MIDDLETOWN, Md. (AP) — The average number of bushels of corn per acre is between 180 and 250.

This year, Drew Haines of Middletown yielded over 422 bushels of corn per acre, beating Maryland's state corn yield record and winning first place in the National Corn Yield Contest in the no-till, non-irrigated corn category.

"It's turned into an addiction," he said.

No-till means that no tilling was done other than the corn-planter itself going into the ground. Non-irrigated means there was no mechanical watering done.

"We rely on whatever Mother Nature gives us as far as water," Haines said.

The Na...