ISSUE 5
January 1997

Now’s the time for varietal selection
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Prairie Grains is the
official publication of
the Minnesota
Association of
Wheat Growers,
North Dakota Grain
Growers Association,
South Dakota Wheat,
Inc., and the
Minnesota Barley
Growers Association.

 If you haven’t already begun your varietal selection process for 1997, now is the time to do so. NDSU varietal information may be found in this issue of Prairie Grains. University of Minnesota small grains performance information was provided in the November 96 issue of Prairie Grains (call the MN Wheat office at 1-800-242-6118 if you missed it) Varietal information may also be found through your county extension office, and even on the World Wide Web: http://www.ndsuext.nodak.edu/extnews/procrop/hrs/varieties.html; http://www.smallgrains.org/techvar.htm; http://www.sdstate.edu/~wpls/http/var/vartrial.html

In the Red River Valley, varietal selection is still a balancing act between yield potential, quality, and disease responses. Bear in mind that return per acre is not merely a function of bushels, but also the quality of those bushels. Protein content, test weight, percent dockage and scabby kernels also affect the price per bushel and thus return per acre. Further, ask yourself what additional input cost—such as the use of a foliar fungicide or swathing—may be more likely with the selection of a particular variety. These factors should all be considered in your evaluation of yield trial data. If you have questions about certain varieties, don’t hesitate to call me at 218-281-8629 or e-mail at jwiersma@mes.umn.edu.

A note to Minnesota readers: I would urge you to go back to the last issue and fill out the wheat and barley management surveys. I know surveys are a pain, but I hope you can make an exception for this one. If you lost or misplaced November’s issue, please call and I’ll send you a copy of the survey.

Finally, I’d like to welcome Dr. Mike Peel to our small grains community. Mike is the new NDSU extension small grains specialist, who fills the position previously held by Dr. Jim Helm, who passed away last spring. Mike is a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota, and worked as a graduate assistant under Dr. Don Rasmusson, the U of M’s barley breeder.

I knew Mike when I was a graduate assistant in the same department. Those days already feel like ancient history, nonetheless I can tell you that Mike will do a fine job in his new position and I look forward to cooperating with him in the future. Mike’s already at work in the small grain trenches; coordinating the NDSU varietal information for this magazine.
Copyright Prairie
Grains Magazine

January 1997