Doug and Janelle Fitterer, New England, N.D., placed first in the state and second in the nation in the National Wheat Foundation’s 2019 National Wheat Yield Contest.

Their win was in the “Spring Wheat — Dryland, Percentage Increase” category with a yield of 96.07 bushels, a 191.12% increase over their USDA county average. They entered the yield from a WestBred variety, WB9719.

The Fitterers credit good weather and seed genetics to their award-winning yield. They also no-till and split nitrogen applications, topdressing wheat to increase yields if weather conditions warrant. They also have been applying lime to correct the soil pH.

In southwest North Dakota where they farm, the top several inches of soil in some long-term no-till fields have become slightly acidic. The lower pH can stunt plant growth. They place a humic acid in the furrow with wheat seed to enhance root growth and microbial activity.

“It is working,” Doug says.

The Fitterers grow usually wheat, barley, canola, corn and field peas. Doug manages personnel, machinery and research while Janelle spearheads information technology, data collection, field records and financial analysis and record keeping. They make major input decisions together, and when it comes to running machinery during seeding and harvest, it’s all hands of deck.

The Fitters have three children Samantha, Sierra and Max.

FAMILY TIES: Doug and Janelle Fitterer (center) involve all of their children in age-appropriate farming activities. Pictured are Sierra (left), Samantha and Max.

The Fitterers have been farming for about 17 years. They are working Doug’s parents’ farm. They have been using precision farming technology extensively and make use of the data that the equipment collects.

“Doug is a fixer,” Janelle says. When he sees low yields pop up on combine monitor or scattered across a yield map, he wants to figure out how to fix them.

Each year, the Fitterers conduct many strip trials. They compare new varieties and hybrids, seeding and fertilizing rates, and new crop input products.

Janelle tracks the return on investment across the farm closely. She also drills down into the ROI in the strip trials.

“High yield does no good if you don’t know your costs,” Doug says. “Today’s precision farming technology is a great help in guiding decisions and analyzing fields, varieties, inputs and ROI.”

Attention to detail is important no matter what crop you grow, Janelle says.

IT MANAGER: Janelle Fitterer checks the field data collected at planting. She serves as the farm’s information technology manager.

They’ve seen proof of that principle in the steady increase in their average yields.

“There is a lot of yield potential in seeds to today. We’re trying to figure out how to capture as much of it as we can,” Doug says.

The Bayer Group contributed to this article.