Producers making their 2025 wheat variety selections!

Producers of north central Kansas are studying their 2024 wheat yields and making selections for their 2025 wheat crop. Post Rock Extension District was fortunate to have had five wheat demonstration plots around the district with one of them the KSU performance “replicated” trials that were planted four times in one location. “We are fortunate to have very special cooperators around the district who are willing to put in the extra time to provide local data for producers of north central Kansas,” according to Sandra Wick, crop production agent.” Cooperators included Darrell and Josh Bohnert, Jewell County; Rosebrook Farms, Lincoln County; Marty Fletchall, Mitchell County; Doane Farms, Osborne County along with Steve Kuhlman for Smith County.

Wick, along with K-State agronomists and plant pathologists, provided participants information about specific wheat varieties as well as the growing conditions during the growing season along with disease and insect concerns and issues at the annual KSU Post Rock Extension District tour. If you missed the tour, you can go to the Post Rock Extension District website and view the recorded tour at https://www.postrock.k-state.edu/crops/test-plots/index.html.

“The variety plots provide a visual demonstration of how crop varieties perform in a particular area of the state along with yield potential of that variety,” Wick explains. “This is known as “seeing is believing!” “Producers who observe the demonstrations and the latest methods or practices, then may apply them to their own situations,” added Wick. Producers can then compare the yield data from the many experiment fields across the state of Kansas, to this local yield data, in selecting the most adaptive and productive wheat varieties. K-State has an excellent publication, “2024 Wheat Variety Guide” that provides specific information about many varieties for yield, insect and disease resistance-susceptibility along with adaptability across the state. These are available online or at any of the district offices.

The yield reports for each of the locations are posted on the Post Rock Extension District website (www. postrock.ksu.edu/crops/test-plots) and also available at each of office.