The 2025 Kansas corn harvest is projected to set a new state record, and the top winner of the Kansas Corn Yield Contest has done the same. With a record yield of 349.34 bushels per acre, Haskell County farmer Grant Webber was the overall winner of the Irrigated Class. Jeff Koelzer, Pottawatomie County was the overall state winner of the Dryland Class with an impressive yield of 319.53 bushels per acre. Five Kansas entries, all in the irrigated class, were over 325 bushels per acre.

“Once again, we saw record bushels from across the state in this year’s contest. Our Kansas farmers produced corn yields that averaged 251.84 bushels/acre across all KCYC entries. That’s impressive considering many growers faced greater disease pressure than normal,” according to Kansas Corn Eastern Kansas Grower Services and Programs Manager Kylie Massengale, who manages the contest. “We also had multiple entries from every district in Kansas, which doesn’t happen every year.”

Both state and district winners of the Kansas Corn Yield Contest will be honored at the 2026 Kansas Corn Symposium on January 29 at the Salina Hilton Garden Inn. The Symposium will begin with registration at 11:30 am followed by a luncheon, afternoon program and dinner. Yield contest winners will be recognized at dinner. Growers can register to attend at kscorn.com/symposium or by calling 785-410-5009.

The state contest awards dryland and irrigated winners in ten districts, a Nitrogen Management Class winner, along with one statewide dryland and one statewide irrigated winner.

The Kansas Corn Yield Contest was created to recognize high-yielding Kansas corn farmers and gain information to improve practices and increase efficiency for greater sustainability and profitability. Sharing the data collected among Kansas farmers benchmarks the corn yields and provides information for improving management practices. The Kansas Corn Yield Contest was created to recognize Kansas growers. and partners with the National Corn Yield Contest. Kansas growers who enter the national contest are automatically entered in the Kansas Corn Yield Contest.

2025 Kansas Corn Yield Contest Winners from the area include:

STATE WINNER—IRRIGATED CLASS

Grant Webber, Haskell County; 349.34 bu/acre; Pioneer P13777PCUE

STATE WINNER—DRYLAND CLASS

Jeff Koelzer, Pottawatomie County; 319.53 bu/acre; DEKALB DKC114-43VT2PRIB

SOUTHWEST | DISTRICT 3

IRRIGATED

First Place: Grant Webber, Haskell County; 349.34 bu/acre; Pioneer P13777PCUE

Second Place: Brecken Webber, Haskell County; 349.14 bu/acre; Pioneer P15517PCE

Third Place: John & Jagger Borth, Meade County; 340.78 bu/acre; Pioneer P14830AML

DRYLAND

First Place: David Walker, Stanton County; 149.02 bu/acre; Pioneer P1122AML

Second Place: David Walker, Stanton County; 145.35 bu/acre; Pioneer P08527V

Third Place: David Walker, Stanton County; 118.32 bu/acre; Pioneer P03115V