The National Corn Growers Association’s (NCGA) 40th annual National Corn Yield Contest (NCYC) will experience another first this year, as Kevin Glanz of Iowa enters a twin-row field. It is believed to be the first twin-row entry in the contest’s history.

“This just wasn’t a spur of the moment situation. I’ve been thinking about this for the last couple years,” Glanz said. “I just finally decided I was going to put the guns to it and do it. I had all my seed bought. I had all my plans made . . . I had to make a bracket for my planters so my pump could sit on it. So I already spent some money on the situation. Then when I called to find out how I should enter this so there was no question about it, I was totally taken off guard to find out that no one had ever entered a twin-row planting.”

Glanz, a corn and soybean farmer from Manchester, is entering his first NCYC. Max Starbuck, NCGA director of livestock and economic analysis, and Rodney Moe and David Sieck of the Production and Stewardship Action Team visited Glanz’s farm to see how Glanz planted the field.

“I understand the concern of the committee to keep (the contest) fair, keep it honest and keep it straight so everybody who is participating is treated in a fair manner so that when the numbers (yields) come in the fall, there’s no question about how things were done,” Glanz said.

Starbuck said, “We wanted to educate ourselves about Kevin’s entry. We want to keep the corn yield contest a very consistent, very fair and properly run contest for all producers.”

“It’s impressive,” said Moe. “Some growers in my area, in southeastern Minnesota, have tried the method. It intrigues me.”

Moe added that he’s thinking about trying twin rows in his operation. Like Glanz, Moe is also surprised no one has previously tried entering a twin-row field in the contest.

Twin-row corn has gained some interest among growers, though tests have been inconsistent in regard to yields. Glanz said he’s been reading farm magazines for a couple years and decided he should try the method for his first entry into the contest. He noticed the high bushel counts for last year’s winners and believed twin rows would be the only way to reach the 350-bushel mark.

“I’m on 36-inch rows. I know there’s a lot of different row widths around, and I didn’t feel like I could compete unless I could get my population up there to match what some of the other populations were and yet have somewhat of a spacing so they weren’t on top of one another,” he said

Generally, Glanz said he plants a population of 30,000 to 31,000 in 36-inch rows for the size of the entry field. For the contest, he planted a population of 21,500 to 22,000 six inches apart.

“We planted it, and I went back over it. I moved my draw bar over 6 inches, and I planted it again,” Glanz said. “I’ve got about a 40,500 stand count here early in the spring.”

Planting the field was a chore for Glanz. The weather was horrible with a mix of rain, snow and wind. The cool, wet spring caused emergence problems. But everything is looking better, he said.

“I’m real pleased, so far, with the way things look. Every day they keep looking better,” he said. “It looked pretty rough when it first came up. I really wondered, ‘Well, I hadn’t sent in my $70 yet, so I wasn’t out too much. But I think I’ll get that in the mail (now).”

Entries postmarked by July 1 can take advantage of the early bird entry fee of $70. After July 1, the entry fee goes up to $95. Corn growers may enter online or download an entry form from www.ncga.com.