In about the middle of September — when most everyone else in the eastern Dakotas starts gearing up for corn and soybean harvest — Doug Rotenberger pulls a drill out of the machine shed and seeds a crop that many farmers gave up on in the 1980s.

He’ll seed winter wheat.

“It has improved my bottom line and reduced risk,” says Rotenberger, of Lisbon, N.D.

In eastern South Dakota and North Dakota, winter wheat in university trials, grower and company plots, and grower fields has yielded 5 to 20 bushels more per acre than spring wheat, says Blake Vander Vorst, a Ducks Unlimited (DU) agronomist. DU has an incentive program to encourage winter wheat production is certain counties.

Production costs about $10 per acre less than spring wheat, according to North Dakota State University (NDSU) Extension Service’s annual projections. You don’t need a wild oat herbicide because winter wheat usually smothers other grassy weeds. An insecticide isn’t needed to control orange blossom wheat midge either because winter wheat matures before the midge emerges.

Winter wheat is generally worth 10 to 15 cents per bushel less than spring wheat.

“I generally come out even between winter wheat and spring wheat,” Rotenberger says.

But there are other advantages to factor in for winter wheat.

Winter wheat spreads the workload. Rotenberger also grows corn, soybeans, alfalfa and millet hay. He runs a commercial cow-calf operation and finishes approximately 200 fat cattle per year.

“If it is rainy and wet in the spring, it is nice to have a bunch of winter wheat fields done.”

By spreading out the workload, you can farm more acres overall or reduce equipment size. You can also plant, spray and harvest all crops in a more timely manner.

Winter wheat helps the rotation. It often improves the yields of the corn or soybeans that follow in the sequence. Part of the boost is due to the interruption of pest cycles. Another advantage is that winter wheat matures in late July. The soil moisture has one to three months longer to recharge than after other crops in the rotation.

Less risky

Winter wheat also reduces risk, Rotenberger says. That statement hasn’t been associated with winter wheat in the past. The crop had a reputation of being more risky than other crops grown in the eastern Dakotas due to the potential for winterkill.

But that was before no-till came of age. No-tilling winter wheat directly into tall standing stubble reduces winterkill chances. The stubble traps snow, which usually insulates the tender plants from winter’s worst weather.

New winter wheat varieties are hardier, too, than older ones.

Rotenberger grew primarily Millenneum and Wesley, which are among the highest-yielding varieties adapted to southeast North Dakota.

Joel Ransom, NDSU extension agronomist, says that varieties developed in North Dakota and Canada are generally the hardiest, followed in order by South Dakota and Nebraska varieties. However, yield potential grows in the opposite order.

It’s easier to manage diseases in winter wheat now than in the past. Plant breeders have come up with better resistance packages and chemical companies have developed several new
fungicides. It’s possible to control disease by selecting the right
varieties and applying fungicides at the right time, says Marty Draper, South Dakota State University extension plant pathologist.

Winter wheat also makes better use of the current wet cycle and weather patterns. It needs lots of precipitation in early spring and summer and dry weather in July and August. That matches up almost exactly with the weather pattern that has dominated the Dakotas for the past 10 years.

Good for ducks

Winter wheat is good for ducks, too. According to DU surveys in Canada, nesting concentrations and hatching success is four to five times higher in winter wheat than in spring-planted crops.

Other upland nesting birds may make similar use of winter wheat.

The crop is a “win-win” for farmers and wildlife, says Vander Vorst. He has been helping growers in the Dakotas learn to manage winter wheat. “It looks like a perfect fit.”

For more information, contact Vander Vorst at (701) 355-3533; e-mail bvandervorst@ducks.org.