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Ontario Grain Farmer Magazine

Big wins for wheat: 2021-2022 Great Lakes YEN winners announced

Guelph, Ont. & Lansing, Mich., November 21, 2022 – Grain Farmers of Ontario, Michigan State University, Michigan Wheat Program, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the University of Guelph are proud to announce the winners of the 2021-2022 Great Lakes Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) competition. The Great Lakes YEN project has helped farmers learn from each other about new ways to improve their winter wheat yields. Participants from this year’s Great Lakes YEN project will have the opportunity to network and discuss with their peers the practices that have worked on their farms at the wrap-up meetings in January.

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

  • Jeffery Krohn, from Elkton, Michigan, with the potential yield at 87.97 per cent
  • Andy Timmermans from Stratford, Ontario, with 79.07 per cent
  • Aaron Stuckey from Archbold, Ohio, with 79.03 per cent

The winners of the highest yield competition are:

  • Jeffry Krohn, from Elkton, Michigan, with 165.92 bu/ac
  • Andy Timmermans, from Stratford, Ontario, with 150.19 bu/ac
  • Kelsey Hill from Arnprior, Ontario, with 144.13 bu/ac

“Understanding and learning about the potential for winter wheat is incredibly valuable to farmers. The Great Lakes YEN has played a pivotal role in providing us insightful data on yield and beyond. Grain Farmers of Ontario is pleased with the outcomes of the Great Lakes YEN’s inaugural year,” says Paul Hoekstra, vice president, strategic development at Grain Farmers of Ontario. “We congratulate the winners and cannot wait to see what follows in the next years of the Great Lakes YEN.”

While some farmers faced planting challenges with a very wet fall in 2021, followed by unseasonably cool temperatures in the spring and extended dry periods with very little rainfall throughout the summer, wheat growth and development progressed close to normal to even excellent, leading to some record yields. Great Lakes YEN participants produced an average yield of 116 bushels per acre.

“The weather challenges faced by growers proves once again how resilient they are,” said Jody Pollok-Newsom Michigan Wheat Program, Executive Director. “The YEN is an outstanding program because as the data continues to be collected, we will have better and better information about strategies to deal with the ever-changing weather conditions of our region. Our YEN growers are poised and ready to meet challenges armed with the data from their own farm, as to what works best in their conditions.”

Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you to all our participants, partners, and sponsors for such a successful year of the Great Lakes YEN. Farmers interested in participating in the 2023 Great Lakes YEN are encouraged to visit https://greatlakesyen.com/how-to-participate/ for more information and to register to receive program updates, and to watch for the hashtag #GreatLakesYEN on Twitter. Registration for the program opens on December 1, 2022 and will close on January 27, 2023

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

About Great Lakes YEN

Established in 2021, the Great Lakes YEN (Yield Enhancement Network) was created in partnership with Grain Farmers of Ontario, Michigan State University, Michigan Wheat Program, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, 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 contact: Marty Vermey, mvermey@gfo.ca or 519-767-1991

OMAFRA contact: Sophie Krolikowski,  Sophie.Krolikowski@ontario.ca or 226-962-6710

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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.