DATE:     2/16/01
CONTACT:  Dr. Jay Chapin, (803) 284-3343; jchapin@clemson.edu
          Dr. Jim Frederick, (843) 622-3526 (Ext. 228);
          jfrdrck@clemson.edu
WRITER:   Tom Lollis, (803) 284-3343; tlollis@clemson.edu

Top S.C. farmers produce
winning yields in 2000

     NORTH MYRTLE BEACH - The weather may not have been perfect 
in 2000, but several South Carolina farmers still produced some
impressive yields.
     Winners in corn, peanut, soybean and wheat yield contests
sponsored by the Clemson Extension Service and the commodity groups
were honored during the S.C. Ag Expo Feb. 9 at the Kingston Plantation
in North Myrtle Beach.
     Ricky Kneece of Kneece Farms at Pelion shattered the state 
yield record in peanuts by nearly 800 pounds, recording 5,549 pounds 
an acre with the Georgia Green variety. 
     Corn grower Emmett Rouse of Hampton County broke the old state
record by nearly 40 bushels, harvesting 282.2 bushels an acre with
the Pioneer 3163 variety under irrigation. The state dryland corn
champion was Brad Elliott of Horry County, who harvested 194 bushels
an acre using the same variety as Rouse. They received plaques and
substantial cash awards from Pioneer.
     Wheat honors went to Leonard Cogdill of Clarendon County. 
He harvested 119.5 bushels an acre using the variety Pioneer 2684. 
He received a plaque and $1,000 from Pioneer.
     The top non-irrigated soybean entry was from Floyd Brothers 
Farm of Florence County with 58.4 bushels an acre of the variety
Pioneer 9671-STS. Thurmond Floyd accepted a plaque and checks of 
$300 from Clemson Extension and $1,000 from Pioneer for himself 
and brothers M.D. and Larry.
     The top irrigated soybean winner was Jamison Farms of Orangeburg
County with an entry of 58.3 bushels an acre with the variety Pioneer
96B01. William Jamison accepted a plaque and checks for a similar
amount from Pioneer. He farms with brothers Ray, Donnie and Tommy.
     The new peanut yield record amazed Bob Scott, chairman of the 
S.C. Peanut Board, who presented the trophy to the husband and 
wife team of Ricky and Roxanne Kneece. The Kneeces have been 
growing peanuts for only three years.
     He said the statewide average peanut yield was more than 
3,000 pounds an acre. The state has been tops among peanut-growing
states for five of the last seven years.
     "A big part of the reason for that is the work done by 
Clemson Extension scientists like Jay Chapin (Clemson Extension
entomologist at Edisto Research and Education Center) and DeWitt 
Gooden (Extension agronomist at the Pee Dee REC)," Scott said. 
"They've tested all the new chemicals and worked to refine
our fungicide spray programs."
     Despite good yields by contest winners, corn growers in 
South Carolina had a bad year on average for the third year in 
a row, according to Jim Frederick, Clemson Extension corn 
specialist.
     "The state average yield was about 68 bushels an acre," he 
said. "Those who had rain made the corn, and those who didn't get 
rain had none." The state record yield of about 100 bushels an acre 
was set four years ago.
     "An average of 282 bushels an acre is almost unheard of," 
said Frederick. Another nine corn growers surpassed the 200-bushel
mark.
     The statewide average yield on soybeans was 25 bushels, just 
two bushels below the state record, according to Jason Norsworthy,
Clemson Extension soybean specialist.
     "We had about 480,000 acres statewide, most of them in the 
Pee Dee counties of Florence, Darlington, Marion, Dillon, Horry 
and portions of Clarendon," he said. "That area of the state 
received good rainfall during the growing season."
     The state had one of its best wheat crops ever, averaging 
50 bushels an acre despite a very dry spring, according to Chapin.
     "Yields could have been even better except for some isolated 
cases of Hessian fly damage," he said. Disease pressure was not 
much of a factorbecause of the dry spring.
                               END