After the thoughtful cancellation of the North Carolina joint Commodities Conference last year, 2022 brought with it a deeper appreciation for relationships and the face-to-face connections made at the event this year. In normal fashion, we had the pleasure of announcing the winners of the annual yield contest at Commodity Conference this year. Breaking the previous highest yield record and celebrating 13 producers who broke the 90-bushel mark, our growers came to compete! We would like to thank the 52 producers who entered the competition this year. Now for the results!
First, we have the regional winners, who will all receive a $100 cash prize:
Regional Winners
Cox Brothers Farms 
Danhaven Farms 
3B Farms 
Locklear Brothers Farms 
Shady Grove Dairy
Tidewater Region Winner: Justin Boyd of 3B Farms in Beaufort County, with a yield of 99.1 bushels per acre, planting AgriGold G4995 RX.
Northern Coastal Plain Region Winner: Danhaven Farms in Wilson County with a yield of 89.9 bushels per acre, planting Dyna Gro 48XT56.
Southern Coastal Plain Region Winner: Locklear Brothers Farm in Robeson County with a yield of 91.9 bushels per acre, planting Progeny P4821.
Northern Piedmont Region Winner: Shady Grove Dairy in Yadkin County with a yield of 92.9 bushels per acre, planting Dyna Gro 48XT90.
Southern Piedmont Region Winner: Cox Brothers Farm of Union County with a yield of 96.9 bushels per acre, planting Uni South Genetics 7481XF.
State Winners
Henry Locklear and Sons Farms 
Matthew Family Farms 
Matthew Family Farm
In 2nd place for the Irrigated Division, and winner of a $200 cash prize, coming from the Southern Coastal Plain Region with a yield of 95.0 bushels per acre, congratulations to Henry Locklear and Sons Farms in Robeson County.
In 1st place for the Irrigated Division, and winner of a $500 cash prize, coming from the Northern Piedmont Region with a yield of 102.7 bushels per acre, congratulations to Matthew Family Farms in Davie County.
In 2nd place in the dryland division, and winner of a $200 cash prize, coming from the Northern Piedmont Region with a yield of 99.9 bushels per acre, congratulations to Matthew Family Farm in Yadkin County.
Overall State Winner and Soybean Yield Record Setter:
Finally, we want to congratulate the 1st place winner of the Dryland Division and the overall state winner: Breaking the previous state record with a yield of 117.1 bushels per acre we have Russel Hedrick of Catawba County. Russel planted AgVenture AV51V7E on May 16 and will be the recipient of a $1,000 cash prize for this outstanding achievement.
Thank you again to everybody who participated in the yield contest, and to all our NC soybean farmers for your hard work this year. Though our yields are competitive, we loved hearing from industry leaders at the Commodity Conference that NC soybean quality is “immaculate”.
