Producers on winter wheat tour

Did you know?

  • Over 300,000 acres of winter wheat were seeded in Alberta last fall.
  • For more information on growing winter wheat visit: www.wintercereals.ca
Winter Wheat

Core Grower

Larry Kitz of Two Hills says, "Winter wheat fits well into our direct seeding, continuous cropping program and that's making a huge difference to our soil
quality.”

Other core growers: (PDF format)

To find out more about growing winter wheat in Alberta, download this series of fact sheets: (PDF format)

 

Growing Winter Cereals   

Fall seeded crops, such as winter wheat, reduce disturbance on annually cultivated landscapes, providing nesting cover for waterfowl and habitat for other wildlife. This is of particular importance to the Northern Pintail, which prefer nesting in stubble.

This is why Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) is working directly with agricultural producers to encourage the planting of winter wheat. DUC’s Core Grower program provides information, advice and financial support for producers adding winter wheat to their field rotation. DUC now has a new program, ADVANTAGE: Winter Wheat, which provides an acreage payment of $10 per acre for new and incremental winter wheat acres for eligible producers in certain areas.  The program also provides producers with agronomic support to ensure a successful crop.

The number of producers growing winter wheat in Alberta has been steadily increasing in the ten years since DUC got involved – about 120,000 acres are now seeded annually each fall.

So, why the increase in winter wheat? Simple. Producers are recognizing the many benefits associated with growing winter wheat.

Higher Yields
Yields for winter wheat can be 15% - 30% higher than spring-seeded wheat, and newly developed varieties offer improved grain quality.

Reduced Workload
Seeding winter wheat provides the opportunity to spread the workload reducing the amount of seeding and harvesting required during the typical critical windows. 

Less Inputs
Winter cereals out-compete spring germinating wild oats, reducing herbicide use most years.

Flexibility
Winter cereals offer tremendous flexibility in end-use and marketing opportunities including milling, feed grain, ethanol production and distilling, as well as earlier marketing potential than spring wheat.

Disease Avoidance
By maturing earlier, winter cereals escape diseases such as Fusarium Head Blight.

Drought Risk Management
Taking advantage of snow melt moisture and having a significantly advanced plant stand in early spring all contribute to high water use efficiency.

Agriculture Friendly Wildlife Habitat
Fall seeded crops mean that landowners are not on their fields in the spring, allowing waterfowl to successfully nest in the stubble and move on. 

Featured core growers: (PDF)
Cory Nelson (293 KB)
Wayne Tuck (445 KB)
Kent & Mel Erickson (439 KB)
Kent Meers (453 KB)
Larry Kitz (432 KB)
Craig Shaw (403 KB)
Bryan Noble (326 KB)
Ed Janzen (384 KB)


Core Grower

Larry Kitz of Two Hills says, "Winter wheat fits well into our direct seeding, continuous cropping program and that's making a huge difference to our soil
quality.”

 
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