a man drives a small John Deere tractor as a woman in a blue coat sits on a small field planter monitoring the machine as it plants wheat seed — Participants of the new wheat management contest hosted by the OSU Extension Small Grains program plant wheat in OSU field plots. (Photo by Mitchell Alcala, OSU Agriculture)

Small grains, big competition: Producers plant wheat for regional contest

Monday, November 20, 2023

Media Contact: Gail Ellis | Editorial Communications Coordinator | 405-744-9152 | gail.ellis@okstate.edu

The Oklahoma State University Extension Small Grains program is celebrating wheat planting season with a friendly competition.

For the first time, OSU is implementing a Testing Ag Performance Solutions program to hold a wheat management contest. Eight teams comprised of wheat industry experts and professionals from Oklahoma and Kansas will compete on OSU plots to determine which management practices produce the highest quality and most cost-effective wheat.

“The TAPS program is an opportunity for us to learn from the different teams to understand which management decisions are most profitable or highest yield producing,” said Amanda Silva, OSU Extension small grains specialist.

Each team’s wheat variety of choice was planted in early November in no-till plots managed by OSU’s Soil Fertility Program. From drill to combine, each team will choose specific factors for its respective plot such as variety, seeding rate, nutrient supplementation and pest management.

“The goal of this program is to unite the wheat industry while learning which practices are most profitable and highest yielding,” Silva said.

Teams for the wheat management competition include producers from different regions of Oklahoma, professionals from the Oklahoma Wheat Commission and the Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association, and Extension professionals from both OSU and Kansas State University.

Contest updates are available on the OSU Small Grains social media pages and the OSU Wheat Research and Extension website. After harvest, contest winners and results will be posted for public access.