“Farming today is more technical and knowledge-driven than ever before, and programs like the Great Lakes YEN play a vital role in helping farmers understand the science behind their yields,” says Paul Hoekstra, Vice President, Strategic Development, Grain Farmers of Ontario. “We congratulate this year’s winners, including the program’s highest-yielding participant to date, and we look forward to continuing to work with farmers across the region to build on this success.”
Participants in this year’s program also demonstrated the benefits of attention to detail in crop management, with the average yield across all farms surpassing 115 bushels per acre.
Some of the season’s winter wheat highlights were:
- Farmers in the region successfully seeded winter wheat within their optimum planting window in fall 2024, with timely rains aiding establishment despite some regional dryness.
- Snow cover protected fields, helping with winter high survival through low temperatures. Early-seeded Ontario fields showed snow mould symptoms but recovered quickly. Split nitrogen and sulphur applications supported early spring growth.
- Cool spring conditions extended fungicide spray windows. Stripe rust emerged in Ontario in May, with significant losses in fields where fungicides were not applied. Isolated reports of common bunt were observed in northwest Michigan.
- Late June heat shortened grain fill in Ontario. In the U.S., windstorms caused localized lodging, but overall yield potential remained strong.
- Ontario reported strong, high-quality yields with very low DON. U.S. harvest quality was mostly excellent, although later rains caused sprouting and falling number issues in some areas. Overall, yields ranged from strong to average, highlighting the benefits of adaptive management.
“Now that we have hit our five-year mark, we can see how tracking yield increases and percentage of potential yield achieved helps farmers benchmark progress and make decisions for the future,” says Jody Pollok Newsom, Executive Director of the Michigan Wheat Program. “The individual reports provided to participants – built from more than 200 data points collected throughout the growing season – offer unique insights for each farm. Combined with opportunities for farmer-to-farmer knowledge exchange, these tools help growers identify what works best for their wheat crop and where they can make improvements for even greater future success.”
Congratulations to all participants, and thank you to all of the program partners, sponsors, and supporters for another record-setting year of the Great Lakes YEN. Farmers interested in joining the 2025-2026 Great Lakes YEN can visit https://greatlakesyen.com/how-to-participate/ for details and registration updates. Registration will open in early October and close January 30, 2026. Follow along on social media using the hashtag #GreatLakesYEN.
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).
Source : GFO