LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Wheat Program has announced the release of the Michigan State University 2026 Wheat Performance Trial results. The trials, supported in part by the Michigan Wheat Program, have been conducted for over 31 years. And for the last 14 years, the Michigan Wheat Program has provided funds and resources to provide growers with comparative yield, disease resistance and quality parameters for emerging new wheat varieties.

The Wheat Performance Trials are a key piece of the Michigan Wheat Program’s research agenda, and are directed by MSU wheat breeder Dr. Eric Olson and MSU wheat systems specialist Dennis Pennington.

Farmers planting wheat this fall should consult the report to learn more about the commercial lines for planting and experimental varieties to see what is on the horizon for those tested in the 2025-2026 growing season. Trials were conducted on MSU research farms and private farms in seven counties: Allegan, Gratiot, Huron, Ingham, Monroe, Sanilac and Tuscola. The Monroe County plot is not included in the data.

The 2026 trials included 129 wheat varieties, including 52 commercially available varieties and 77 experimental lines supplied by 10 seed companies and the MSU wheat breeding program directed by Olson. The participating seed companies are AgriMAXX Wheat Company, Albert Lea Seed, DF Seeds, Inc., Dyna-Gro Seed, GROWMARK, Inc.-FS Inspire, Irrer Seed Farm, KWS Cereals USA, Michigan Crop Improvement Association, Synergy Ag and Virginia Tech.

“Breeders at MSU and in private business are constantly developing new wheat varieties that could provide many benefits to the Michigan wheat farmer,” said Jeffery Krohn, Michigan Wheat Program chairman and wheat farmer from Owendale. “The trial data gives producers early information on how that new variety will perform in the field in multiple locations with slightly different Michigan weather and soil types, but grown under the same cultural practices. Observing a few years’ data, we get an idea of what variety we think might work for our own farms – before we make 2026-2027 planting decisions.”

Pennington said, “A new tool to assist wheat growers in considering and selecting among new varieties is being introduced this year. The 2026 Wheat Performance Trials will be available as a pdf as usual, but also available in Excel format. This allows growers to search and sort through the information and make comparisons to select the best varieties for their farm and their management style.”

Contributing to the Variety Trials with funding targeted to high-management cultivation of new varieties has been the focus for the Michigan Wheat Program, according to executive director Jody Pollok-Newsom. “Our board invests in this research to keep our industry actively growing its yields and improving quality. High management and new varieties are key to the higher per-acre yields that Michigan wheat farmers are seeing in the last decade.”

Olson commented on the weather challenges to the 2025-2026 Variety Trials including a very dry fall and early winter with limited tillering, but good overwintering conditions due to mostly good snow cover. As spring arrived, there was some ponding due to snowmelt, but mostly low disease pressure and minimal Fusarium head blight. Armyworm was a bit of a surprise, Olson noted.

Choosing varieties

Research experts caution that variety selection is best made using at least three years of data. Varieties selected using data across all locations and multiple years will likely perform well under a wide range of conditions; although performance of a given variety will vary based on testing location.

When selecting varieties for a specific farm, it’s important to identify seed lines that perform well near the location where the variety will be grown. The 2026 Michigan State Wheat Performance Trials can be an important tool in reviewing this information. The complete report is available on the home page of miwheat.org under news and announcements and grower resources. And also at miwheat.org by going to the Research Results tab and clicking on the High Management Results tab which not only has the 2026 report, but previous years’ reports for more comparisons.