USA
April 7, 2020
LCS Trigger has been in heavy demand since its debut in 2016 with contest- and trial-topping yield.
LCS Trigger has the attention of Northern Plains wheat farmers after back-to-back National Wheat Yield Contest wins in 2018 and 2019. In 2019, the hard red spring wheat variety placed in both the High Yield and the Percent Increase Over County Average categories.
When Jon Wert of New England, N.D., first planted LCS Trigger, he was surprised by the large heads and the size of the flag leaf. He was also surprised by the yield — 103.98 bu/acre. That result landed Wert his first National Wheat Yield Contest win in 2018, first place in the nation for dryland hard red spring wheat.
Choosing to plant LCS Trigger again for the 2019 season was an easy decision thanks to its “yield potential, disease tolerance and excellent response to high management,” says Wert. After an unusually wet growing season — 27 inches of rainfall compared to the typical 17 inches — LCS Trigger delivered another award-winning yield of 101.25 bu/acre. Wert won the national rank of third highest yield for dryland hard red spring wheat in the 2019 National Wheat Yield Contest.
“There are a lot of variables that go into raising high-yield wheat,” Wert advises. “Fertility followed by plant health has the greatest impact on yield, but it’s the little things that matter. As we pay attention to all the little things, a synergy emerges, and they add up to a significant difference.”
National Wheat Yield Contest winner Derrick Enos (center) receives his award at the 2020 Commodity Classic. Photo courtesy of the National Wheat Foundation.
To southeastern Montana seed dealer and farmer Derrick Enos, it was clear LCS Trigger had a yield advantage after reviewing the North Dakota State University and South Dakota State University spring wheat test plots. So he planted the trial-topping variety on his farm and started stocking Certified seed for his grower customers.
Derrick’s wife Alison thought entering LCS Trigger in the 2019 National Wheat Yield Contest might help them publicize and sell seed. They never imagined achieving a yield of 94.95 bu/acre on a dryland farm with a rainfall average of only 15 inches — a yield 239.11% over the county average that earned the Enos family farm a first place award in the contest.
“Don’t be afraid to raise your yield goals and standards,” Enos encourages. “The genetics bred into the wheat has tremendous potential.”
A production field of LCS Trigger in Thompson, N.D.
The National Wheat Foundation created the National Wheat Yield Contest to encourage productivity and innovation in wheat production, and breeders continue to push genetics to exciting new heights. Limagrain Cereal Seeds (LCS) recently released LCS Buster, the newest big-yielder for the Northern Plains. Named for its bin-busting yield potential, the hard red spring wheat is expected to match or surpass the yield of LCS Trigger while delivering more protein content. LCS Buster will be planted in university trials this spring, and Certified seed will be available to growers next season in limited quantities.
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