Kentucky Growers Encouraged to Enter National Wheat Yield Contest

The National Wheat Foundation (NWF) is now accepting entries for its ninth annual yield contest, featuring a new website and pilot category in 2024. Twenty-six national winners will be named this year as wheat growers strive for high yield, exceptional quality, and increased profit while trying new and innovative management strategies.

The deadline to enter the contest is May 15 for winter wheat categories. Growers should register on NWF's new contest website: https://www.wheatcontest.org/. Keep in mind that a national entry can be submitted to the Kentucky contest at no extra charge. Please notify your county extension agent if this is your intent.

Bernard Peterson, a farmer in Loretto, Ky., and chair of the National Wheat Foundation is encouraging Kentucky wheat growers to participate. “The national contest helps us learn the practices that produce high yields and high-quality wheat,” said Peterson. “The quality component of the contest is also new this year.”  

All growers and their trusted advisers, such as seed reps, county agents or agronomists, are encouraged to read through the contest rules and get their entries started, he said. Each entry costs $100.

Contest fields 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.

Because the NWF yield contest encourages growers to strive for both high yield and high quality, 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 3 for 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 held March 2-4 in Denver.

Entrants must be a member in good standing of a recognized state wheat grower association -- or National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) if from a state without a state wheat grower association -- before completing and submitting an entry.

A total of 417 entries were received in the 2023 contest, falling just one entry short of the contest's all-time high set in 2020. In total, 83 state yield contest winners were named from 28 states. Their yield average across all categories was 127 bushels per acre (bpa). For the 24 national winners from 12 states, the yield average was 144 bpa.

For more information or to register for the 2024 yield contest, visit https://www.wheatcontest.org/