Ontario wheat growers hit yields of close to 150 bushels per acre in the second year of the Great Lakes Yield Enhancement Network (YEN).
The YEN included 18 Ontario winter wheat field locations, but expanded to include 50 Ontario field sites for the 2021-22 competition. That added more information to the understanding of wheat production capability. Most participants achieved yields well into the triple digits.
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Marty Vermey, senior agronomist with Grain Farmers of Ontario, says his organization and other groups that support the initiative were happy to see representation from various regions.
“The numbers are different based on everybody’s different environments,” says Vermey, referring to yield potential variations between field locations. More participants across a wider geographic area – plus a full-season competition – provide more useful data for growers to predict winter wheat yield potential and to assess what percentage of that potential has been achieved.
Why it matters: Understanding yield potential under different growing conditions supports better production decisions.
Excessive moisture after planting caused some participants to drop out initially, but the subsequent spring was gentle enough to support most farmers through the competition period. A good overall crop was the end result.
As described in the Great Lakes YEN 2022 press release, participants produced an average yield of 116 bushels per acre.
“We see average yields are higher than last year. We had lots of participants that were getting 130 to 140 [bushels],” says Vermey.
Andy Timmermans of Stratford achieved the second highest yield potential percentage and was second in overall bushels – 79.07 per cent and 150.19 bushels per acre. Arnprior’s Kelsey Hill placed third in highest yield, with 144.13 bushels per acre. Ohio and Michigan wheat growers Aaron Stuckey and Jeffery Krohn took the other top spots.
Participants and competition partners are set to share their experiences in a presentation Jan. 3, 2023, and will be made available at the Ontario Agriculture Conference Jan. 4-5.
Winter wheat into 2023
Opportunities for the yield enhancement network look positive for the coming year. Continued dry conditions in September and October enabled Ontario grain growers to harvest soybeans with plenty time to spare for wheat seeding. Those same conditions did delay initial growth and early greening of seeded fields.
“It looks to me like we’re getting good stands … maybe it was a little later emergence for dry soils. Acreage-wise, the intended acres growers wanted to plant got in,” Vermey says.
He estimates total planted acreage to be within a standard range, 1.2 to 1.3 million acres province-wide.
“I haven’t seen anywhere that’s wall-to-wall wheat. I think it’s possible some of what people may have thought was wheat might have been some recreational tillage.”
