Georgia’s top soybean producers were honored for producing high yields during the 2018 growing season at the recent Georgia-Florida Soybean/Small Grain Expo in Perry, Georgia.
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension sponsors the Georgia Soybean Production Contest every year to emphasize production practices that are consistent with efficient and profitable soybean production, to recognize those farmers who produce high yields and to accumulate data on the practices used by those outstanding producers.
“This year’s winner, Randy Dowdy, is well known to the contest. He produced a world-record yield in this contest in 2016. He wasn’t able to surpass that this year, but he still produced an amazing 156 bushels per acre,” says Mark Freeman, UGA Extension’s east Georgia agronomist.
In the irrigated category, this year’s winners include:
1. Randy Dowdy, Lowndes County, 156.84 bushels per acre
2. Mark Ariail, Franklin County, 91.68 bushels per acre
3. Clayton Bloodworth, Wilcox County, 91.63 bushels per acre
In the dryland category, this year’s winners include:
1. Russ and Dennis Moon, Madison County, 94.8 bushels per acre
2. Nick McMichen, Floyd County, 94.1 bushels per acre
To be eligible, producers have to grow a minimum of 2 acres. The harvest and yields are verified by county Extension agents who submit the data to Freeman.
In 2016, Dowdy produced a world-record 171.8 bushels per acre, 10 bushels more than the previous record holder.
The University of Georgia contributed this article.