Apply by June 1 for Kansas Wheat Yield Contest

The 2017 Kansas wheat crop has survived much in its short life. From drought to freeze to snow and disease, the crop is resilient. As we approach the finish line, achieving top yields is on the minds of wheat farmers. With Mother Nature’s help, your best management practices could be just the ticket to earn you a quick $1,750 in cash, if you enter the Kansas Wheat Yield Contest.

Entries for the Kansas Wheat Yield Contest are $50 and due by June 1. The Kansas contest is open to all Kansas wheat farmers, ages 18 and up. Members of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers receive one free entry in the Kansas contest. The contest is open only to dryland fields in Kansas, planted to certified Hard Red Winter or Hard White winter wheat.

Now in its eighth year, the Kansas contest includes three regions: Region 1 (Western Kansas), Region 2 (Central Kansas) and Region 3 (Eastern Kansas). Producers achieving the top yield in each region receive a $1,000 cash prize and plaque from Kansas Wheat.

Yield contest sponsors also offer additional cash awards. Winners who use an AgriPro/Syngenta, WestBred, Limagrain or Kansas Wheat Alliance variety will receive an additional $500 cash prize from those companies, respectively.

In addition, contest entrants will be eligible to participate in the Quality Initiative of the Yield Contest. Each contest participant will be asked to submit a 5-pound sample of wheat from the contest field. The sample will be evaluated for quality components such as test weight, protein content, variety and kernel quality. Top scoring samples will undergo further testing at ADM Milling’s Quality Laboratory in Kansas City. The sample with the top quality score will receive $250 in cash.

The deadline for the Kansas Wheat Yield Contest is June 1. Contestants must use certified seed.

Folks who enter the contest will be asked to share management information about their farm, including details about tillage and agronomic practices, crop protection product usage and more. A third party verifier will be employed at harvest to ensure the integrity of the contest.

Wheat farmers who are 18 years or older from throughout Kansas are eligible to participate by enrolling a plot at least five acres in size. The fee is $50 per entry. Producers may enter more than once, but each entry must be submitted on a separate entry form. Kansas Wheat board members, directors, employees and spouses are prohibited from entering the contest.

Contest winners will receive their awards at the 2017 Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson. A new contest record was set in the 2016 Kansas Wheat Yield Contest. Alec Horton, from Horton Seed Services in Leoti, Kansas, achieved a record yield of 121.48 bushels per acre with his field of the Kansas Wheat Alliance Hard White wheat variety, Joe.

For those who are interested in accepting the challenge, more details about the 2017 Kansas Wheat Yield Contest can be found online at www.kswheat.com/yieldcontest.