The National Wheat Foundation has announced the national winners of the 2017 National Wheat Yield Contest, an opportunity that allows growers to compete with farmers from across the United States and improve wheat productivity on their farms through new innovative techniques.
“This year’s national winners come from such wheat states as Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, North and South Dakota, Wyoming, and others,” stated Foundation Board President Phil McLain. “This diverse set of winners truly reflects the wheat crop and how it can be grown in various types of soil, climates, and terrains across the United States.”
The contest recognizes the overall high yield winner in two primary competition categories: winter wheat and spring wheat, and two subcategories: dryland and irrigated.
“NWF would like to thank each grower for enrolling in the NWYC, and thank our sponsors for helping to make the Contest available to wheat growers in the US. We received a record-breaking 287 total entries this year and hope that this number will continue to grow,” continued McLain. “This communication among growers will help improve the overall quality and marketability of US wheat.”
This year’s National winners per category:
Spring Wheat Winners
Dryland: Paul Solem (MN) of Solem Farms, Jon Iverson (ND), Robert Holzwarth (SD) of Amberwaves Farm and Ranch, Doug Stout (ID) of DT Stout J.V., and John Yerger (MT) of Watson Brothers/Yerger Farms.
Irrigated: Dan Mills (OR) of Mills Mint Farm, Terry Wilcox (ID) of Keith Wilcox and Sons, and James Getzinger (WA) of Getzinger Farms, LLC.
Winter Wheat Winners
Dryland: Brandon Friesen (KS) of Al’s Broken Bar Farms, Everett Tallman (CO) of Tallman Farms, Matt Schupbach (OK) of K & S Farms, Mark Knobel (NE) of Knobel Seeds, and Brian Cochrane (WA) of Cochrane Wheat Ranch.
Irrigated: Ty Anderson (WY) of Anderson Ag/Prairie Farms/Time Anderson Farms, Marc Arnusch (CO) of Marc Arnusch Farms, LLC, Nathan Franklin (KS) of N & A Farms, Travis Freeburg (WY) of R&K Farms, and Nathan Rea (OR) of HT Rea Farming.
High Yield Winner
Phillip Gross (WA) of Warden Hutterian Brethren
The sponsors for the 2017 National Yield Contest are BASF, Croplan/Winfield, Indigo Ag, John Deere, McGregor, Monsanto, and Syngenta. The national winners will be recognized at the 2018 Commodity Classic in Anaheim, California, February 27–March 1. Official rules and entry details for the 2018 Contest will be available by January 1st, 2018.
