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Hula Sets a New World Record

12/20/2023

Virginia Farmer Hits 623.84 Bu./A.

DavidHula
David Hula, World-Record Corn Grower

David Hula has notched a new world record corn yield: 623.84 bushel to the acre. The yield tops his old 2019 record of 616.1 bu./A., and the Charles City, Virginia farmer thinks there’s still potential to push yields higher.

“I used to think it was 500 (bu./A.), and then Randy Dowdy broke 500. Then we saw 600,” Hula told Tyne Morgan of Farm Journal. He said when harvesting the crop in 2019, he saw some parts of the field at 700 bu./A., and he thinks the potential is higher than that.

“I do believe the corn genetic potential is probably in that 900-bushel (per acre) range,” he says. “Think about it, if that’s the genetic potential, and USDA forecasts the country’s nation average to be 180 to 181 bushels (per acre), we as growers, have a big gap to fill.”

Hula uses minimal or no tillage in his operation and uses Meristem’s EXCAVATOR® to break down residue and release nutrients.

“We work to get the EXCAVATOR down so it can start breaking that residue down so we can get the strip-tilling done,” he says. “It’s not just residue breakdown, it’s releasing those nutrients in the soil for that next corn crop. We’ve been putting out a lot of trials now and we see not only yield benefit, but we see improved nutrient levels in our soil.”

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