International Cropping Comparison for Winter Wheat

Since DLG-Feldtage was first hosted in 1988, the DLG International Cropping Comparison has been fascinating visitors attending the event. Here, various cultivation systems are compared against one another in a cropping competition using the example of winter wheat. In previous years, the highest yield, the best quality and the best financial result were the sole criteria.

A new aspect has been added to this year's cropping comparison, however. Not only the highest profit margin is required; instead, courage to think outside the box and try out unconventional strategies is needed. After harvesting, it is then time to assess whether the individual targets have been achieved and to evaluate which measures have proved worthwhile.

A total of ten teams from Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia and the Czech Republic will be competing in the DLG International Cropping Comparison. The participants are:

Why have the participants applied to take part in the International Cropping Comparison for Winter Wheat? All of the participants are interested primarily in professional exchange: establishing international contacts, exchanging experience and knowledge, and talking to crop production experts and farmers from different regions. But the spirit of competition also plays a part as well. After all, the participants would like to measure themselves against one another and take a look at the differences and similarities in the various cultivation strategies. Participation has already become something of a tradition for Germany's Institut für Bodenkultur und Pflanzenbau e.V., having taken part in each of the cropping comparisons since they first began. Cultivating wheat under conditions that differ from those in their home country or region is a particular challenge that the participants face.

The competitors have already been dealing with the details of crop management since the summer of 2019 to ensure that the decisions they make are the right ones for establishing optimum crop development conditions and thus fulfilling their strategies. In doing so, they have to give consideration to the restrictions imposed by German environmental protection legislation, which is not always easy for foreign participants. However, the participants have access to all of the data necessary for their decision-making thanks to direct contact with the test technicians on the ground.

Further information about the participants, their strategies and the test conditions is available at www.dlg-feldtage.de.

Do you too want to try your hand at cultivating wheat far from your home base and compete against other participants? Then get in touch with us.