Adam Stewart of Catawba County garnered the highest yield in the 2017 North Carolina Corn Yield Contest with a yield of 287.20 bushels per acre in the dryland division.

Stewart planted DynaGro 57VP51 in 15 inch rows at a population of 32,000 plants per acre. Stewart’s entry was also the contest winner for the Southern Piedmont area.

The corn yield awards were announced at the 29th annual North Carolina Commodities Conference in Durham Jan. 11. The contest received 219 entries from 42 different counties. Fifty-one different varieties among 12 different seed companies were represented. Fifty-six percent of the yields entered were produced using no-till farming practices while 44 percent used conventional tillage.

The statewide average yield for the contest was 232.86 bushels per acre, the highest average contest yield ever recorded. The contest was divided into a dryland division and irrigated division.

In the irrigated division, Henry Locklear Jr. of Robeson County garnered the highest yield of 277.01 bushels per acre. Locklear planted Pioneer PGY5115 at 40,000 plants per acre on 30 inch rows. Locklear’s yield of 277.01 bushels per acre was also the highest yielding entry in the no-till entry in the irrigated division so he won that division as well.

For the irrigated division, awards are given without regards to geographical regions. The dryland division is broken day by geographic regions.

The dryland winner for the Tidewater area is Glenn Pendleton of Pasquotank County with a yield of 278.03 bushels per acre. Pendleton planted DeKalb DKC65-20 in 26 inch rows at a plant population of 33,000 seeds per acre.

The winner for the Northern Coastal Plain Area is Harris Farms of Greene County for a yield of 266.29 bushels per acre. Harris Farms planted Agri-Gold 6499 in 30 inch rows at a population of 36,000 seeds per acre.

The winner for the Southern Coastal Plain are is Vince King of Pender County with a yield of 269.82 bushels per acre. King planted Pioneer 2089 in 30 inch rows at a rate of 32,000 seeds per acre.

The winner for the Northern Piedmont Area is Johnston Farm Operation of Surry County for a yield of 267.65 bushels per acre. They planted Pioneer 13111 in 30 inch rows at a rate of 34,000 seeds per acre.

The winner in the Mountain area is Wood Farm LLC of Cherokee County for a yield of 273.29 bushels per acre. They planted DynaGro 57VP51 in 30-inch rows at a rate of 34,000 plants per acre.