A production field of LCS Trigger in Thompson, N.D.
The National Wheat Foundation compiled yield contest entries from 77 growers 25 states this year with the national winner coming from Washington. It goes to show how far and wide wheat is grown, organizers said.
“If you asked the general public where they think wheat is grown, they would say states like Kansas or Nebraska,” Foundation board chairman David Cleavinger said. “The National Wheat Yield Contest proves differently and shows the diversity of the wheat crop and that it can be grown from the east to the west coast and in between.”
The 2020 National Wheat Yield Contest announced winners in late November with categories for winter wheat and spring wheat, and two subcategories: dryland and irrigated. Below are results from area states.
| Name | County | State | Variety | Yield | Place |
| Winter wheat – dryland | |||||
| Tyler Ediger | Meade | KS | WestBred WB4792 | 108.43 | 1st |
| Andrew Lee | Cowley | KS | WestBred WB4401 | 105.09 | 2nd |
| Darwin Ediger | Meade | KS | WestBred Winterhawk | 104.43 | 3rd |
| Richard Keiser | Hitchcock | NE | PlainsGold Snowmass 2.0 | 82.72 | 1st |
| Dave Sauder | Garden | NE | PlainsGold Breck | 75.43 | 2nd |
| Nathan Vander Schaaf | Jones | SD | Agripro SY Monument | 88.13 | 1st |
| Winter wheat – irrigated | |||||
| Kim Gamble | Kiowa | KS | WestBred WB4792 | 135.39 | 1st |
| Eric Purvis | Wallace | KS | WestBred WB Grainfield | 124.77 | 2nd |
| Brock Neville | Sedgwick | KS | WestBred WB4699 | 106.14 | 3rd |
| Kody Stricker | Box Butte | NE | WestBred WB4303 | 100.70 | 1st |
Spring wheat – dryland
| Robert Holzwarth | Hamlin | SD | Limagrain Cannon | 87.73 | 1st |
| Monte Leidenix | Corson | SD | WestBred WB9719 | 51.70 | 2nd |
| Nathan Vander Schaaf | Jones | SD | Agripro SY Valda | 44.57 | 3rd |
The National Wheat Foundation created the National Wheat Yield Contest in 2015 to spur wheat productivity and encourage innovation in wheat growing. Entries continue on an uphill trend, and this year the foundation received a record-breaking 418 total entries, up from 397 last year.
“COVID-19 created many setbacks for growers across the country. It is exciting to see that it did not prevent wheat farmers from participating in this year’s Contest,” Cleavinger said.
The top winners in each category nationwide were named Bin Buster winners.
Winter wheat – dryland: Bruce Ruddenklau of Amity, Oregon. Variety: OSU Rosalyn. Yield: 191.17 bpa.
Winter wheat – irrigated: Derek Friehe of Moses Lake, Washington. Variety: Limagrain Jet. Yield: 206.7 bpa.
Spring wheat – dryland: Trevor Stout of Genesee, Idaho. Variety: WestBred WB 9303. Yield: 139.22 bpa.
Spring wheat – irrigated: Terry Wilcox of Rexburg, Idaho. Variety: WestBred WB 9668. Yield: 172.60 bpa.
Friehe’s overall winning yield came with LCS Jet. The variety has been a heavy-hitter in the yield contest, giving farmers wins for the past four years and topping the contest for three of those four years.
“It’s great to have a place for healthy competition,” says Friehe about his decision to enter the contest. “You can really see where you stand on a national level.”
In the Northern Plains, LCS Trigger has been a blockbuster yielder for Jon Wert in Slope County, of southwestern North Dakota. 2020 marks his third yield contest win in as many years.
“LCS Trigger is such a great variety with such high yield potential. It just performs. It’s insane,” Wert said.
He cautions that LCS Trigger is low in protein but is otherwise, “the best variety I’ve ever had.”
In addition to yield, it has disease tolerance, standability and shatter tolerance, he said. Shattering isn’t usually a problem for Wert, but last season brought a pummeling.
“When the hail hit, the variety (planted next to LCS Trigger) completely shelled out from the hail, but LCS Trigger did OK,” he said.
