NWF marks tenth anniversary celebrating farmer excellence
The National Wheat Foundation (NWF) has announced the winners of the 2025 National Wheat Yield Contest during its fall meeting in Austin, Texas. This year marks the contest’s tenth anniversary, celebrating continuous progress in U.S. wheat productivity, quality, and innovation.
Launched in 2016, the contest encourages farmers to improve their yields and profitability by sharing innovative practices and technologies. For 2025, NWF received 465 entries, including 30 submissions in the pilot Digital Yield categories. Winners were recognized in four traditional 5-Acre categories and two digital yield divisions. Among the honorees, 17 are repeat winners and 11 are first-time national champions.
“We are pleased to see winners from new states such as Wisconsin and Indiana as
well as the traditional large wheat states like my home state-Montana.
Congratulations to everyone who entered and completed the contest. It takes extra
work and time, but it pays off in what is learned and then applied to raise
productivity on our entire farm’s wheat acres,” said Gary Broyles, NWF Chairman (MT).
This year’s top yields set new records: 172.51 bushels per acre in Winter Dryland and 187.94 bushels per acre in Spring Irrigated categories.
Each national winner also submits a 10-pound wheat sample for grain, flour, and end-use quality testing. Soft wheat samples are evaluated in Oregon, while hard wheat samples are tested in Kansas using industry-standard methods.
“We are learning that with the proper management, environment and variety selection these high yield growers can also achieve industry desired top-quality wheat. That is what the contest encourages everyone to do- strive for high yield, quality and profitability,” said Anne Osborne, NWF Executive Director.
The Foundation thanked its many sponsors, including John Deere, BASF, WestBred, and U.S. Wheat Associates, for supporting the contest’s success.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-brzozowska