The Growth of Kentucky's Wheat Industry and Wheat Science Group

Once no-till research had been established on corn and soybeans at the University of Kentucky in the 1960s, agronomists Charles Tutt and James Herbek at the Princeton Research and Education Center turned their attention to planting double-crop soybeans behind wheat in the 1970s, which led to intensive and no-till wheat production led by Herbek and Lloyd Murdock in the 1980s.  

Van Sanford, who joined the Lexington Plant and Soil Science staff in 1981 to develop soft red winter wheat varieties for the region, said several factors came together in the 1980s that set Kentucky on a path to successful, profitable wheat production.  

In 1985, the late Billy Joe Miles, a visionary agribusinessman and owner of Miles Opti-Crop, took a group of growers to England to observe and learn about wheat production there. This was followed by the arrival of the first of a set of British and Irish wheat consultants (Phil Needham, Chris Boley, Ronan Cummins). Suddenly, it seemed there was a critical mass of growers, researchers, and consultants who wanted to put Kentucky on the map as a premier location for the production of high-quality soft red winter wheat.

Thanks to encouragement and support from passionate farm leaders (the late Don Halcomb, Hoppy Henton, Wayne Hunt and Mike Ellis, to name a few), the multi-disciplinary Wheat Science Group was formed in the early 1990s. Soils, genetics, pests and plant growth experts united to significantly raise the average wheat yields and no-till wheat acres in the Commonwealth. 

The Kentucky Small Grain Growers Association was also formed in the early 90s, providing financial support and guidance on research. 

The real game-changer was that Siemer Milling Company opened a Kentucky mill in Hopkinsville in 1995 in response to improved wheat production and quality. 

Wheat yields in Kentucky have continued to grow thanks to this cooperative effort. 

Total production in millions of bushels.