National Wheat Yield Contest Open for 2025
March 14, 2025
Following record-setting participation last year, the National Wheat Foundation (NWF) is now accepting entries for its 10th annual yield contest. A total of 28 national winners will be named in 2025 as wheat growers strive for high yield, exceptional quality and increased profit while trying new and innovative management strategies.
The deadlines to enter the contest in 2025 remain the same: May 15 for winter wheat categories and Aug. 1 for spring wheat categories. Growers who wish to enter will need to register on NWF's contest website found here: https://www.wheatcontest.org/….
"We are so pleased with the growth of the contest and look forward to continuing to share the lessons learned as farmers work to produce high-yielding, high-quality wheat," said Anne Osborne, NWF yield contest director. "U.S. wheat plays a critical role in the world food supply, and the benefits of having the crop in the rotation cannot be overstated as farmers look to improve their productivity and profitability."
Osborne noted that in 2024, the combination of a mostly conducive growing season and the creation of a new, more user-friendly website led to a record number of yield contest entries. A total of 516 entries were received, eclipsing the old record by nearly 100. The expansion of the contest with a pilot category, Digital Yield, also contributed.
That category is being further expanded in 2025. Those raising dryland winter wheat in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming may enter using digital technologies such as John Deere Operations Center, Climate FieldView or Bushel -- along with data from their calibrated grain cart scales -- to submit their yield into the contest from a 20-acre selected area from a previously entered field. Dryland spring wheat growers in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota remain eligible to enter this pilot category.
All growers and their trusted advisers, such as seed reps, county agents or agronomists, are encouraged to read through the contest rules and get their entries started, Osborne said. Each entry costs $100.
"Many of our contest partners will again offer vouchers that pay a growers' contest entry fees," she added. "A grower may select this option when submitting their entries."
Wheat growers may enter as many times as they wish in the main contest categories. Eligible winter and spring wheat growers may enter up to three fields in the Digital Yield category.
Though growers can only be recognized as a national winner in one category, they may enter in as many categories for which they are eligible. The 2025 categories include irrigated winter wheat, dryland winter wheat, irrigated spring wheat and dryland spring wheat.
Contest fields must be at least 5 continuous acres, planted with professionally produced, certified, branded, newly purchased wheat seed. The field must be verified by a third-party supervisor during harvest of the contest field.
Because the National Wheat Yield Contest encourages growers to produce grain that is both high yielding and high quality, all contestants must retain a 10-pound sample of grain from their contest entries. Should an entry place nationally, the wheat sample will be milled, baked and evaluated. A panel of experts will rank the wheat quality by class. Top industry-desired quality will be recognized with an additional cash reward. All national winners will receive a trip to the 2026 Commodity Classic, scheduled to be held Feb. 25-27 in San Antonio.
Entrants must be a member in good standing of a recognized state wheat grower association -- or National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG), if from a state without a state wheat grower association -- before completing and submitting an entry.
In total, 94 state yield contest winners were named from 29 states in 2024. Their yield average across all categories was 133.09 bushels per acre (bpa), up from 127 bpa in 2023. The 26 national winners' yield average was 145.05 bpa, an increase from 144 bpa.
Partnering sponsors for the 2025 National Wheat Yield Contest include: John Deere, WestBred, BASF, U.S. Wheat Associates, Croplan, Limagrain Cereal Seeds, The McGregor Co., AgXplore, Eastman, Ardent Mills, AgriMaxx, Bushel, DynaGro Seed, Kentucky Small Grain Growers Association, Mennel, North Carolina Small Grain Growers Association, Ohio Corn & Wheat, PlainsGold, Siemer Milling Co., UPL, Corteva Agriscience, Climate FieldView, Grain Craft, Idaho Wheat, Kansas Wheat, Michigan Wheat Program, Miller Milling, Montana Grain Growers Association, North Dakota Mill & Elevator, and the Northern Crops Institute. DTN/Progressive Farmer is the official media outlet of the competition.
For more information or to register for the 2025 yield contest, go to https://www.wheatcontest.org/…
Source: DTN
