sunlight and nutrients — and convert them into biomass and grain. The formula calculates for soil-available moisture as well as precipitation. Once finalized, the comprehensive report tells growers what per cent of their potential yield they actually achieved. It also points to factors that could be seen as possible yield constraints. The final report includes some 60+ factors, including the number of grains per head, 1,000-grain weight and nutrient content. While the data is submitted anonymously, sharing the results within the network allows growers to see how they measure up to their peers. YEN offers participating members educational opportunities too. Growers receive regular newsletters, as well as technical sessions with leading crop experts. They are also invited to participate in networking sessions and an annual conference where competition winners are recognized. Since its inception, the ADAS YEN has studied the yields of barley, oats, wheat, oilseed rape (canola), peas, and faba beans. The network recently added two new components, one to enhance nutritional efficiency (YEN Nutrition) and one to reduce carbon intensities of cropping (YEN Zero). According to Sylvester-Bradley, to date, the U.K.-based YEN has accumulated over 5,000 crop yields with over one million explanatory data points. All of this has led to some pretty outstanding results. This past year, Tim Lamyman, a grower from Lincolnshire, set two new world records when he produced 267.7 bu/ac (18 mt/ha) of wheat and 240.9 bu/ac (16.2 mt/ha) of barley. Obviously, Lamyman’s yields are not the norm, but Sylvester-Bradley believes yield potentials are high. “We think 14 mt/ha [208.2 bu/ac] is achievable almost anywhere,” he said. YEN COMES TO CANADA In 2020, Sylvester-Bradley and his colleague, Ruth Wade, spoke at the Southwest Ag Conference (SWAC), bringing the research and learning from the ADAS YEN to Canada. “Instead of researchers doing small plot research and trying to extrapolate that to growers’ fields, researchers tracked what growers did and what the outcome was,” said Peter Johnson, SWAC program committee member and resident agronomist with Real Agriculture. “[This is] a very different and cool way to try to move the bar forward.” Johnson also found the concept of evaluating crops and fields based on their yield potential particularly intriguing. “This isn’t just a yield contest that the farmers on the best dirt always win,” he said. “Instead, growers could look at how good they were at maximizing output from the sun and water they received.” Finally, he liked how the competition did not pit growers against one another; rather, it helped create a network of motivated individuals who were learning from one another. “All of these factors were very cool to me,” he said. Sylvester-Bradley and Wade’s talk at SWAC served as a catalyst in the development of the Great Lakes YEN. Following the talk, members of the Great Lakes Wheat Workers, a group of industry experts, including breeders, agronomists, and extension specialists from the Great Lakes region of Canada and the U.S., got together to discuss launching their own version of YEN. The pilot project, launched in Michigan and Ontario in 2021, focussedon winter wheat production, and was led by a collaborative group including Grain Farmers of Ontario, Michigan Wheat Program, Michigan State University, Certified Crop Advisors, OMAFRA, and the University of Guelph. In the 2021 pilot project, Grain Farmers of Ontario senior agronomist Marty Vermey said the YEN project collected over 250 data points from 43 locations across Ontario, Michigan and Ohio. The network has widened considerably this year and now includes over 180 field locations within the Great Lakes region. Provincially, data points stretch from Essex county to the Ottawa Valley, which means percent of potential is being calculated in various growing environments and in different soil types. Like their U.K. peers, participating Great Lakes YEN growers receive a detailed report at the end of the year. The report allows wheat growers to discover how their field measures compared to others and can pinpoint to where there may be some deficiencies and areas for improvement. “‘Per cent of potential’ has been a mental game changer for some farmers, though,” said Vermey. “Instead of worrying about not being able to compete against those who consistently achieve high yields under favourable conditions, they’re excited to compete against achieved per cent of yield potential with others, and improve their own potential each year,“ he said. At last year’s wrap-up meeting, Vermey said farmers ended the season with a greater understanding of wheat production and how their management decisions contribute to overall quality and yield. “The end goal of the project is for farmers and agronomists to learn how to improve their percentage of yield and to get improvements in their production,” Vermey concluded. “And I think farmers who have been in the project for a couple of years are already making production improvements on their farms.” To learn more about Great Lakes YEN and how you can get involved, visit: www.GreatLakesYEN.com. l ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER 11 JUNE/JULY 2023 YEN is much more than a yield competition, though. Participating in the contest has driven change in how growers understand yield determination and helped them make objective management decisions that improve production.
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