Kentucky Small Grain Growers Association

Research

Increasing Yields. 
Reducing Inputs.

Research continues to be top priority of Kentucky Small Grain Growers

The Kentucky Small Grain Growers Association has allocated more than $4.8 million in producer check-off contributions toward research over the last 34 years.
KySGGA has been dedicated to the areas of variety development, Intensive Wheat Management, and No-Till practices. 

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Current Research Project Funding

Ky Small Grain Growers voted to fund the following research and grower education projects for a total investment of $351,143 in the 2023-2024 growing season. 

  • Lauren Brzozowski - Breeding locally adapted cereal rye varieties

  • Lauren Brzozowski - Winter oat breeding for Kentucky 

  • Carrie Knott - YEN Expansion into Kentucky

  • Samuel Revolinski - Developing Genetic Markers for Metribuzen Tolerance in Wheat to Aid in the Management of Italian Ryegrass Through Herbicide Synergism

  • Chad Lee - Understanding Wheat Head Count Effect on Yield

  • Hanna Poffenbarger - Evaluation of foliar-applied nano-fertilizers for enhanced nitrogen use efficiency of wheat

  • Edwin Ritchey - Intensive Wheat Management: Moving from Small Plot to Field Scale

  • Edwin Ritchey - Grazing Cover Crop Wheat and Wheat for Grain to Maximize Soil Health Returns

  • Travis Legleiter - Investigations of Ever-Evolving Italian Ryegrass Control in Winter Wheat

  • Dave Van Sanford - Soft Red Winter Wheat Breeding and Variety Development for Kentucky

  • Dave Van Sanford - Determining The Effect Of Wheat Photoperiod Sensitivity On Heading Date, Yield, Test Weight And Other Traits

  • Bill Bruening - Performance of Small Grain Varieties in Kentucky

  • Carl Bradley - Septoria Sensitivity to Triazoles

  • Toshi Mizuta - Predicting Plant-Available Nitrogen in Soil for Wheat Production Using Spectroscopy

  • Nicholas Santantonio (VA Tech) - Improvement and Development of Barley for Use in Feed, Malt, and Food

  • Bill Brinkley and Craig Givens - Soil Health

  • Raul T Villanueva - Climate Changes and Shifts on Phenological Patterns of Aphids and Armyworms in Wheat

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2024 Research Reports

2023 Research Reports

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Submitting a Research Application

The Kentucky Small Grain Growers Association and Kentucky Small Grain Promotion Council is interested in reviewing research proposals from any institution that engages in small grain research. 

All research projects that KySGGA/KySGPC fund benefit Kentucky small grain producers by producing results that will increase farm profitability. Projects should be geared to the research of small grain crops (wheat, barley, oats, rice, rye, triticale) or of production/marketing issues and methods that may benefit all Kentucky crop growers. 

2024 Call for Research

Contact us for additional information. 

Latest News in Research

Featured
Importance of Wheat Varietal Differences in Grain Test Weight
Importance of Wheat Varietal Differences in Grain Test Weight
Kentucky Small Grain Variety Trial
Kentucky Small Grain Variety Trial

The 2025 University of Kentucky Small Grain Variety Trial results are available at: https://varietytesting.ca.uky.edu/wheat .  There were 70 entries evaluated in the 2024-25 growing season.

YEN Participants Share Blueprint for 100-plus-bushel wheat
YEN Participants Share Blueprint for 100-plus-bushel wheat

Kentucky Growers participate in the Yield Enhancement Network for wheat to bump yields.

University of Kentucky hosts Winter Wheat Meeting Feb. 4
University of Kentucky hosts Winter Wheat Meeting Feb. 4
Three years since the tornado: UK research center rebuilds stronger, reaffirming role in Kentucky agriculture
Three years since the tornado: UK research center rebuilds stronger, reaffirming role in Kentucky agriculture

On Dec. 11, 2021, an EF-4 tornado struck the University of Kentucky Research and Education Center at Princeton (UKREC), leaving behind only remnants of a facility that had been an essential contributor to Kentucky's agricultural research. Decades of infrastructure and millions of dollars in equipment were destroyed overnight, reducing one of the state’s key agricultural assets to rubble. Now, three years after the storm, the Western Kentucky center is rebuilding and becoming better than before. 

Rye Planting: Brining Rye Back to Kentucky
Rye Planting: Brining Rye Back to Kentucky

The collaborative project “Bringing Rye Back to Kentucky” is up and running!  Please find the inaugural rye newsletter, prepared by Dr. Ela Szuleta, our field coordinator. 

Small Grain Research Funding Hits $4.5M
Small Grain Research Funding Hits $4.5M

The Kentucky Small Grain Growers selected research to fund earlier this year, bringing the total dedicated to wheat and small grain related research to $4 million in the past 30 years.

University of Kentucky Launches New Crop Variety Testing Site
University of Kentucky Launches New Crop Variety Testing Site

The University of Kentucky Wheat and Small Grains Variety Testing Program evaluates wheat and small grain (barley, cereal rye, oats, triticale, ancient grains) varieties that are commercially available or may soon be available to farmers. Annual variety performance testing provide farmers, seed producers, extension agents and consultants with current, unbiased information to help them select the varieties best adapted to their locality and individual requirements.

Woodford Reserve Announces 5-Year Commitment to Buy Rye from Kentucky Farmers as Part of Research Project
Woodford Reserve Announces 5-Year Commitment to Buy Rye from Kentucky Farmers as Part of Research Project

In an ongoing effort to bring production of rye grain back to Kentucky, Woodford Reserve today announced a five-year commitment to purchasing the grain from local farmers while working with the University of Kentucky to conduct research.

Effect of Nozzle Configuration and Ground Sprayer Speed on Fusarium Head Blight Management in Wheat
Effect of Nozzle Configuration and Ground Sprayer Speed on Fusarium Head Blight Management in Wheat

Read the latest research report on managing Fusarium head blight (head scab) in wheat from the University of Kentucky. This research was conducted by Nathaniel White, Timothy Stombaugh, and Carl Bradley with funding from the Kentucky Small Grain Promotion Council. It was published in the Plant Health Progress research journal.

Impacts of Sulfur Fertilization on Yield, Grain Quality, and N Use Efficiency of Wheat
Impacts of Sulfur Fertilization on Yield, Grain Quality, and N Use Efficiency of Wheat

A field study was grown in the harvest years 2021 and 2022 at Spindletop Farm (LEX) and the West Kentucky Research and Education Center (PRN).  The overarching objective was to determine whether applications of sulfur fertilizer (S) in combination with various levels of N fertilizer would increase yield and N use efficiency. 

Have You Considered Wheat?
Have You Considered Wheat?

Wheat has not been known as a chief commodity in Kentucky due to higher production challenges when compared to corn and soybeans, but I’d encourage you to take another look.