Golden Harvest Farmers Achieve Top Honors with Corn and Soybean Yields
As Golden Harvest celebrates 50 years as a seed company that partners with farmers to deliver custom solutions for each unique agronomic challenge, it is proud to recognize farmers who achieved top honors in the 2023 National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Yield Contest with Golden Harvest hybrids and the “Go for the Gold” yield contest with Golden Harvest soybeans.
“We are excited to share the celebration of our long-term commitment to farmers with these corn and soybean yield top finishers who overcame the challenges of the last season and achieved great results with Golden Harvest hybrids and varieties,” said Kramer Farney, Golden Harvest head of marketing. “These farmers are raising the bar for corn and soybean yield potential, and we look forward to delivering innovative corn and soybean products and in-depth seed expertise combined with local agronomic know-how.”
Top finishers of the annual corn yield contest conducted by the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) who planted Golden Harvest hybrids and earned a trip to the 2024 Commodity Classic are:
- Reid Pfau, Upham, North Dakota – No-till Non-Irrigated Class, with Golden Harvest corn G80Q01-V Brand, yielding 188.3 bu/A.
- Glen Thoene, Hartington, Nebraska – Conventional Non-Irrigated Class, with Golden Harvest corn G11V76-AA Brand, yielding 256.17 bu/A.
- John Ruzicka, Bancroft, Wisconsin – No-till Irrigated Class, with Golden Harvest corn G02K39-AA Brand, yielding 267.68 bu/A.
- Lance and Kemp MaKeeff, Minot, North Dakota – No-till Irrigated Class, with Golden Harvest corn G82B12-AA Brand, yielding 210.84 bu/A.
- Lincoln Winner, New Weston, Iowa – Conventional Non-Irrigated Class, with Golden Harvest corn G12S75-D Brand, yielding 322.15 bu/A.
- David Bergquist, Turtle Lake, North Dakota – No-till Irrigated Class, with Golden Harvest corn G80Q01-V Brand, yielding 209.62 bu/A.
- John Stasiak, Holmen, Wisconsin – Strip-till, Minimum-Till, Ridge-Till Class, with Golden Harvest corn G08R52-V Brand, yielding 268.18 bu/A.
- Chuck and Mark Fahey, Belleville, Wisconsin – Strip-till, Minimum-Till, Ridge-Till Class, with Golden Harvest corn G11V75-D Brand, yielding 290.04 bu/A.
Particularly impressive was the outstanding showing of Lincoln Winner, a high school junior and Versailles, Ohio FFA member, who placed second in the NCGA contest in Ohio, with an overall yield of 322.15 bushels per acre.
“I was excited to hear the results,” said Winner. “It was the first time I’ve entered the contest and I feel very fortunate to have placed at this level. The G12S75-D Brand is a game-changing hybrid for us. It has excellent seed vigor and early growth resulting in great root structure. It has impressive kernel depth and great test weight.”
Winner’s second-place finish put him just ahead of his younger brother Roger’s contest entry with G10L16-DV Brand, which finished seventh overall in the state of Ohio. They are the sons of Brian and Lisa Winner of New Weston.
Lincoln says he values the contribution and support from Golden Harvest.
“The Golden Harvest team is great to work with,” he says. “They continue to have hybrids available that have great trait packages.”
Go for the Gold
The “Go for the Gold” soybean yield contest recognizes farmers who achieved top soybean yields with Golden Harvest soybeans during the 2023 growing season. The winning farmers who earned a trip to the 2024 Commodity Classic are:
- Kyle Hawkins, Bogard, Missouri – Yielded 103.4 bu/A with Golden Harvest soybean GH4222XF Brand.
- Aaron Kull, Lancaster, Ohio – Yielded 93.87 bu/A with Golden Harvest soybean GH 3373E3S Brand.
- Jay Hynek, Hanover, Kansas – Yielded 83.5 bu/A with Golden Harvest soybean GH4222XF Brand.
- Steve Knorr, Coleharbor, North Dakota – Yielded 79.25 bu/A with Golden Harvest soybean GH0502XF Brand.
- Holly Wolle, Saint James, Minnesota – Yielded 95.36 bu/A with Golden Harvest soybean GH2292E3 Brand.
- Kyle Rickelman, Ferdinand, Indiana – Yielded 98.6 bu/A with Golden Harvest soybean GH3762E3S Brand.
- Chris Weaver, Finksburg, Maryland – Yielded 126.33 bu/A with Golden Harvest soybean GH4222XF Brand.
- Mark Doty, Grinnell, Iowa – Yielded 101.5 bu/A with Golden Harvest soybean GH3192XF Brand.
- Dale Prater, Fillmore, Illinois – Yielded 103.31 bu/A with Golden Harvest soybean GH4433E3 Brand.
- Chris Compagner, Dorr, Michigan – Yielded 97.22 bu/A with Golden Harvest soybean GH2922E3 Brand.
- Devin Bell, Sidney, Montana – Yielded 69.51 bu/A with Golden Harvest soybean GH0502XF Brand.
- John Ruzicka, Bancroft, Wisconsin – Yielded 89.08 bu/A with Golden Harvest soybean GH2292E3 Brand.
“I used Golden Harvest “05” (GH0502XF Brand) because it has been a great bean for my area,” says Steve Knorr, from Coleharbor, ND. “It has the characteristics that I believed were going to “Go for the Gold” and it proved out.”
Knorr says he looks for varieties that have the potential to put nodes on since nodes equate to branches, branches equate to flowers and flowers determine pods.
“The more nodes I can have on the plant the better,” says Knorr. “Golden Harvest has a great breeding program that produces genetics that can excel in our environment. That’s key to the growth and good results, especially in western North Dakota. Finding varieties and germplasms that excel in our environments is a key to success.”
Knorr adds that he will be “100% Golden Harvest on my farm in 2024. The varieties are proven, and I get great support from our dealer and Golden Harvest agronomist. We’re excited to be part of the Golden Harvest team in our area.”
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