Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
February 24, 2014
Hatcher was the most popular winter wheat variety in Colorado for the seventh year in a row, planted on 30 percent of all winter wheat acres in the fall of 2013, according to the Colorado Winter Wheat Variety Survey released by USDA/NASS this spring.
Hatcher and other Colorado State University (CSU) varieties owned by the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation (CWRF) and sold under the PlainsGold brand accounted for 79.1 percent of winter wheat acres planted in Colorado identified by variety in the survey.
Colorado wheat farmers planted an estimated 2.9 million acres to winter wheat in the fall of 2013 for harvest in 2014, up from 2.3 million acres planted for 2013 harvest. This is the largest winter wheat planted area in Colorado since 1997.
The new variety, Byrd, released in 2012, vaulted into second place with 14.8 percent. Tam 111, Snowmass, Ripper, Bill Brown, Tam 112, new variety Brawl CL Plus, Prairie Red, and Prowers/Prowers99 rounded out the top ten varieties. CSU-developed varieties held eight of the top ten spots with Hatcher, Byrd, Snowmass, Ripper, Bill Brown, Brawl CL Plus, Prairie Red, and Prowers/Prowers99.
Hatcher, Byrd, Snowmass, Ripper, Bill Brown and Brawl CL Plus are all currently marketed by PlainsGold. Prairie Red and Prowers/Prowers 99 are no longer marketed by CWRF.
Hatcher was developed by the CSU wheat breeding program and was released to CWRF in 2004. Ripper was released in 2006. Bill Brown was released in 2007. Snowmass was released in 2009. Byrd and Brawl CL Plus were released in 2012.
The CSU wheat breeding program is partially funded by Colorado Wheat Administrative Committee (CWAC) assessment funds, and by royalties returned from certified seed sales of PlainsGold wheat varieties.
“I think the results of this survey speak very well for farmer-supported winter wheat variety development at CSU. It is a huge benefit for Colorado farmers to have winter wheat varieties available that are so closely tailored for growing conditions here in Colorado,” said Steve Beedy, Genoa, CWAC president.
Net royalties from the sale of PlainsGold varieties are returned to CSU to fund public wheat breeding and wheat-related research. Net royalties of $176,087 were returned to CSU wheat researchers in fiscal year 2012-13, and $157,192 in 2013-14.
Since 1995, CWRF has provided over $2.6 million in gross royalties to support continued wheat research and breeding at CSU. This funding complements the funding provided by CWAC. CWAC has invested $2,524,197 in the CSU wheat breeding program and wheat-related research in the seven years since 2007.
To read the full report, visit: http://bit.ly/2013varsurv.
Topics
Species
