National Wheat Yield Contest Looks Ahead to 2027

As Kansas wheat growers prepare to put another crop into the ground, decisions made this fall could carry through harvest and onto the national stage.

The National Wheat Foundation is preparing for the 2027 National Wheat Yield Contest with changes designed to better recognize wheat productivity and quality. Sharing information ahead of fall planting allows growers to consider the contest as they select varieties and make management plans for the coming crop.

The National Wheat Yield Contest was established in 2016 to recognize wheat growers across the country and give producers an opportunity to learn from the varieties, practices and management decisions contributing to high-yielding wheat.

For 2027, the National Wheat Foundation plans to align yield categories more closely with the contest’s quality component categories. A new durum category will also be added, with 30 national winners expected to be recognized.

“The contest is continuing to evolve to better meet the needs of contestants and partners, we listened to feedback and decided that breaking down the large winter wheat-dryland category into classes made sense,” said Anne Osborne, executive director of the National Wheat Foundation. “We are still recognizing both high yield and high percentage increases over the county average. We hope to get many more hard red/white winter wheat entries from Kansas in 2027.”

The changes build on the contest’s emphasis on recognizing more than bushels alone. Contest entries must meet established quality requirements to be eligible for national awards. Samples from national winning entries are also evaluated for grain, milling and baking characteristics, with additional recognition for wheat demonstrating industry-desired quality.

For Kansas growers, preparing for the contest starts well before the traditional spring entry period. Variety selection is one of the first opportunities producers have to position a field for success.

Yield potential is important, but disease resistance, maturity, agronomic characteristics, end-use quality and a variety’s fit within an individual operation can all influence performance. Considering the contest during fall variety selection gives growers an opportunity to identify a promising field and manage it accordingly throughout the growing season.

The National Wheat Foundation is also exploring new ways for growers to participate. In 2026, Kansas was one of eight states included in a Digital Yield Pilot Category for dryland winter wheat.

The pilot allowed growers to use precision agriculture data and calibrated harvest equipment to verify yields on a larger field scale. Participating fields were required to include at least 40 contiguous acres, with growers submitting yield information from a selected 20-acre area. The pilot differed from the traditional contest, which required a minimum 5-acre field and at least 1.5 acres harvested under the supervision of an approved third-party witness.

Final 2027 categories, deadlines and contest requirements will be available on the contest website www.wheatcontest.org. Growers should review the official rules before entering. Growers should create an account today. The website will be open for the 2027 entries March 1.