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Kelly Garrett looks over his irrigation equipment at his farm in Iowa. Photo via Netafim USA

published on December 24, 2019 - 9:43 AM
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An Iowa farmer has brought in the 2nd highest yield for corn in America for 2019 with assistance from a Fresno business.

The drip-irrigated fields of Iowan Kelly Garrett of Garrett Land and Cattle in Arion came in at No. 2 for the no-till/irrigated category for the National Corn Growers Association’s 2019 Corn Yield Contest.

Garrett’s yield of 357.7 bushels per acre also represented 2019’s highest overall yield for all of Iowa.

Netafim USA is a subsidiary of the Israeli Netafim Ltd. Fresno is the headquarters for its U.S. division, and is where its drip-irrigation tape is manufactured and distributed.

Netafim actually saw three award-winning yields using their drip irrigation techniques.

In addition, Kevin Matthews of Matthews Family Farms in East Bend, North Carolina took first place in the No-Till Irrigated category with a recorded 304.2 bushels per acre and Kory Standy of Platte, South Dakota placed 2nd in South Dakota with 239.33 bushels per acre. Both used Netafim products.

“Drip is like an IV for the crop,” Garrett said. “It gives each plant a uniform and consistent distribution of nutrients throughout the entire lifecycle, reducing competition among plants and allowing the crop to expend all its energy on maximizing growth right from day one.”

He added that the precision control of water and nutrients afford by drip enables the mitigation of any stress to the crop during pollination and grain fill.


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