New Record Set in 2020 NSP Sorghum Yield Contest
LUBBOCK, Texas (Dec. 16, 2020) – National Sorghum Producers is proud to announce a new U.S. dryland sorghum yield record has been set at 245.86 bushels per acre by Ella Johnston of Fulton County, Pennsylvania, in the 35th National Sorghum Yield Contest.
Facing weather challenges, economic uncertainty and a challenging year overall, sorghum farmers showed resilience, continued to farm and produce high yielding sorghum, matching the pace of strengthened national average yields annually.
The 2020 National Sorghum Yield Contest had seven national winners, selected from three categories for both the eastern and western regions of the U.S, and one winner was selected for the food grade division. This year’s top yield and Bin Buster winner is Johnston’s dryland record of 245.86 bushels per acre achieved with Pioneer seed variety 84G62.
“The National Sorghum Yield Contest is an avenue to not only highlight the yield achievements of our producers but also to discover, learn and engage with our members from New Jersey to Idaho and in between,” NSP Board of Directors Chairman Kody Carson, a sorghum farmer from Olton, Texas, said. “This year demonstrates the resilience of our producers, and we are proud of those pushing boundaries and revealing the potential sorghum has in record-setting ways. These producers have prospered with high yield achievements in addition to strengthened prices for sorghum—a silver lining to the 2020 growing season—and I congratulate our winners and look forward to next year.”
The 2020 first place winners of the NSP Sorghum Yield Contest were Kimberly Gamble of Kansas in the Irrigated West category with a yield of 223.51 bushels per acre; Jeffrey Barlieb of New Jersey in the Irrigated East category with a yield of 200.71 bushels per acre; David Knoll of South Dakota in the Dryland-Tillage West category with a yield of 205.32 bushels per acre; Santino Santini Jr. of New Jersey in the Dryland-Tillage East category with a yield of 203.94 bushels per acre; Long Farms – Jerry and Sue Long of Kansas in the Dryland-No Till West category with a yield of 186.84 bushels per acre; Ella Johnston of Pennsylvania in the Dryland-No Till East category with a yield of 245.86 bushels per acre; and Stephanie Santini of New Jersey won the Food Grade category with a yield of 189.10 bushels per acre.
Yield contest winners will be recognized in the Winter issue of Sorghum Grower magazine and are traditionally acknowledged during Commodity Classic. With that event now taking place virtually, NSP and its sponsors are planning alternative options to recognize 2020 yield contest winners and their achievements. Details will be announced in 2021.
To see a complete list of the NSP Sorghum Yield Contest national, state and county results, or to learn more about the contest, visit https://sorghumgrowers.com/yield-contest/.
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NSP represents U.S. sorghum producers and serves as the voice of the sorghum industry coast to coast through legislative representation, regulatory representation and education. To learn more about NSP, visit www.sorghumgrowers.com.