By Jason Jenkins
Winter wheat growers who intend to compete in the 2024 National Wheat Yield Contest have one week remaining to register their entries on a new contest website.
As in years past, the National Wheat Foundation (NWF) set May 15 as the deadline for entering the ninth annual contest. Fourteen national winners will be named this year in both dryland and irrigated winter wheat categories. Growers who want to enter will register here: https://www.wheatcontest.org/…
Those who raise spring wheat have until Aug. 1 to enter the contest, which encourages growers to strive for high yield, exceptional quality and increased profit while trying new and innovative management strategies.
"We are so thrilled to launch this new website where contestants will find it easier to enter, even using their cell phones," said Anne Osborne, NWF yield contest director, in a news release when the contest was first announced. "The data analysis is improved on this new website, so we can continue to share production practices that lead to winning yields and top quality."
In addition to the new website, the 2024 yield contest also features a pilot category, Digital Yield, for dryland spring wheat growers in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. This option allows growers to use technologies, such as John Deere Operations Center, Climate FieldView or Bushel, along with data from their calibrated grain cart scales to submit their yield from a 20-acre selected area from a previously entered field.
Though growers can only be recognized as a national winner in one category, they may enter as many as they are eligible. The 2024 categories include irrigated winter wheat, dryland winter wheat, irrigated spring wheat and dryland spring wheat.
Contest fields in these categories must be at least five continuous acres planted with professionally produced, certified, branded and newly purchased wheat seed. The field must be verified by a third-party supervisor during harvest of the contest field. Each entry costs $100. Contest partners often offer vouchers to pay growers' contest fees.
Wheat growers may enter as many times as they want in the main contest categories. Eligible spring wheat growers may enter up to three fields in the new Digital Yield category.
Because the National Wheat Yield Contest encourages the production of high-yielding and high-quality wheat, all contestants must retain a 10-pound sample of grain from their contest entry. Should an entry place nationally, the wheat sample will be milled, baked and evaluated for quality. Those ranked in the top three in quality in their class by a panel of experts will be recognized and awarded an additional $250. All national winners will receive a trip to the 2025 Commodity Classic, which will be held March 2-4 in Denver, Colorado.
Click here to see more...