Kansas Wheat is proud to announce the winners of the 6th Annual Wheat Yield Contest. This year's top wheat yields belong to Doug Queen of Rossville, Eastern Region winner; Darren Nelson of Hutchinson, Central Region Winner and Darwin Ediger of Meade, Western Region Winner.

Doug Queen is this year's Eastern Region winner. Queen was encouraged to enter this year's contest by Doug Keas, last year's Central Region and Quality Initiative winner. Queen's winning plot was 11.94 acres planted with Armour (WestBred) and resulted in a yield of 70.3 bushels per acre.

Queen said, "After such a rough weather year, we couldn't believe that we made yields that high. Right down the road from our plot were about 250 acres that were hailed out, so we just had some good luck this year."

Darren Nelson is this year's Central Region winner. After a drought-induced "massive crop failure" in 2014, Nelson's last harvest went significantly better. He attributes most of this year's success to the good nutrient profile left behind in the soil by last year's crop. His plot was 8.756 acres planted with a T158 (Limagrain) /Everest (Kansas Wheat Alliance) blend. Nelson's prize-winning yield was 108.48 bushels an acre.

Nelson said, "I had read about the contest in the past, and as a farmer it's just something that you just know about. But this year we were able to protect it from disease, so I had a feeling that it would be a good crop."

Darwin Ediger is this year's Western Region Winner. Ediger, a farmer from southwest Kansas, said that fields in his area were highly variable.

"I've never seen a year where management has made such a huge difference," said Ediger.

He planted his 6.48 acre plot with WB 4458 (WestBred) and saw a yield of 103.18 bushels per acre.

The 2015 Kansas Wheat Yield Contest is sponsored by BASF, WestBred, Kansas Wheat Alliance, Limagrain, Plains Gold, AgriPro, ADM and Kansas Wheat. Winners of the contest receive a $1,000 prize that will be awarded on September 17 by Governor Sam Brownback at the Kansas State Fair. Each winner will also receive a $500 prize, awarded by the company whose variety they planted.

In addition, the contest also has the optional Quality Initiative. Participants collect a sample of their wheat which will then be graded and analyzed for various quality components. The sample with the highest overall quality, mill and bake scores will receive $250. This winner will be announced by Governor Brownback at the State Fair. 

Justin Gilpin, CEO of Kansas Wheat, said, "Hosting the Kansas Wheat Yield Contest is an exciting part of what we do here. We're proud to recognize farmers across the state for their dedication to good management practices and celebrate their successes."