Q: Is this the first time you’ve seen wheat yields in the mid to upper- 100’s?
A: No, last year the monitor hit similar yields but not for nearly as long. A few years ago, I changed my practices when it comes to wheat, and I started seeing drastic improvements in yields immediately following.

Q: What practices did you change to start noticing your yield increase?
A: I began with changing my fertilizer inputs. I run dry fertilizer through the drill, at about 125-130 pounds per acre. I plant 1.6-1.8 million seeds per acre, heavier if we get later into the season.

Q: What about fungicides during the growing season? Do you apply any?
A: The crop gets 3 fungicide applications, one at flag leaf and 2 at heading. The applications at heading are 8 days apart. I use two different fungicides, on the heading passes.

Q: What other management practices have you implemented that you would attribute to these high yields?
A: We vertical till the fields right after soybean harvest and then go in and plant. I also used to take the straw off of the fields in the summer and market that, but I no longer do. I leave the straw on the soil surface because I’ve found the value in leaving it there and capturing the nutrients and organic matter it supplies easily outweighs the benefit of baling it for straw. Planting date is key too, I’ve been pushing them earlier every year and that’s key to getting those tillers established. I’ve shortened my soybean maturities mainly so I can get wheat into the ground early to drive my yields.

Q: Is there any advice you would give someone, outside of these practices, that was trying to push the yield on their wheat crop?
A: I would say not to treat your wheat crop like a secondary crop. It’s easy to throw it out there and do the same thing you’ve been doing for years in hopes that you’ll hit that high yield. But once you start treating it like you do corn or soybeans, you’ll really start to see the difference. The genetics have definitely improved, they have helped push through the diseases and get us higher yields, but you really have to work with the crop and give it some attention if you want to push those yields even higher.

Cassidy Fletcher, SEEDWAY, LLC – Soybean and Wheat Product Manager