Drought and heat aside, Seed Consultants, Inc. is still giving away hybrid corn for 2013 for winners in the 2012 Crop Watch contest. First place in both Indiana and Ohio will receive eight bags of seed, second will receive six and third place will receive four bags of hybrid corn.

Drought or no drought, you have a chance to win seed.

The original plan was to ask you to guess the yield of the Crop Watch field we've featured in the magazine and online all season. We will still follow the field in print and on the Web, and report final yield. However, weather at the site was so devastating that current estimates place the yield at 40 to 50 bushels per acre. "It comes down to knowing how much of each soil type is in the field and calculating accordingly," says Dave Nanda, director of genetics and technology for Seed Consultants, Inc.

So instead of guessing yield for the Crop Watch field, you can guess the Indiana state corn yield or Ohio state corn yield average, depending upon where you live, as reported by USDA in its October report. Feel free to use the August and September reports as guides. It's still not a 'gimme,' since USDA may find pinpointing corn yields consistently challenging in 2012.

You can look for an entry form in either Indiana Prairie Farmer or Ohio Farmer in the September issue. Or you can enter by email. If entering by email, include your name, address, home and cell phone numbers, email contact, web site if you have one, and number of acres you raise of various crops. And most importantly, don't forget to include your guess as to what USDA will announce on October 11 as your state's corn yield average. Your email entry is due by 11:59 p.m. EDT on October 10. Mail entries must be postmarked by October 10.

Please submit just one entry per family. The person coming closest to the actual estimate will be the winner. Round your estimate to tenths of a bushel. In case of ties, winners will be determined by drawing. Winners will be notified by Nov. 1.

For more information or to enter by email, send to: [email protected] in Indiana or to: [email protected] in Ohio. .