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Which wheat variety topped University of Missouri trials?

While wheat acres are declining across the state, yield remains on par with USDA estimates.

Mindy Ward, Editor, Missouri Ruralist

October 15, 2019

2 Min Read
wheat field
ACRE DROP: Estimated harvested wheat acres dropped across the state for the second year. A final count comes at the end of the year.

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.

Yield summary table for Missouri soft red winter wheat, northern region

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.

Yield summary table for Missouri soft red winter wheat, southeast region

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.

Yield summary table for Missouri soft red winter wheat, southwest region

About the Author

Mindy Ward

Editor, Missouri Ruralist

Mindy resides on a small farm just outside of Holstein, Mo, about 80 miles southwest of St. Louis.

After graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism, she worked briefly at a public relations firm in Kansas City. Her husband’s career led the couple north to Minnesota.

There, she reported on large-scale production of corn, soybeans, sugar beets, and dairy, as well as, biofuels for The Land. After 10 years, the couple returned to Missouri and she began covering agriculture in the Show-Me State.

“In all my 15 years of writing about agriculture, I have found some of the most progressive thinkers are farmers,” she says. “They are constantly searching for ways to do more with less, improve their land and leave their legacy to the next generation.”

Mindy and her husband, Stacy, together with their daughters, Elisa and Cassidy, operate Showtime Farms in southern Warren County. The family spends a great deal of time caring for and showing Dorset, Oxford and crossbred sheep.

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