JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (DTN) -- Big yields may generate big headlines, but in the world of wheat, bushels per acre is only one consideration. The crop's functional qualities -- how it performs when transformed into breads, cakes, crackers and cookies -- is just as important, if not more.

And since 2022, the National Wheat Foundation (NWF) has incorporated a quality component into the National Wheat Yield Contest. During a webinar on Jan. 21, NWF recognized 12 Top-Quality Award winners from among the 28 national winners in the 2025 yield contest. The winners included wheat growers from 10 states and across five classes of wheat.

"One of our priorities at the National Wheat Foundation is to prove that high-yielding wheat can also be high-quality wheat and to encourage all wheat growers to strive for both," said Brian Walker, an NWF director and retired flour milling quality executive and consultant, in a press release. "By examining and rewarding both yield and quality in this contest, we are able to both learn and educate all segments of the wheat sector why yield and quality are so critical."

All who submitted an entry to the yield contest were required to retain a 10-pound sample of the grain. Once the 28 national winners were determined in November 2025, those growers sent in their samples, which were analyzed for grain, milling, flour and end-use qualities.

Soft wheat samples were milled and analyzed at the Wheat Marketing Center in Portland, Oregon. Hard wheat samples were sent to the Great Plains Analytical Laboratory in Kansas City, Missouri. In addition to grain quality characteristics such as test weight and protein, flour characteristics such as falling number, gluten percentage, consistency and stability were evaluated.

As a final step, the flour samples were used to produce baked goods. The soft wheat entries were baked into sponge cake and sugar cookies, while the hard wheat entries were evaluated as bread. A panel of 13 experts reviewed the results and determined which of the yield contest entries earned a Top-Quality Award.

Steve VanGrunsven, who earned his third "Bin Buster" award in the 2025 yield contest, said the competition is tough. He earned his first quality award this year with an entry of soft white winter wheat that yielded 198.32 bushels per acre (bpa).

"The Pacific Northwest is known for high-quality soft white winter wheat," he told DTN. "By putting the tools together that we have available to us as farmers, we can make high-yielding and high-quality wheat a reality."

Those who earned the Top-Quality Award will be recognized at the NWF's winners' reception held in conjunction with the Commodity Classic in San Antonio in late February. They also receive a $250 cash award.

"Having performed the soft white survey for the U.S. Wheat Associates Crop Quality Report, what I can say about the National Wheat Yield Contest winners is that these samples outperformed the average composite sample that we were testing this year for the crop," said Jayne Bock, technical director for the Wheat Marketing Center, during one of the webinar's breakout sessions. "So, I think the National Wheat Yield Contest delivered this year, for soft white, in that you can have yield and you can also bring the quality along with it.

"I just want to congratulate all the growers who submitted samples because these were by far the best samples that we tested for the 2025 crop year," she continued. "I'm incredibly impressed."

Partnering sponsors for the 2025 National Wheat Yield Contest include: John Deere, WestBred, BASF, Dyna-Gro, AgXplore, Croplan, Limagrain, U.S. Wheat Associates, The McGregor Companies, AgriMaxx, Anheuser-Busch, Ardent Mills, BNSF, Corteva, Eastman, Mennel Milling, Siemer Milling, UPL, Bushel, Climate FieldView, Grain Craft, Miller Milling, Nachurs, PlainsGold, Idaho Wheat, Kansas Wheat, Kansas Wheat Alliance, Kentucky Small Grain Growers, Michigan Wheat, Montana Grain Growers, North Carolina Small Grain Growers, Ohio Corn & Wheat and Texas Wheat. DTN/Progressive Farmer is the official media outlet of the competition.

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2025 Top-Quality Winners include:

SOFT WHITE WINTER

-- Jerry and Daniel Mullen, St. Paul, Oregon

First Place Winter Wheat Dryland

Variety: Oregon State University Gale

Yield: 186.11 bpa

-- Steve VanGrunsven, Forest Grove, Oregon

Bin Buster Winter Wheat Dryland

Variety: Oregon State University Rosalyn

Yield: 198.32 bpa

-- Garrett Warren, Dayton, Washington

Second Place Winter Wheat Dryland

Variety: Limagrain Cereal Seeds 50% Shine/50% Jefe

Yield: 169.00 bpa

SOFT RED WINTER

-- Steve Wilkens, Random Lake, Wisconsin

Fourth Place Winter Wheat Dryland

Variety: Pioneer 25R64

Yield: 161.48 bpa

-- Blake Anthis, Wheatland, Indiana

Fifth Place Winter Wheat Dryland

Variety: Dyna-Gro 9533

Yield: 155.70 bpa

-- Nick Suwyn, Wayland, Michigan

Second Place Winter Wheat Irrigated

Variety: Irrer Seed Farm ISF780

Yield: 185.60 bpa

HARD RED WINTER

-- Matt Dornan, Chandler, Oklahoma

Second Place Winter Wheat Dryland Above County Average

Variety: WestBred WB4422

Yield: 106.45 bpa

-- Wyatt Ramage, Billings, Montana

Fifth Place Winter Wheat Dryland Above County Average

Variety: Dyna-Gro Ramsay

Yield: 141.48 bpa

-- Kenneth O'Neal, Groom, Texas

Third Place Winter Wheat Dryland Above County Average

Variety: WestBred WB4792

Yield: 89.14 bpa

HARD RED SPRING

-- Karissa Berg, Bottineau, North Dakota

Second Place Spring Wheat Dryland

Variety: Dyna-Gro Ballistic

Yield: 110.64 bpa

-- Jordan Christman, Hettinger, North Dakota

First Place Spring Wheat Dryland Above County Average

Variety: WestBred WB9590

Yield: 101.27 bpa

HARD WHITE SPRING

-- Dallin Wilcox, Rexburg, Idaho

First Place Spring Wheat Irrigated

Variety: WestBred WB7589

Yield: 190.10 bpa

Jason Jenkins can be reached at jason.jenkins@dtn.com

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