Photo by Sally Y. Hart

A Washington corn grower has earned top state honors in a national corn yield contest. Tom Vittetoe placed third in the state in the no-till/strip-till non-irrigated class with the National Corn Growers Association. He had a yield of 295.64 bushels per acre. Vittetoe is one of 400 winners nationwide, out of nearly 8,000 entries from 46 states. The average yield among national winners was 374.7 bushels per acre, more than double the national average of 175.3 bushels per acre. The contest began in 1965 with 20 entries from three states and the highest overall yield then was 218.9 bushels per acre, while the national yield average was in the mid-60 bushel per acre range.