Understanding the production potential of a farm is important for setting realistic yield goals in fields. Unfortunately little is often known about the yield potential of farms in an area. One way to "set the bar" is to look at measured yields from yield contests. In Wisconsin two contests, PEPS and the NCGA Yield Contest measure yield on numerous farm fields every year. In 2001 four counties set records in the PEPS contest (Table 1) and nine counties set records in the NCGA yield contest (Table 2). The highest recorded corn yield in Wisconsin was measured in Manitowoc county (see Figure). These yield levels provide an "upper limit" that might be expected on farms in your area.

Table 1. PEPS program participants that set PEPS county yield records during 2001.
County	Name	City	Yield	Hybrid
Trempealeau	Chuck Walske	Osseo	225	Croplan 488Bt
Sauk	Meadow Lane Farms Inc	Spring Green	242	NK Brand N67-T4
Iowa	David Faull	Montfort	207	NK Brand N45-A6
Barron	Ron Crotteau	Rice Lake	175	NK Brand N23-C1

Table 2. NCGA yield contest participants that set NCGA county records during 2001.
County	Name	City	Yield	Hybrid
Grant	Barb Mezera	Bagley	247	Pioneer 34G13
Green	Norman Schaid Jr	Browntown	224	Growmark FS5308
Waupaca	Tzebiatowski Farms LLC	Scandinavia	215	Pioneer 35R58
Portage	Laskowski Farms	Plover	229	Pioneer 36B08
Green Lake	Schwandt Farms Inc	Markesan	216	Pioneer 34B23
Sauk	Meadow Lane Farms Inc	Spring Green	242	Syngenta N67-T4
Trempealeau	Brian Brenengen	Trempealeau	221	Syngenta N67-T4
Buffalo	John Sendelbach	Cochrane	206	Pioneer 38T27
Dane	Prairieland Dairy LLC	Belleville	222	Pioneer 34B23