BILLINGS — The National Wheat Foundation is now accepting enrollment for the 2021 National Wheat Yield Contest.
The contest is divided into two primary competition categories: winter wheat and spring wheat, and two subcategories: dryland and irrigated.
“The contest is in its sixth year for 2021,” said National Wheat Yield Contest Director Anne Osborne. “We recognize state winners and the first three in the state."
"We also recognize and give awards to the national winners in four different categories the spring wheat, winter, wheat, dryland and irrigated. So, 24 national winners will receive travel and lodging and registration for the Commodity Classic. That's the prize that we give them.”
Over the years, this contest has become an important vehicle to showcase the different wheat varieties used across the United States and also letting farmers earn some fun bragging rights with each other.
“Anybody that is a seed salesperson or a seed breeder likes to work with these growers because these growers are willing to try things,” said Osborne. “And then they also get the bragging rights."
"What we want them to have is five acres per variety and then they need to harvest an acre and a half," Osborne continued. "We do have them send in a sample so that we can run quality data on that harvest as well because we're interested not only in yield but we want to make sure our wheat stays the top quality of any wheat that is produced in the world.”
The deadline for Winter Wheat entries is May 15 with an early registration deadline of April 1. The Spring wheat entry deadline is Aug. 1, with an early registration deadline of June 15. The wheat contest is administered entirely online, and growers can register by clicking here.
The National Wheat Foundation is hoping to continue to break its record of eligible entries and for the quality criteria to continue to make the contest more competitive.
