Who could have ever imagined that by 2020 200 bushels per acre would be so common that no one talks about it, and 300 bushes happens often.
My family farms. OK, but not great ground. Would be great if irrigated. It averages 175 bushels/acre year over year. 30 years ago, it was a miracle to break 100/acre. The gains have been made by going from 36” rows to 30” for corn plus the seeds are planted much closer together. Way more chemicals and fertilizer used today.
My uncle will walk out in a field and pick an ear. He shells some, gives it a tooth test and does counts. He counts how many rows of kernels and how many kernels per row. Soon he will give results. “It will be ready next week and make 180/acre.” The individual ears, of which there are many more per acre than years past, are generally almost 2X the size and length they used to be.