Agricultural News
Wheat Commission Launches 2014 Junior Wheat Show Competition
Tue, 24 Sep 2013 17:37:04 CDT
Planting is under way for the 2014 wheat crop. Some producers already have seed in the ground in anticipation of winter pasture while others are holding off a little longer for maximum grain yield potential.
Mike Schulte, executive director of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission, tells Radio Oklahoma Network's Ron Hays that the time is right for 4-H and FFA members to embark on projects for next year's Junior Wheat Show.
"This is a great opportunity for 4-H and FFA members to become involved in wheat production. We offer over $16,000 in scholarships and awards to the top winners each year in this competition."
With planting time upon us, Schulte says time is of the essence for those who would like to participate in the competition. A complete set of rules is available on the Wheat Commission's website at: http://www.ok.gov/wheat/documents/4H_FFA2013Rules_Report.pdf. The rules currently posted are last year's rules, but Schulte says they are basically the same as this year's with only a couple of minor changes. He says updated rules will appear on the website in November.
Schulte says there is a lot students can learn in this program-everything from selecting their seed to managing their crop right on through harvest season.
"It's a great educational opportunity for parents, FFA instructors, 4-H advisors to be working with students to educate them about wheat production.
"Each student must put out a five-acre plot or more. And then they take their ten-pound sample on the judging date after the 2014 harvest. During that time students have to make selections of wheat varieties. They have to write a report about what goes into the wheat crop, whether they have to rent the land, the price that it costs for their seed, the production costs for fertilizer applications and then they get to follow that through on the milling and baking side. So, they get to see what varieties are really going to be working for yield potential and then, also, what varieties are going to be working for our international and domestic markets.
"So, it really is a great opportunity for students to become involved. I feel like we have a really great story to tell and give them the opportunity to win some scholarship money."
Schulte says that there have been several participants in past programs who have earned the maximum amount of scholarship money through their 4-H and FFA careers. Beyond that, though, there have been several participants who have gone on to careers as agronomists. The Junior Wheat Show competition helped them to make career decisions with their lives.
Schulte said they are going to follow one of last year's participants, Wendy Glazier, from Loyal to observe the decisions she makes throughout the year and how they impact the production of her crop.
To get a jump-start on their projects, Schulte said prospective students might want to study the latest wheat variety test results on the OSU website at www. wheat.okstate.edu .
You can listen to the audio version of this story by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below.
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