As harvest reports come in, there seems to be a recurring theme, great yields with low protein numbers. I have to admit that, until this harvest, the protein content in wheat was not something that I was ever concerned about. In the area of the country that I grew up in and was previously employed in, all of our wheat went to the production of pastries and sweets so what amount of protein the wheat contained was never considered.

So when I was first asked about how to increase the protein content in wheat, it was a completely new concept and not something that I had ever made a recommendation for. With that being the case, I was drawn to a recent article in the NDSU crop and pest report. I am not going to copy the article word for word, but it does include some great information about looking at Nitrogen (N) applications and the effects on yield and protein.

According to Dave Franzen, NDSU soil scientist, growers need to take a look at both protein and yield results and use them to modify their N rates and, possibly their N source. An example of this is that some growers found that fall-applied N on sandier soils did not perform in both yield and protein the same way that it did when applied in the spring. A long prescribed formula has been to save fall N applications for your heavier soils and this seems to remain true. Although it is probably too late now, a good idea is to take a look at your fields prior to harvesting. Excessive amounts of lodging can be a good sign that may be your N application was too high. Although we are now more capable of harvesting the grain from lodged stalks, it can be a waste of money to apply N in excessive amounts.

The most volatile form of Nitrogen that can be applied, urea, if probably the most widely used form in this area. Producers should take a look at this practice and see how well it worked. The general consensus is that urea applications that were surface applied probably faired well this year, due to the amount of rainfall received. We all know this year was not a typical year, however, so consideration should be given to incorporating that urea into the soil in the future.

As always, if you have any questions about any of this, feel free to give me a call at 433-1206 or send an e-mail to tfine@montana.edu.