Wheat Growers earn yield honors at competition

Wheat Growers earn yield honors at competition
Wheat Growers earn yield honors at competition | Courtesy of wheatgrowers.com

Five member-owners of Wheat Growers recently earned honors at corn, sorghum and soybean competitions in North and South Dakota with more yields than the national averages.

Quandt Bros. of Oakes, North Dakota was one of the winners of the National Corn Growers Association Yield Contest. They earned second place with 230.2315 bushels per acre in the No-Till/Strip-Till Non-Irrigated category. They also earned third place with 230.7219 bushels per acre in the Irrigated category.

Steve Breeding from Chamberlain, South Dakota was second place 279.9492 bushels per acre in the Irrigated category.

Val Mosel from Lower Brule, South Dakota won first place with 260.2466 bushels per acre in the No-Till/Strip-Till Irrigated category and earned second place with 259.6510 bushels per acre in the No-Till/Strip-Till Irrigated category.

Comparing these numbers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's national figures show that last year the average corn yield was 171 bushels per acre. In 2004, the average was 160 bushels per acre, and 20 years ago it was 138 bushels per acre.

Ken Schindler and Sons of Reliance won the South Dakota National Sorghum Producers Yield Contest with 142.96 bushels per acre for No-Till/Non-Irrigated.

In 2014, the national average for sorghum yield was 68 bushels per acre. In 2004, it was 69 bushels per acre, and 20 years ago the average stood at 73 bushels.

Eric Kroupa won second place with 81.1 bushels per acre in Group II Non-Irrigated division.

Last year the national average for soybeans was 48 bushels per acre. In 2004 it was 42 bushels, and 20 years ago it was 41 bushels per acre.