The University of Missouri wheat variety testing plots saw yields a little above 60 bushels per acre, right on pace with the USDA forecast.

Topping the trials across eight locations was Dyna-Gro WX19711 in southeast Missouri with an average of 84.9 bushels per acre. The top single variety in the test was in southeast Missouri at 88.5 bushels.

Averages across the trials were up from last year, ranging from the mid-60s to mid-70s. Dry weather last year caused the 2018 wheat crop to be about 10 bushels less per acre.

Early projections

Farmers planted fewer winter wheat acres, and this year is not shaping up to be any better.

According to the August USDA Missouri Crop Production Report, this year’s harvested area is forecast at 470,000 acres, down 10% from the last year. Production is forecast at 28.2 million bushels, down 8% from the previous year.

Last year’s harvested acres were 520,000 acres, while 2017 acres were at 540,000.

Test plot results

According to the University of Missouri variety testing program, soft red winter wheat plots saw average to a little below-average results in places.

This year, the highest yield in the northern region came at Warren Hale’s farm near Martinsburg, Mo., with Krause K-9102 SWR posting 82.8 bushels per acre.

At Bill Cook’s farm in southwest Missouri, Limagrain L11719 was the top yielding variety at 80.7 bushels per acre. Wheat varieties in the southeast performed strong with Armor Voodoo posting 88.5 bushels per acre at Don Deline’s farm near Charleston, Mo.

The top 10 yielding varieties for each region are available on this page. Farmers should compare variety performance across years and locations.

Additional MU Variety Testing wheat plot data can be found at varietytesting.missouri.edu.