For nearly four decades, southwestern Oklahoma wheat producer Fred Schmedt has relied on Oklahoma State University Wheat Variety Trials to help guide planting decisions on his family's fourth generation farming operation.
Schmedt farms near Altus, where his great-grandfather homesteaded a quarter section in 1887 when the area was part of Greer County, Texas. Today, he and his brother operate a no-till wheat farm and certified seed wheat business that has expanded well beyond the original acreage.
The operation plants between 1,000 and 1,500 acres of wheat each year, growing OSU-developed varieties including Showdown, OK Corral and Butler's Gold.
As both a producer and certified seed dealer, Schmedt said the OSU Wheat Variety Trials provide valuable information for selecting varieties that perform well under local conditions. He has followed harvest results from the Altus trial site since the 1980s and regularly attends the annual plot tour, while also monitoring results from the Walters location.
Because the Altus trial is conducted on soil similar to most of his farm, Schmedt said the data closely reflects the conditions on his operation and helps identify varieties suited to the region.
The trial results also influence his seed business. Schmedt said some customers closely monitor the published results and begin asking about specific varieties as soon as harvest data becomes available. For customers seeking recommendations, the independent trial information provides an objective basis for discussing variety performance.
Schmedt said the information is especially important for smaller seed operations that do not have the resources or labor to conduct their own variety testing programs. Without the university's research, he said, smaller businesses would have limited performance data to guide recommendations.
Amanda Silva, OSU Extension small grains specialist, said the Wheat Variety Trials provide unbiased, location-specific performance information that helps producers choose varieties suited to their growing regions while giving seed dealers reliable data to share with customers.
Silva also credited Schmedt with helping shape university research through his long-standing involvement with the program. She said discussions with him led to a recent research project examining late-planted, short-season wheat and noted that producer input plays an important role in identifying research priorities that address the needs of Oklahoma wheat growers.
OSU Agriculture plans to build on those research efforts through the development of the Agronomy Discovery Center as part of the Agronomy Research Station. Planned improvements include a new headhouse, research greenhouse, multipurpose classroom and laboratory building to modernize research facilities and support future agronomic research.
Source: Oklahoma State University, "Wheat producers benefit from OSU Wheat Variety Trials"