In November 2008, The Land printed an article pointing out that wheat yield increases have only been 10 percent in 15 years, dragging considerably behind soybeans and especially corn.

At that time, Art Brandli, a Warroad producer and board member of the Minnesota Wheat Research & Promotion Council said, “the pace of genetic improvement in wheat has been slower than any other field crop. And because of that, wheat has simply become a less attractive option for many farmers.”

Well, that 2008 referendum proposal of more money for more research didn’t pass. So it’s still catch up time and that’s why the Minnesota Wheat Research & Promotion Council recently concluded a series of meetings for Minnesota wheat producers to:

• Retell the story of why more research is needed, and
• Give every producer attending a chance to vote for the referendum proposal of increasing the current 1 cent per bushel wheat checkoff to 2 cents per bushel.

“Much better reception this year,” assessed Dave Torgerson, Minnesota Wheat Growers executive director of Red Lake Falls. “Growers appreciated the fact that we were offering eight different voting locations rather than just the single Grand Forks location in 2008. Also the suggestion of changing the checkoff from 1 cent per bushel to a value-based checkoff of 1/2 of 1 percent of the market price of wheat wasn’t popular.”

He related that MWGA board members had lots of discussion about the increase to 2 cents, rather than just 1 1/2 cents but the need for additional research efforts was strongly felt and thus the decision of a 2-cent proposal.

A Jan. 29 press release from the Minnesota Wheat Growers announced the passage of the checkoff referendum.

The heavy switch to corn and soybeans has been evident through much of the “wheat country” of northern Minnesota, even more so in southern Minnesota.

At the recent University of Minnesota Conservation Tillage Conference at Jackpot Junction, a representative of Arthur Elevators which operates six North Dakota facilities and one in Minnesota said they bought wheat from less than 20 growers last year simply because soybeans, and more recently corn, have become the dominant crops throughout the Red River Valley areas served by their elevators.

Because wheat breeding programs are almost exclusively the domain of University breeding programs, more dollars are especially needed to jump start research.

“This proposal could mean an additional half million dollars for research. That means more research lines in the system, more new varieties released with higher yields and better quality, and ultimately more money in growers’ pockets,” said Erik Younggren, a Hallock wheat farmer.

Currently the U of M wheat breeding program tests about 300 lines each year, but with more funding that could/would rapidly increase. The University does preliminary testing of experimental lines at three different locations. When the new checkoff goes into effect, eight locations are likely for second-year trials and this too speeds development of new varieties.

Jim Anderson, University of Minnesota Department of Agronomy/Plant Genetics, indicated breeding programs are basically a numbers game: the more you test, the better chance of finding a superior line. Unlike corn and its modern DNA marker programs which speed new hybrids into the market in three years or less, it takes seven to nine years for development of a new wheat variety.

Based on about 1.6 million acres of wheat for 2010 and a projected 47 bushel per acre yield, anticipated production would be about 750 million bushels. That means with the new 2-cent checkoff, upwards of $1.5 million could be available for research and market development efforts by the Minnesota Wheat Research and Promotion Council.

The new referendum goes into effect July 1; subsequently any wheat sold after that date would be subject to the 2-cent checkoff. This is a non-refundable program. Major usage of the additional funds would be directed toward new and improved wheat varieties. Also included would be issues directed toward higher protein levels, improved milling qualities and better disease resistance to leaf rust, stem rust, scab and other leaf diseases.

Torgerson said nearly 700 growers attended the eight meetings.

The Minnesota Varietal Trials booklet released in January covers all crops grown in Minnesota with data on yields, test weight, growth patterns and for wheat protein and milling quality also.

Because of growing interest in fungicide spray programs for wheat, 2009 trials were conducted at Crookston, Morris and Lamberton. In these trials the fungicide regimen (three applications) increased grain yield on average by more than 5 bushels per acre compared to about 9 bushels per acre in 2007 and 4 bushels per acre in 2008. Varieties susceptible to leaf rust and other fungal leaf diseases benefited most from fungicide applications.

The practice of three fungicide applications is not recommended. Rather use fungicides only if and when disease levels are forecasted to reach economic levels.

When to plant spring wheat

In Minnesota an average optimum stand for hard red spring wheat when planted early is between 28 to 30 plants per square foot, or approximately 1.25 million plants per acre. This number should increase by 1 to 2 plants per square foot for every week planting is delayed past the early, optimum seeding dates.

Expected stand loss even under good seedbed conditions is between 10 percent and 20 percent and will increase with a poor seedbed or improper seed placement due to poor depth control.

Consider winter wheat?

Though only about 70,000 acres winter wheat were harvested last year versus about 1.8 million acres spring wheat, winter wheat is a definite option, according to Jochum Wiersma, University of Minnesota wheat breeder at Crookston. Both yield and labor availability favor winter wheat plus winter wheat can work virtually anywhere spring wheat is grown.

He indicated a conservation advantage to winter wheat. “You have a fall cover crop (EQIP incentives) that reduces wind and water erosion. Plus there is almost always a higher yield potential compared to hard red spring wheat.”

Possible risk of winterkill and summer fallowing are key issues to consider, Wiersma said.