Colorado releases annual report on winter wheat varieties

The top five planted varieties for this year’s harvest were Byrd, Hatcher, Brawl CL Plus, Snowmass and TAM 111.
The top five planted varieties for this year’s harvest were Byrd, Hatcher, Brawl CL Plus, Snowmass and TAM 111. | File photo

The National Agricultural Statistics Service, Mountain Regional Field Office conducted the Winter Wheat Seedings by Variety Survey for this year with funding by the Colorado Wheat Administrative Committee. 

The total acreage for the top 10 planted varieties was 77.9 percent of the total acreage seeded in the state. Colorado farmers planted an estimated 2.25 million acres to winter wheat in fall 2015 for the 2016 harvest, which is slightly lower than the 2.4 million planted in 2014 for 2015. 

The top five planted varieties for this year’s harvest were Byrd, Hatcher, Brawl CL Plus, Snowmass and TAM 111. They accounted for 65.8 percent of the seeded acreage. 

Varieties six through 10 were Denali, Winterhawk, TAM 112, SY Wolf and Antero. Many of the top 10 varieties were in the same position as they were from 2015. 

Byrd is the most popular seed for the second year in a row, planted on approximately one-third of the acreage. TAM111 increased its acreage this year by almost double, with 4 percent of the acreage. Denali and SY Wolf were the newcomers to the list this year.

The full report can be found on Colorado Wheat’s website.