Last month, over 250 people gathered in Houston to celebrate the 24 National Winners for the 2023 contest. Wheat growers and partners from all segments of the wheat industry honored these growers’ achievements and shared ideas on how to achieve both high-yield and high-quality wheat.
The national winners came from 12 different states, and the average yield across all categories was 144 bushels per acre. In addition, 83 state winners from 28 states were also recognized, with an average of 127 bushels per acre across various categories.
The contest this year highlighted the exceptional resilience demonstrated by wheat growers. Despite facing adversity, with 59 percent of winter wheat production affected by drought on May 9 and 75 percent of spring wheat production impacted on July 25, these producers still maximize their wheat productivity despite environmental challenges.
“Eastern soft winter wheat areas had tremendous yields this year, and millers are happy with the quality of wheat coming from these areas. It is exciting to see the potential when the genetics, management, and environment are all aligned in the wheat grower’s favor,” said Bernard Peterson, chairman of the National Wheat Foundation, and a farmer in Loretto, Ken.
“Eastern soft winter wheat areas had tremendous yields this year, and millers are happy with the quality of wheat coming from these areas. It is exciting to see the potential when the genetics, management, and environment are all aligned in the wheat grower’s favor,” said Bernard Peterson, chairman of the National Wheat Foundation, and a farmer in Loretto, Ken.
The new website
During this event, a new contest website was unveiled. All wheat growers must register on the new site, found at www.wheatcontest.org.
“We are so thrilled to launch this new website, where contestants will find it easier to enter, even using their cell phones. The data analysis is improved on this new website so we can continue to share production practices that lead to the winning yields and top quality,” noted Anne Osborne, contest director.
Deadlines to enter the contest are the same as in past years: May 15 for winter wheat categories and August 1 for spring wheat categories.
The new website features helpful reminders on each contestant’s dashboard about how many days remain until the deadlines for their entries, payment, and harvest data. As in past years, many of our great partners in the contest are offering vouchers that will pay a growers’ contest entry fee. A grower can select this option as they submit their contest entry.
Wheat categories
Categories for the contest, now in its ninth year, are winter wheat-dryland, winter wheat-irrigated, spring wheat-dryland, and spring wheat-irrigated. New this year is a pilot category called Digital Yield, for growers in spring wheat-dryland in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Growers in these states will be asked if they want to enter this new Pilot Digital Yield category.
This is a way for growers to use their technologies, such as John Deere operations center, Climate FieldView, or Bushel, along with data from their calibrated grain cart scales, to enter a 20-acre selected area from a previously entered field to submit their yield into the contest. There will be 26 National Winners named in the 2024 contest, and the winners will receive a trip to the Commodity Classic in Denver in March of 2025.
“The National Wheat Foundation and our partners want to continue to expand the reach of the contest, and the Digital Yield Category is one way we hope more growers will be interested in giving it a try,” comments Bernard Peterson, chairman of the National Wheat Foundation and Kentucky wheat grower. “We are expecting to learn a lot in this pilot year, and we look forward to learning from contestants that are interested in helping the contest improve and take advantage of the great digital technologies that many wheat growers have adopted.”
There is a new frequently asked question section on the website, and all growers and their trusted advisors, such as seed reps, county agents, or agronomists, are encouraged to read through the contest rules and get their entries started.