BASF congratulated the country’s leading corn growers and their families for their leadership in embracing innovation at the National Corn Growers Association’s National Corn Yield Contest banquet at the 2008 Commodity Classic. Markus Heldt, head of the BASF North American crop protection division, joined NCGA president Ron Litterer to honor the winners.

Markus told the audience of almost 2,000 corn growers that BASF is working to help fill the information and innovation gap to help corn yields continue to break the yield barrier.

“How can it be possible for some growers to double the U.S. corn yield average?” he asked rhetorically, pointing to the national yield champions as examples of success. “At BASF, we believe that the gap is information and innovation, and we’re taking action to fill both those gaps by supporting education through scholarship programs and by building on our 143-year history of R&D investment, now totaling $450 million per year in crop protection.”

BASF has been a sponsor of NCGA’s National Corn Yield Contest for more than 20 years.

Listen to my interview with Markus here:
markus.mp3

AgWired coverage of the 2008 Commodity Classic
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Thanks to Ron Bolte of Stealth Productions for the banquet photos!