from CropWatch News Service
University of Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources Cooperative Extension

Alliance was the most popular winter wheat variety planted for the fourth straight year in Nebraska, according to a Jan. 30 report released by the USDA Agricultural Statistics Service in Nebraska. Alliance was first planted in Nebraska in 1994. Millennium, introduced in 2001, was the second most popular variety, replacing Pronghorn which dropped to third.

For the 2004 crop, Alliance accounted for 13.6% of the acreage while Millennium was planted on 11.1%. Pronghorn was planted on 10.4% with 2137 in fourth place at 7.8%. Arapahoe continued to decline and finished fifth with 6.8%.

When the numbers are broken down by reporting district, the most popular wheat variety in the northwest and southwest districts, where more than 70% of Nebraska's wheat acres are grown, is Alliance. Wesley was the most popular in the north, east, and southeast districts. Jagalene was the most popular in the central district while 2137 topped the list in the south. Millennium's strong presence in the northwest, southwest and south propelled it to second overall, while Pronghorn's second place finish in the northwest kept it third overall.

Of the total hard white winter wheat acreage reported on this survey, 75% was planted to Platte, 11% to Trego, and 11% to NuPlains. The remaining 3% was unspecified or too small to publish. Supporting funds for this report, "Nebraska Wheat Varieties" were provided by Nebraska Wheat Board from wheat producer check off funds. This data was provided by the voluntary reports of over 1,000 Nebraska wheat producers who responded to the 2003 Fall Agricultural Report.