Just in time for fall planting decisions, the Michigan Wheat Program in partnership with Michigan State University has released final results of the 2026 Wheat Performance Trial results. MSU has been conducting the trials for over 31 years, and Michigan wheat Program has funded a high-management component for the last 14 years. The high-management trials look at 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.
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.
“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.”
New sortable database of new varieties
New this year is a tool to assist growers in considering and comparing new varieties, utilizing an Excel spreadsheet format, according to Pennington. “The 2026 Wheat Performance Trials are available as a pdf as usual, but now in an Excel format to assist in sorting through the information and making comparisons that best suit a grower’s specific farm and management style,” he said. Click here to jump to the Excel format of the 2026 Variety Trials.
Contributing to the variety trials to support focus on high-management cultivation of new varieties is important to the wheat check-off, 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,” she said.
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, look for seed lines that perform well near your farm location. The 2026 Michigan State Wheat Performance Trials can be an important tool in reviewing this information. Click here to link to the full 2026 MSU State Wheat Performance Trials report.
“At its late summer meeting, the Michigan Wheat Program Board will review in-depth results of the 2026 Wheat Performance Trials and consider whether to fund this project for the coming 2026-2027 season,” said Pollok-Newsom.