Tocumwal growers smash Australian maize yield record

With an a-maize-ing yield of 23.27 tonnes per hectare, Tocumwal growers in the state's south have smashed the Australian maize yield record by 1.8 t/ha. The previous record of 21.47t/ha was set by Nick James, Nathalia, Vic, in 2022. Pate Agricultural Pty owner Nathan Pate, Oakbank, has grown maize for eight years and said he was extremely proud to have achieved the new record with his team. "It is a great accomplishment that shows what we can do and now we've just got to keep trying to improve it," he said. "It feels good but it was a team effort, my farm manager Dan Phelan and agronomist James Murray were very proactive and have done a great job." The record breaking 42ha Pioneer Hybrid P0937 crop was sown into a 16-month long fallow that had 212 kilograms per hectare of soil nitrogen on October 18 2023. The field has a history of robust inputs, along with soil amendments such as lime, gypsum and chicken litter with maize and canola the two main crop choices over the past five ...