2024 Wheat Quality Award Winners Named

The relationship between wheat yield and quality is complicated. To emphasize both and work to avoid compromise, the National Wheat Foundation (NWF) includes both components in its annual yield contest.

On Jan. 22, NWF released the results of the quality component of its 2024 National Wheat Yield Contest. This year's 12 winners include wheat growers from eight different states.

It was the third year the yield contest included an evaluation of grain quality. Those who participated were required to save a 10-pound sample from their harvested entries. Once the 26 national winners were named in November 2024, those growers sent in their samples for analysis of milling and baking characteristics.

Anne Osborne, NWF's project manager for the yield contest, said the goal is to promote continuous improvement, not only in terms of higher yields but also higher quality.

"It gives us an opportunity to educate growers on why it is so important that they select varieties with the characteristics that end users desire," she told DTN/Progressive Farmer, the official media outlet of the competition. "And they do have choices. They don't have to pick a variety that will just yield well. They can choose a variety that can do both when the proper management is applied."

To evaluate quality, the hard wheat samples were milled and analyzed at the Great Plains Analytical Laboratory in Kansas City, Missouri. Soft wheat samples were sent to the Wheat Marketing Center in Portland, Oregon. In addition to grain quality characteristics such as test weight and protein, flour characteristics such as falling number, gluten percentage, consistency and stability were evaluated.

As a final step, the flour samples were used to produce baked goods. The hard wheat entries were baked into bread, while the soft wheat entries were evaluated as sponge cake and sugar cookies.

A diverse panel from across the wheat industry evaluated the entries and bestowed points based on recognized standards to determine the winners. Brian Walker, an NWF director with long experience in the milling industry, served on the evaluation panel. He said 11 quality tests, which result in up to 45 different quality observations, were completed on the 26 winning yield samples, resulting in 1,170 results to be considered.

"We know we need yield improvements to be competitive with other crops and our end products in general," said Walker. "But it's also important to improve education across the supply chain from producer to end-user needs."

He noted that it is also important to provide industry feedback to producers reaching for high yields about the need to maintain competitive quality. "Adding quality components to the contest rewards those who achieve both, while we continuously improve and evolve. And it recognizes that each crop year can be different," Walker added.

"It's important to have those functional qualities that a miller and baker are demanding because that's what our customers, both international and domestic, are expecting," Osborne agreed, noting that environmental factors can play a role in grain quality. "What's important is to encourage growers to strive for consistent high quality while pushing for higher yields. We'll continue to encourage them to do both and recognize them when they succeed."

All national yield and quality contest winners will be recognized at the NWF Winner's Reception held in Denver at the 2025 Commodity Classic. That day, the foundation will also begin accepting entries for the 2025 National Wheat Yield Contest at https://wheatcontest.org/….

Read more about the 2024 yield contest winners from DTN: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

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2024 Top Quality Winners include:

SOFT WHITE

-- Joel Zwainz, Reardan, Washington

2nd Spring Irrigated

WSU Tekoa, 165.35 bushels per acre (bpa)

-- Oree Reynolds, Castleford, Idaho

1st Winter Irrigated

WestBred WB1621, 220.81 bpa

-- Jess Blatchford, Baker City, Oregon

Bin Buster Spring Irrigated

WestBred WB6341, 174.74 bpa

SOFT RED WINTER

-- Mark Deysher, Bath, Pennsylvania

5th Winter Dryland

Seedway SW65, 152.32 bpa

-- Scott Truszkowski, Stewartsville, New Jersey

4th Winter Dryland

Dyna-Gro 9070, 152.33 bpa

HARD RED WINTER

-- Tom Hill, Tonkawa, Oklahoma

3rd % increase Winter Dryland

LCS Warbird AX, 135.64 bpa, 282.72% increase over county

-- Zach Balahtsis, Tonkawa, Oklahoma

2nd Winter Irrigated

LCS Warbird AX, 177.52 bpa

-- David Ebers, Wellston, Oklahoma

1st % increase Winter Dryland

WestBred WB4422, 136.42 bpa, 350.52% increase over county

HARD RED SPRING

-- Dale Flikkema, Bozeman, Montana

2nd Spring Dryland

WestBred WB9668, 113.74 bpa

-- Bruce & Helle Ruddenklau, Amity, Oregon

3rd Spring Dryland

WestBred WB9668, 106.95 bpa

-- Austin Kautzman, Mott, North Dakota

2nd % increase Spring Dryland

WestBred WB9606, 90.13 bpa, 147.01% increase over county

HARD WHITE SPRING

-- Dallin Wilcox, Rexburg, Idaho

1st Spring Irrigated

WestBred WB7589, 169.94 bpa

Pamela Smith can be reached at pamela.smith@dtn.com

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