Herbert E. Moore of Robeson County achieved top honors in the 2018 North Carolina Corn Yield contest with a yield of 290.96 bushels per acre in the irrigated division.

Moore and other yield contest winners were recognized at the 30^th North Carolina Commodities Conference in Durham.

The statewide champion in the dryland division was Stuart Askew of Gates County with a yield of 274.55 bushels per acre. This was also the highest dryland no-till entry and Askew received the dryland no-till award as well.

For his statewide irrigated division win, Moore planted DeKalb DKC2-08 at a rate of 40,000 seeds per acre in 20-inch rows. Moore’s entry was also the highest yielding no-till entry in the irrigated division, so he received the no-till champion award in the division as well.

For the statewide dryland division win, Askew planted Dyna-Gro 58VC65 in 36-inch rows at a population of 32,800 seeds per acre. Askew was also the dryland yield winner for the Tidewater Region in the yield contest.

In presenting the awards, Dr. Tom Melton, deputy director of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, noted that due to Hurricane Florence, only 89 entries from 33 different counties were entered in the 2018 North Carolina Corn Yield contest. The statewide average yield for the contest was 233.7 bushels per acre, just one bushel per acre less than the average in 2017.

Melton said 39 different varieties from nine different seed companies were represented in the contest. He said 57 percent of the yields entered were produced using no-till farming practices while 43 percent used conventional-tillage.

In the dryland yields, the contest is broken down by division. For the irrigated division, awards are given without regard to geographical location.

For the Tidewater area, the winner in the dryland division was Stuart Askew of Gates County.

For the Northern Coastal Plain area, the winner was Vick Family Farms of Wilson County with a yield of 242.73 bushels per acre. DeKalb DK67-44 was planted in 40-inch rows at a population of 25,000 seeds per acre.

For the Southern Coastal Plain area, the winner was Andy Pope of Sampson County with a yield of 271.78 bushels per acre. He planted Pioneer 2089 YHR in 30-inch rows at a rate of 27,500 seeds per acre.

For the Northern Piedmont area, the winner for the second year in a row is Johnson Farm Operation of Surry County with a yield of 260.27 bushels per acre. They planted Pioneer 1555 in 30-inch rows at a rate of 32,000 seeds per acre.

For the Southern Piedmont area, Lucas Richards of Catawba County was the winner with a yield of 258.16 bushels per acre. Richards planted DeKalb DK67-44 in 20-inch rows at 36,000 plants per acre.

For the Mountain area, the winner was Wood Farm LLC of Cherokee County with a yield of 267.22 bushels per acre. They planted DeKalb 66-97 in 30-inch rows at a rate of 30,500 plants per acre.