Manure was a key ingredient in Steve and Jarrod Hagena’s record corn yields for South Dakota in the 2017 National Corn Yield Contest.

Steve, of Davis, S.D., had the highest yield in South Dakota — 312.9 bushels per acre. His brother Jarrod had the second highest mark at 309.4 bushels per acre. Both broke South Dakota’s old corn yield record of 308 bushels per acre. The entries came in the irrigated category.

In North Dakota, Steve Huber of Berlin had the highest yield in the state in the contest — 285 bushels per acre. He won with a non-irrigated entry.

Dave Hula of Charles City, Va., had the top yield in the nation with 542 bushels per acre. He won in the no-till/strip-till irrigated category.

How they hit 300
The Hagena brothers farm with their dad, LaRohn in the southeast South Dakota, about 30 miles southwest of Sioux Falls. They raise corn and soybeans and finish cattle. Much of crop ground is irrigated and some of their land has been in continuous corn for 20 years.

In the fall of 2016, the Hagena brothers injected 7,000 gallons of liquid cattle manure per acre into corn fields they had chopped for silage. Each 1,000 gallons of manure contained 55 pounds of nitrogen, 25 pounds of phosphorus, 32 pounds of potash and 7 pounds of sulfur. As a result, they put on 385 pounds of N, 175 pounds of P, 224 pounds of K and 49 pounds of S per acre. After injecting the manure, they chisel plowed the field.

In the spring, they prepared the seedbed with a field cultivator and planted a new Dupont Pioneer corn hybrid, Pioneer P1366AM. They applied a 0-6-24 starter fertilizer with the seed. After planting, they applied the herbicide Acuron with 24 pounds of N per acre as a carrier. Later, they side dressed another 40 pounds of N per acre. No fungicide, postemergence herbicide or other products were applied.

Other winners

Other South Dakota and North Dakota winners in the yield contest by contest category, name, city, hybrid and yield in bushels per acre are:

South Dakota

• Non-irrigated

1) Daryl Akland, Beresford, Pioneer P1197AM, 267.8800.

2) Harold Wipf, Scotland, Pioneer, P1151AM, 266.3568.

3) Ronald Johnson, Alcester, Pioneer P1151AM, 265.0910.

• No-till/strip-till irrgiated

1) Scott McKeen, Hawarden, Pioneer P1151AMX, 289.1551.

2) Brian Hefty, Baltic, Hefty Seed H5504, 268.6369,

*) Brian Hefty, Baltic, Hefty Seed H5302, 268.

3) Travis Swisher, Groton, DeKalb DKC46-79RIB, 264.3085.

“*” indicates that the person placed higher in the same or another category.

• No-till/strip-till non-irrigated

1) Tyler and Jerry Poeschl, Yankton, Pioneer P1151AMX, 282.6467.

2) Darren Mosel, Chamberlain, DeKalb DKC62-97RIB, 264.9547.

*) Darren Mosel, Chamberlain, DeKalb DKC60-67RIB 261.2583

3) Tom Arens, Yankton, Pioneer P1197AMXT, 261.2575.

• Irrigated

1) Steve Hagena, Davis, Pioneer P1366AM, 312.9056.

2) Jarrod Hagena, Hurley, Pioneer P1366AM, 309.3789.

3) Dean Bosse, Elk Point, Pioneer P1197AM, 288.1263.

North Dakota

• Non-irrigated

1) Steve Huber, Berlin, DeKalb DKC44-15RIB, 285.8132,

2) Cody Frauenberg, LaMoure, DeKalb DKC45-66RIB, 282.1963.

*) James Frauenberg, LaMoure, DeKalb DKC45-66RIB, 278.0268.

3) Laura Nelson, LaMoure, DeKalb DKC45-66RIB 269.9043

• No-till/Strip-till irrigated

1) Bobby Frauenberg, LaMoure, DeKalb DKC45-65RIB 272.5817

*) Donna Frauenberg, LaMoure, DeKalb DKC45-65RIB 270.5665

2) Amy Frauenberg, LaMoure, DeKalb DKC45-65RIB 265.2429

3) Cara Myers, Colfax, DeKalb DKC51-40RIB 236.9366

• No-till/strip-till non-irrigated

1) James Frauenberg, LaMoure, DeKalb DKC45-66RIB, 284.4113

*) Cody Frauenberg, LaMoure, DeKalb DKC45-66RIB, 281.1269

2) Justin Quandt, Oakes, Pioneer P0157AM, 271.2749

• Irrigated

1) Donna Frauenberg, LaMoure, Dekalb DKC45-65RIB, 283.8690.

*) Bobby Frauenberg, LaMoure, Dekalb, DKC47-48RIB, 281.1716.

2) Chad Vander Vorst, Pollock, Pioneer P9188AM, 275.7550.

*) Chad Vander Vorst, Pollock, Pioneer P0157AM, 272.7931.

*) Chad Vander Vorst, Pollock, Pioneer P9998AMXT, 272.2077.

3) John Quandt, Oakes, Curry 720-02AM, 264.6688.