He tells no jokes and doesn't warm up his audience. He turns on a slide projector. In a monotone he recites 16 tips for high-yield corn. Try to avoid compacting the soil. He has lots to say, too, about potash levels and row widths.
Some farmers take notes, and a few lean so far forward to hear that they are in danger of toppling.
Mr. Childs speaks for 40 minutes and takes questions for 30. He uses at least 400 pounds of fertilizer an acre, twice what most use. Mr. Childs gives this special treatment to only about a third of his acres, intending just before harvest time to select the very best for the contest. Carrying a spade, he probes roots and checks carefully to see what sort of insect problems he has. And if a stalk is sprouting extra tiny ears of corn, he plucks them off so they don't draw plant energy away from the main ear.