Washington wheat farmer tops National Wheat Yield Contest

Today, the National Wheat Yield Contest announced the 26 national and 94 state winners for 2024-the ninth year of the contest. This year’s contest had 516 entries, the most ever.

Among the list of winners, two new names joined title-winners, including Phillip Gross of Warden, Washington, earning Bin Buster honors with irrigated hard red winter wheat yielding 223.08 bushels per acre. 

In the dryland category, the Bin Buster was Steve VanGrunsven from Forest Grove, Oregon, growing the Limagrain Cereal Se variety Shine with a 170.63 bpa.

Jess Blatchford of Baker City, Oregon, was named Bin Buster for the first time with irrigated soft white spring wheat yielding 174.74 bpa. Nick Pfaff of Bismarck, North Dakota, also a first-time Bin Buster, took the dryland spring wheat category with an entry of 117.60 bpa.

“The new website, along with all our great partners promoting the contest and good growing conditions in most wheat-growing states early last spring, created more interest and enthusiasm for the contest. We appreciate all the growers who participated and our partners who supported the contest. Congratulations to all the winners and to everyone who is learning how to raise higher yield and quality wheat through their experiences in the contest,” said Bernard Peterson, National Wheat Foundation Chairman and Bardstown, Kentucky Farmer.

The National Wheat Yield Contest encourages wheat growers to strive for high yield, quality, and profit while trying new and innovative wheat management strategies.

Out of the 26 national winners, seven are new national winners this year, 19 have placed nationally in the past. Two of the winners are from the new category, Digital Yield, which ran as a pilot in dryland spring wheat only in 4 northern plains states.

Brad Disrud of Rolla, North Dakota, won the new category with a hard red spring wheat that yielded 102 bpa across 20 acres. John Hofer of Milnor, North Dakota, earned the digital yield award for highest percentage above county average with a yield of 98 bpa, nearly 62 percent above his county average. 

“We are pleased with how the pilot digital yield category went and how much we can learn from it. We expect to continue this type of category and will take time this winter to gather feedback from the participants and our partners who helped us develop this category to refine it even more,” said Anne Osborne, National Wheat Foundation Project Manager.

All 26 national winners will ship in a wheat sample to be tested for quality parameters, including milling and baking analysis. A panel of experts will evaluate the results, and top-quality winners will be announced on January 15 at the National Wheat Foundation’s Winter Board meeting in Washington, D.C.

“The National Wheat Yield Contest emphasizes wheat quality as well as yield because our customers all over the world expect that our wheat is the best and most consistent high-quality wheat they can buy,” said Bernard Peterson, National Wheat Foundation Chairman and Bardstown, Kentucky Farmer.

National winners are awarded a trip to the Commodity Classic, which will be held in March 2025 in Denver where they will be recognized at the NWF Winner’s Reception on March 2, 2025.