The National Wheat Foundation has released the new rules for the National Wheat Yield Contest for next year. The contest will be in its 7th year in 2022 and receives about 400 entries each year. The categories for entry are Winter Wheat, Spring Wheat, dryland and irrigated, and 24 national awards are given.
Next year, the 24 national winners will also be able to receive a cash reward for industry-desired quality. The winners will all be required to send in a 6 lb. sample, which will be tested for baking and milling qualities. The wheat samples will be compared to some quality targets by class, and if the winner’s sample meets all the targets, they will receive a $500 cash award in addition to the trip to Commodity Classic. Another change for the contest is that contestants are asked to get their wheat graded at a local elevator and upload proof that it is Grade 1 or 2 to their harvest record on the website. Every grower will not be required to ship in a grain sample. They do need to save a 6 lb sample in case they are one of the 24 winners.
“We would love to have all 24 national yield winners also receive the quality recognition, we know there are varieties and management practices that growers can use that will achieve both high yield and industry desired quality,” Anne Osborne, director of the contest.
The biggest challenge when creating these rules was determining the quality targets for soft wheat, so we decided to use a sugar cookie bake test for soft red wheat and a sponge cake bake test for soft white wheat. Other parameters for soft wheat will be test weight, 1000 kernel weight, protein, falling numbers, and alveograph values. In hard wheat, we will use test weight, protein, falling numbers, and farinograph values. To learn more about the categories, the rules and requirements for the contest, view the 2022 rules online at yieldcontest.wheatfoundation.org.
Sponsors for the contest are a diverse group from all segments of the wheat value chain. WestBred, U.S. Wheat Associates, BASF, John Deere, Ardent Mills, AgriMaxx, Elevate Ag, GrainSense, Grain Craft, Mennel Milling, Ohio Corn&Wheat, Croplan, GrowPro Genetics, and The McGregor Company have committed to sponsorship of the 2022 contest. We thank our sponsors for their support and know the contest would not be possible without them. If companies have questions or interest, they should contact Anne Osborne at aosborne@wheatworld.org.
