Last year was a challenging year for corn growers, but the winners in the 2011 National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) National Corn Yield Contest proved that good yields are still possible with good crop protection.
Nearly two-thirds (61%) of the winners for last year’s growing season used a BASF Crop Protection product to achieve their outstanding yields, according to the folks at BASF Crop Protection. They report that half of the 18 national winners applied Headline® fungicide or Headline AMP™ fungicide to their winning cornfields, and contest winners also used other BASF crop protection products including Guardsman Max® herbicide and Status® herbicide.
In the national 2011 NCGA Yield Contest, BASF Crop Protection products helped to capture three first-place finishes, four second-place finishes and three third-place finishes. Headline AMP was overwhelmingly the fungicide of choice, helping yield four of the top five overall national winners.
For the third consecutive year, David Hula of Charles City, Virginia, had the highest overall yield. By producing 429.02 bushels per acre (bu/A), Hula’s winning fields more than doubled the national yield average. Hula utilized Headline AMP on his winning cornfields.
“I’ve used Headline on my winning yields for the past two years. This year I used Headline AMP, which includes the same active ingredient as Headline fungicide but with an added triazole, and my corn looked better than ever,” Hula said. “Each year, BASF fungicides prove an ability to fight disease, provide Plant Health benefits and help maximize yields. There are a lot of things when you’re growing corn that aren’t predictable, but the fungicides from BASF always provide consistent reliability.”
Winners in the contest will be recognized on Friday, March 2, at the National Corn Yield Contest State Award Winners Breakfast during the 2012 Commodity Classic in Nashville.