Eleven new competition records fell at the 2026 Grain SA Grow for Gold National Yield Competition, with Hannes Bruwer of Hopetown producing 24,431t/ha of irrigated maize — the highest single yield in the dataset — using Pioneer P1197PW.

That figure crowned the irrigation category and confirmed a second consecutive year of record-breaking yields under pivot. Entries climbed from 79 in 2025 to 110 in 2026, a 39% year-on-year jump and the largest since the 37% rise between 2020 and 2021.

Grain SA announced the winners at the Grow for Gold Awards in Muldersdrift on 22 September. Corné Louw, the organisation's head of applied economics and member services, presented the entry data and singled out two dryland performances that outshone most irrigated entries.

What stood out in the dryland categories?

Louw pointed first to Janna du Rand of Mareetsane in North West, who set a new regional maize record at 16,910t/ha and added second and third places at 15,631t/ha and 14,890t/ha. Izak van Zyl of Makwassie, also in North West, produced 8,046t/ha of soya beans to win the regional title.

"These farmers do not have high-potential soils to work with, but somehow they achieve these high yields – they must be doing some things right," Louw said.

The same pattern repeated in Mpumalanga. Danie Bester of Deepwater Trading in Balfour swept the Eastern Highveld maize category with 19,928t/ha, 18,944t/ha and 18,084t/ha. He added the Eastern Highveld soya bean record at 8,213t/ha.

What did the irrigated entries achieve?

Bruwer led the irrigation maize class at 24,431t/ha. Jac Cilliers of Douglas followed at 20,938t/ha, with Sitrusrand Boerdery of Hofmeyer third at 20,663t/ha. Louw told Farmer's Weekly the back-to-back performance was unexpected at this scale.

"I never knew that yields like this could be accomplished in South Africa, and our farmers have done this two years in a row. That is remarkable," he said.

In wheat, Ernie Steinberg of Douglas set the Northern Irrigation Region record at 13,992t/ha using the cultivar Agricol IS Tordo. Sunflower contributed the eleventh benchmark, with Stompie Olivier of Ventersdorp producing 4,863t/ha on the Pannar cultivar PAN 7180CLP to set the North West Region mark.

Which crops set the most records?

Soya beans supplied six of the eleven new benchmarks. Maize delivered three. Wheat and sunflower added one each.

• Maize — Central Region: Eduard Snyman, Brits, 17,019t/ha (DKC65-60)
• Maize — North West Region: Janna du Rand, Mareetsane, 16,910t/ha
• Maize — Irrigation: Hannes Bruwer, Hopetown, 24,431t/ha (Pioneer P1197PW)
• Soya beans — KwaZulu-Natal: Tommie Scholtz, Bergville, 5,859t/ha
• Soya beans — Eastern Highveld: Danie Bester, Balfour, 8,213t/ha
• Soya beans — Eastern Free State: Neul Menezes, Reitz, 6,654t/ha
• Soya beans — Central Region: Francois Smit, Derby, 7,172t/ha
• Soya beans — North West Region: Izak van Zyl, Makwassie, 8,046t/ha
• Soya beans — Water Table Region: Bakkes Boerdery, Wesselsbron, 6,498t/ha
• Wheat — Northern Irrigation Region: Ernie Steinberg, Douglas, 13,992t/ha (Agricol IS Tordo)
• Sunflower — North West Region: Stompie Olivier, Ventersdorp, 4,863t/ha (PAN 7180CLP)

What is driving these results?

Bester treats his 2ha competition plot as a management test bed rather than an input showcase, and applies the lessons across the wider operation. Achieving high yields is not necessarily about spending more money, he added; it is about learning to manage crops effectively.

He recalled once treating 5t/ha soya and 15t/ha maize as significant achievements. Those baselines have since been passed several times over.

Watch the 2027 cycle for whether irrigated maize breaks 25,000t/ha for a third straight year, and which soya bean cultivars collect the next cluster of regional records. Grain SA is expected to publish its full regional yield report alongside the annual production cost study later this year.