Timing matters

Washington grain growers know well part of the underlying message in Ecclesiastes 3, “For everything there is a season,” and timing within that season matters. In 2024, the timing of heat waves during grain fill on spring-planted cereal grains was the most significant limit to crop yields and associated grain quality traits in Eastern Washington. Nonetheless, spring grain production was up over 15% in 2024 compared to 2023, on similar planted acres, but lower than some years prior to 2023 with a combination of better moisture and lower temperatures during grain fill.

In total, approximately 945,000 acres of spring wheat were planted in the tri-state Pacific Northwest (PNW) region in 2024, with another 641,000 acres of barley, leading to a production total of approximately 60 million and 61 million bushels, respectively (nass.usda.gov).

The Washington State University (WSU) Variety Testing Program has a mission to provide growers with unbiased information on variety performance and relevant traits to help support optimal on-farm production. Spring wheat trials were successfully conducted at 12 sites in 2024, with both soft white and hard red trials at each site. Tough field conditions limited our ability to use results from four locations where yields were too variable to be reliable, notably in lower precipitation areas that were strongly affected by untimely heat.

Data is available on the WSU Small Grains Extension website (smallgrains.wsu.edu/) for each site. We are updating the variety selection tool, so look for that this spring as well. Of course, yield is not the only factor to consider when selecting wheat varieties. Data on quality rankings, pest and disease resistance reactions, aluminum tolerance, test weight, protein, falling numbers, and other traits are available from WSU Extension as well as from the Washington Grain Commission, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service’s Western Wheat Quality Laboratory, Washington State Crop Improvement Association, and other sources.

Data for soft white spring wheat variety performance are summarized and sorted based on two-year average yields. The top performing soft white based on two-year averages in each precipitation zone is Bush, a new 2024 release from WSU’s spring wheat breeding program with some commercial availability in 2025. Second-year experimental soft white spring entries WA8327, WA8384, and WA8408 grouped with Bush at the top of yield performance across all precipitation zones.

After Bush, familiar spring club and common varieties Hedge CL+ (club), Roger (club), Ryan, TMC Lochaven, Tekoa, Butch CL+, and Melba (club) ranked average or better across each precipitation zone. Based on the acres currently seeded to these varieties, inland PNW growers are doing well at planting high-quality wheat varieties with top yield performance on the vast majority of soft white spring acres.

Hard red spring wheat varieties were planted on about 33% of the spring wheat acres in Washington in 2024. Leading varieties based on two-year yield performance include Hale, MT Carlson, MT Dutton, and Net CL+ across precipitation zones. Second-year experimental hard red IDO 2105S was also among yield leaders across precipitation zones.

While Washington barley planted acres remained steady in 2024 at 85,000 acres, harvested acres declined by 17% down to 70,000 acres according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Still, overall production statewide was 4% higher due to higher yields in 2024.

The only malt varieties with two or more years of data include BC Lexy, LCS Diablo, and BC Leandra. Of these three, LCS Diablo was the only one landing in the top yielding group on the two-year average in all three precipitation zones. Growers should pay attention to test weight with LCS Diablo, though, as it often comes in last in the trial. BC Lexy also landed in the top group in the greater-than-20-inches zone and 12-to-16-inch zone over two years.

KWS Enduris was a new malt entry in 2024 and yielded exceptionally well, landing in the number one spot in all three precipitation zones. This new malt release from KWS is a few days later maturing, similar height, and has similar straw strength compared to AAC Connect. Malt varieties BC Elinor and BC Marietta both yielded close to the trial average in all precipitation zones. AAC Connect, AAC Synergy, BC Leandra and LCS Odyssey are the only malt varieties in the trial that currently reside on the approved list of malting varieties as posted by the American Malting Barley Association.

On the feed side, Carleton and Successor are the two newest released varieties, both having been in the trial since 2023. Carleton is a feed barley release developed by Highland Specialty Grains, which yielded very well in the high precipitation zone in 2024 and made it into the top grouping on the two-year average. It landed number two overall in the 16-to-20-inch zone and above average in the 12-to-16-inch zone. It also received a resistant rating for barley stripe rust and shows good straw strength. Bred by Oregon State University, Successor is another IMI-tolerant variety intended to replace Survivor, however, yields were consistently less than Survivor for a second straight year. It typically has one of the best test weights in the trial, and heading dates were typically five to seven days earlier compared to Survivor.

Older feed varieties like Lenetah and Altorado continue to be competitive in the lower and intermediate precipitation zones, whereas Claymore topped the trial in the high precipitation zone.

While a summary of 2024 and two-year yield data are presented in this article, growers are always encouraged to spend more time looking at multiyear data for a better representation of variety performance when available. Additional information, ratings, and yield data can be found at our website, smallgrains.wsu.edu/variety.

Acknowledgements: Funding for supplies, travel, and technical support for the WSU Extension Cereal Variety Testing Program is provided by the Washington Grain Commission. Facilities, salary, and equipment are provided by WSU administration. We are grateful for the many on-farm cooperators we partner with to conduct these trials around the state. They are essential for producing quality data and their donations of land, time, and resources are appreciated.