Westfield, Indiana, USA
June 2, 2025
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Participating in the NCGA yield contest has given farmer Blake Sims a better understanding of his acres and their capabilities.
One of our farm’s mottos is if you’re not improving, you’re losing ground,” says Blake Sims, a farmer who claimed second place for Ohio in the 2024 National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) yield contest. That’s increasingly a necessity in farming, given how competitive the industry has become.
That mindset was one of the factors that convinced him to enter the NCGA yield contest. “We viewed it as an opportunity to have fun with the competition and gain knowledge about which of the ‘extras’ we use on contest corn might be adapted to all our acres,” Sims explains. “We strive to be a very progressive, high-producing and always improving farm.”
In 2024, their efforts and some well-timed rains helped the farm place second in the conventional non-irrigated category, with AgriGold’s A646-30VT2RIB delivering a yield of 326.5 bushels an acre. But the bigger win is the knowledge gained from pushing yields on contest corn, which has helped the Sims farm achieve progress on every acre, year after year.
Multiple fungicide passes
Sims has always been a believer in fungicides and has historically made a single pass at tassel. With his contest corn, he started applying two later-season passes of fungicide. The results were so encouraging that the operation has since adopted multiple passes across the farm. Not only that, but they are considering adding an early pass.
“Disease isn’t going anywhere,” Sims explains, noting tar spot has been a constant battle for his farm the past three or four years. Fungicides have helped them manage the disease, and Sims says their AgriGold agronomist has been helpful in monitoring its spread and providing recommendations on how to combat it.
Data-driven decisions
Another contest-corn practice Sims has implemented farm-wide is the use of zinc. Sims tissue samples his contest corn acres, a practice that helps him spot trends where nutrients are lacking or overdone.
“Tissue sampling showed our crops were often deficient in zinc,” Sims explains. Adding that micronutrient helped, so much so that he now applies zinc to every corn acre.
Sims soil samples all his fields every four years using 1-acre grids. That data has helped them pinpoint soil needs and become more prescriptive with their fertilizer applications beyond anhydrous ammonia.
The farm applies 95% of its nitrogen needs upfront, then they come back midseason and y-drop additional nitrogen. “We’ve proven that pays year after year,” Sims says.
“We know our soils and can use our data to make better decisions,” Sims explains. “We also have no problem sharing that data with our industry partners, because we trust that they’ll use that to better our farm.”
Support from trusted partners
Trust is a key element for Sims. With around 7,000 acres of corn and soybeans as well as a show cattle and breeding stock operation, Sims acknowledges they can’t keep tabs on everything. Having a trustworthy team and partners to help shoulder the load and watch for threats is a necessity.
One area where he leans on others is seed choices. Sims trusts his AgriGold agronomist and seed dealer to make seed recommendations that fit the needs and goals of the farm.
“We always want to push the mark on yield and know new seed technologies help us do so,” Sims says. “AgriGold seed has always been dependable and high yielding, and we trust their people to get us the best products for our acres.”
Success in farming largely boils down to working with companies you trust and can depend on to bring value to your farm, according to Sims. “Working alongside AgriGold to try new things and push yields on NCGA yield contest plots has strengthened our working relationship and delivered a positive ROI across our farm.”
Ready to learn more about the value AgriGold can bring to your farm? Reach out to your local AgriGold agronomist.
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