Dry conditions stood out as one of the biggest observations during this year’s Wheat Quality Council Hard Spring Wheat and Durum Tour. “Usually when you stop and look at a wheat field at 8:30 in the morning, you’re going to get dew and wet shoes and sometimes muddy shoes,” said Anne Osborne, executive director, National Wheat Foundation. “This year we didn’t get wet or mud on anything.” Osborne said the dry weather has had one benefit by limiting disease development. The tour also serves as an opportunity to promote the National Wheat Yield Contest. “Spring wheat growers can still enter until the end of July, but in the 2027 contest we’ll have categories that are more aligned with our quality component, and durum is becoming its own category. I’m excited about offering that to the durum growers in the area.”
