Now that the 2014 Kansas wheat crop is breaking dormancy, achieving top yields is on the minds of wheat farmers. With Mother Nature's help, your best management practices could be just the ticket to earn you a quick $1,000 in cash, if you enter the Kansas Wheat Yield Contest.

Now in its fifth year, the contest includes three regions: Region 1 (Western Kansas), Region 2 (Central Kansas) and Region 3 (Eastern Kansas). Producers achieving the top yield in each region receive a $1,000 cash prize and plaque from Kansas Wheat and corporate co-sponsor, BASF.

Yield Contest sponsors also offer additional cash awards. Winners who use an AgriPro, WestBred, Plains Gold, LimaGrain or Kansas Wheat Alliance variety will receive an additional $500 cash prize from those companies, respectively.

For the fourth year in a row, contest entrants will be eligible to participate in the Quality Initiative of the Wheat Yield Contest. Each contest participant will be asked to submit a 5-pound sample of wheat from the contest field. The sample will be evaluated for quality components such as test weight, protein content, variety and kernel quality. Top scoring samples will undergo further testing at ADM Milling's Quality Laboratory in Kansas City. The sample with the top quality score will receive $250 in cash.

Western Region winner Chuck Downey cinched both the region award and the Qualitive Initiative in the 2013 contest. Using the Syngenta variety SY Wolf and with less than five inches of rain during the wheat growing season, Downey yielded 70.05 bushels per acre to win the contest.

The May 1 deadline is approaching quickly, so be sure to enter the contest soon.

Folks who enter the contest will be asked to share management information about their farm, including details about tillage and agronomic practices, crop protection products usage and more. A third party verifier will be employed at harvest to ensure the integrity of the contest.

Wheat farmers who are 18 years or older from throughout Kansas are eligible to participate by enrolling a plot at least five acres in size. The fee is $50 per entry. Producers may enter more than once, but each entry must be submitted on a separate entry form. Kansas Wheat directors, employees and spouses are prohibited from entering the contest. Contestants must use certified seed. The contest is open only to dryland fields planted to certified Hard Winter wheat.

Contest winners will receive their awards at the 2014 Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson.

For those who are interested in accepting the challenge, more details about the 2014 Kansas Wheat Yield Contest can be found online at www.kswheat.com, by requesting an information packet via e-mail at kswheat@kswheat.com, or by writing to Kansas Wheat, 1990 Kimball Ave., Manhattan, KS 66502.