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Managing 170+ bushel wheat that pays

A national wheat contest winner says every management decision needs to have a return on investment.

Jeff Krohn tells Brownfield yielding more than 170 bushels per acre of soft white winter wheat starts with ideal fall conditions.

“We treat our wheat very, very well,” he shares.

“We start early in the fall with putting some phosphorus with the seed and trying to get the best crop we can before it goes through the worst season that we have, which is winter. If it goes into winter good, and it usually will come out very well.”

He says regular tissue and sap samples are taken throughout the growing season, but any additional inputs have to pay for themselves.

“We’re constantly doing test trials with new products, and if it can’t get a return, obviously we’re not continuing to use it,” he says. “And not just one year, multiple years in a row we’ve got to get a good return on it.”

He says this year’s wheat crop looks amazing near his Huron County, Michigan farm.

Krohn is also a multi-year winner of the Great Lakes Yield Enhancement Network where growers in the region track and share management strategies.

The national winter wheat average yield was nearly 52 bushels per acre in 2024.