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Ontario Grain Farmer Magazine

Big Yields Once Again from Great Lakes Yield Enhancement Network Participants

2024 year saw top winter wheat yield of 171.9 bushels per acre

Guelph, Ont., and Lansing, Mich., October 7, 2024 – Grain Farmers of Ontario, Michigan State University, Michigan Wheat Program, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness, and the University of Guelph are proud to announce the winners of the 2023-2024 Great Lakes Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) competition.

With four project years now completed, the Great Lakes YEN project has been instrumental in fostering knowledge exchange among farmers seeking innovative methods to enhance their winter wheat yields.

The winners of the Great Lakes YEN competition for the highest yield include:

  1. Nick Suwyn (Michigan) – 171.9 bushels/acre
  2. Jeffery Krohn (Michigan) – 170.1 bushels/acre
  3. John Kilbourne (Ontario) – 160.2 bushels/acre

“Farming is a highly technical and skilled profession that is at its best when it incorporates data and knowledge and builds on that insight for innovative new practices and better sustainability. The Great Lakes YEN has helped farmers access those insights for winter wheat to understand their yield, achieve better results and incorporate innovation on their farms,” said Paul Hoekstra, Vice President, Strategic Development, Grain Farmers of Ontario. “We would like to congratulate the winners, and we look forward to working with farmers across the province and the US to help enhance yields.”

Great Lakes YEN participants continue to show that attention to detail when it comes to winter wheat management pays off, with this year’s average yield across all participants reaching over 115 bushels per acre.

Some of the season’s winter wheat highlights were:

  • Planting in much of the region was delayed into October due to delayed soybean maturity in the fall of 2023 and persistent rainfall.
  • A mild winter resulted in plants turning green early and excellent winter survival.
  • Some participants faced challenges with making timely fertilizer and crop protection applications due to persistent rainfall.
  • As the season progressed, increased insect and disease pressure was also observed across the region.
  • Growers experienced an early harvest in much of the region with generally good grain quality.

“Yield increases and percentage of yield achieved are great monitors for farmers to track their gains in winter wheat production,” says Jody Pollok-Newsom, executive director of the Michigan Wheat Program. “The detailed, written reports that are compiled and sent to growers provide valuable information on the more than 200 data points they enter on their wheat crop during the growing season. Through reviewing those reports to see how their farm stacks up and by participating in our grower networking opportunities, farmers are able to share what works on their farms to enhance their winter wheat yields and decide what they may want to try next year to boost it even more.”

Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you to all participants, partners, and sponsors for another successful year for the Great Lakes YEN. Farmers interested in participating in the 2024-2025 Great Lakes YEN are encouraged to visit https://greatlakesyen.com/how-to-participate/ for more information and to register to receive program updates, and watch for the hashtag #GreatLakesYEN on Twitter/X. Registration for the program will open in early October and will close on January 31, 2025.

Companies interested in sponsoring Great Lakes YEN can contact the Michigan Wheat Program (Jody Pollok-Newsom: jody@miwheat.org) or Grain Farmers of Ontario (Joanne Tichborne: jtichborne@gfo.ca).

About the Great Lakes YEN

Established in 2021, the Great Lakes YEN was created in partnership with Grain Farmers of Ontario, Michigan State University, Michigan Wheat Program, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness, and the University of Guelph to improve crop returns of winter wheat through greater understanding of crop performance and increased collaboration between industry and farmers. For more information, visit www.greatlakesyen.com.

Contact

Michigan State University contact: Dennis Pennington, Pennin34@msu.edu or 269-832-0497

Michigan Wheat Program contact: Jody Pollok-Newsom, jody@miwheat.org or 1-888-WHEAT01

Grain Farmers of Ontario: Alexandra Dacey, adacey@gfo.ca or 519 830-5633

OMAFA: Joanna Follings, joanna.follings@ontario.ca or 519 400-7124

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Grain Farmers of Ontario
Grain Farmers of Ontario is the province’s largest commodity organization, representing Ontario’s 28,000 barley, corn, oat, soybean, and wheat farmers. The crops they grow cover over 6 million acres of farm land across the province, generate over $4.1 billion in production value, result in over $27 billion in economic output and are responsible for over 90,000 jobs in the province.