Entries are now being accepted for the first National Wheat Yield Contest in more than 20 years. The National Wheat Foundation (NWF) announced the official contest rules and opened registration on its website for the inaugural year of the contest. The highly anticipated yield competition, first unveiled at the 2015 Commodity Classic, is made possible by the generous support of National Wheat Yield Contest industry category partners BASF (crop protection), Monsanto (seed), John Deere (equipment) and Winfield (agronomic services).
“We have been eagerly awaiting the launch of the National Wheat Yield Contest and look forward to U.S. wheat farmers competing with the best available technology to demonstrate how they can increase productivity, drive innovation and enable knowledge transfer between growers,” said NWF Chairman Dusty Tallman, a wheat grower from Brandon, Colo.
Wheat growers can compete in two primary contest categories – winter wheat and spring wheat. There will be two sub-categories for each category, respectively, for dry land and irrigated wheat production. Entrants must be a producer, at least 14 years of age, and member of their recognized state wheat grower association, or if from a state without a recognized state wheat grower organization, a member of the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG). All contest entries must use certified or branded, and currently commercially available, wheat seed.
Early registration deadlines are April 1 for winter wheat and June 15 for spring wheat. The entry fee for early registration is $100 per seed entry. After the early registration deadline, the entry fee is $125 per seed entry. All entry forms and contest fees must be entered online completely by 5:00pm Eastern Time on May 1 for winter wheat or August 1 for spring wheat to be eligible to compete.
“It’s an exciting time to be involved with wheat and Monsanto is proud to be a sponsor,” said Dr. Jeff Koscelny, Wheat Commercial Lead at Monsanto. “This national yield contest provides a great platform for U.S. wheat farmers to showcase the genetic potential of today’s wheat seed and the innovative farm management practices and technologies being deployed.”
Five national winners will be recognized in each category and sub-category. Winners of the inaugural contest will be formally recognized at the 2017 Commodity Classic in San Antonio, Texas.
For full contest rules and to enter the 2015-16 National Wheat Yield Contest, go to the NWF website at wheatfoundation.org and click on the contest “button” on the homepage.
Source: National Wheat Foundation
