the 2008 National Corn Yield Contest having come and gone, staff at the National Corn Growers Association are reaping a bumper crop of entries that surpasses the record number of entries seen last year.

While 2007’s contest netted nearly 5,000 entries from 46 states, NCGA estimates this year’s number to be more than 6,000 – almost twice as many entries as two years ago.

“We’ve seen a great response this year – especially when you consider that growers were very concerned about their crops just a few months ago, with late planting and cold, wet weather,” said David Ward, chairman of NCGA’s Production and Stewardship Action Team. “Our corn growers are resilient and, thanks to technology, are working their crops in an efficient and more sustainable manner while producing enough to meet all needs.”

On Aug. 12, the U.S. Department of Agriculture projected a corn crop of 12.3 billion bushels, the second highest in history. And although the number of acres planted is down, the USDA estimates an average national yield of 155 bushels per acre, helping fuel corn growers’ competitive drive.

“Our members love this program because it gives them the opportunity to learn, to compete and to shine,” said Matt Gibson, chairman of NCGA’s Grower Services Action Team. “For more than four decades this program has been an important part of what we do, and growers embrace it as a way to become better farmers.”

Completing Harvest Forms

Ward and Gibson pointed out that the new harvest form will be available online shortly. While it can be filled out online, it still needs to be printed, signed and mailed to NCGA with all required documentation.

With the new harvest form, when entrants fill in their membership number, all of their 2008 entries will come up on a selection screen. After an entry is selected, a corresponding First Harvest Report Form will come up with all of the current information completed. The remaining information can be filled in at that point, and the harvest data will be calculated. A supervisor screen will read contest data by last name and state to automatically complete supervisor fields. If the supervisor is not in the system, he or she will be able to enter all of the needed new supervisor information.

Finally, as noted, the First Harvest Report Form must be printed, all of the supporting documentation attached, complete signatures and prepared to mail to NCGA. A screen will ask if a recheck was required and, if one was completed, a Recheck Harvest Report Form will come up and contain all of the information from the First Harvest Report Form to the point where only the new row measurements, gross weight, tare weight, moisture test and supervisors must be provided. The recheck form is to be printed and mailed to NCGA with the First Harvest Report Form. NCGA must have the supporting documents and signatures for a complete Harvest Report Form.