WestBred wheat demonstrated the strength of its newer genetics by earning 54% of the winning positions in the 2020 National Wheat Foundation National Wheat Yield Contest.
WestBred varieties were planted by two growers who achieved Bin Buster first-place
awards for highest yields at the national level. Trevor Stout from Genesee, Idaho, won Bin
Buster for the spring wheat dryland production category with a yield of 139.2 bushels per acre with WB9303 variety. In the irrigated spring wheat category, Terry Wilcox in Rexburg, Idaho, took the Bin Buster award with a yield of 172.6 bushels per acre with WB9668 variety.
“WestBred growers have excelled in the NWYC over the past seasons, and 2020 was no
exception,” said Jeff Koscelny, Bayer Crop Science global wheat business strategy lead. “We
are proud of the accomplishments by this year’s winners, as well as past years’ winners.”
Since the start of the NWYC in 2016, 55 growers have placed nationally growing WestBred varieties, while 121 have placed at the state level.
“For WestBred, it is the newer genetics that are continuing to win the NWYC,” said Koscelny.
“Eleven WestBred varieties were among the national winners in 2020, and the average age
across these 11 varieties is 3.2 years in the market. WestBred is very proud of our portfolio
and especially of the performance of our releases of the past few years. They have demonstrated the value of growing products bred from new germplasm for high yield and protein potential with strong disease-tolerance packages and pest protection and—as always with WestBred—are available in professionally produced seed.
Entrants were judged in two primary categories: spring wheat and winter wheat, broken into
subcategories of dryland and irrigated. Awards were also given for percent increase over county averages.
The 2020 NWYC WestBredÒ winners include:
Spring Wheat—Dryland:
• Bin Buster Winner, High Yield—Trevor Stout, Genesee, Idaho, with a yield of 139.22
bushels per acre with WB9303.
• First Place, High Yield—Randy Duncan, Tekoa, Washington, with a yield of 125.79
bushels per acre with WB6121.
• Second Place, Percentage Increase—Jordan Christman, Hettinger, North Dakota, with
a 132.44% increase over county average with WB9719. Final yield: 91.44 bushels per acre.
• Third Place, High Yield—Rick Albrecht, Wimbledon, North Dakota, with a yield of
120.65 bushels per acre with WB9590.
• Third Place, Percentage Increase—Raymond and Amanda Kopp, Des Lacs, North
Dakota, with a 126.18 increase over county average with WB9719. Final yield: 115.24
bushels per acre.
Spring Wheat—Irrigated:
• Bin Buster Winner, High Yield—Terry Wilcox, Rexburg, Idaho, with a yield of 172.60
bushels per acre with WB9668.
• First Place, High Yield—Dallin Wilcox, Rexburg, Idaho, with a yield of 167.02 bushels per acre
with WB9707.
• Second Place, High Yield—James Getzinger, Moses Lake, Washington, with a yield of
164.34 bushels per acre with WB9662.
Winter Wheat—Dryland:
• First Place, Percentage Increase—Travis Freeburg, Pine Bluffs, Wyoming, with a
349.57% increase over county average with WB4462. Final yield: 110.37 bushels per acre.
• Second Place, High Yield—Doug Stout, Genesee, Idaho, with a yield of 179.91 bushels per acre
with Keldin.
• Third Place, Percentage Increase—Scott Kodesh, Marland, Oklahoma, with a
206.63% increase over county average with WB4699. Final yield: 98.98 bushels per acre.
• Fourth Place, Percentage Increase—Levi Johnson, Helena, Oklahoma, with a 206.16%
increase over county average with WB4699. Final yield: 111.32 bushels per acre.
• Fifth Place, Percentage Increase—Tyler Ediger, Meade, Kansas, with a 205.01%
increase over county average with WB4792. Final yield: 108.43 bushels per acre.
