USA - PlainsGold^® to market two new wheat varieties in 2024

PlainsGold^® will market two new wheat varieties in 2024, a hard red winter wheat named Sheridan and a hard white winter wheat named Telluride.

″These two new varieties showcase the continuing push for higher yields and improved agronomics coming out of the CSU Wheat Breeding program″, said Brad Erker, Executive Director for Colorado Wheat Research Foundation.  ″We’re proud to bring them to growers as part of the PlainsGold^® portfolio that continues to bring solutions to wheat farmers.″    

Sheridan (formerly EXP CO18D297R), a hard red winter wheat, is higher yielding than PlainsGold^® varieties Langin, Avery and Byrd, which accounted for 27 percent of the planted acres in Colorado in the fall of 2023. Sheridan offers excellent stripe rust resistance and very good test weight. The variety also has good protein deviation compared to similar varieties and has a long coleoptile, meaning it is more ideal for deep planting.

 The name Sheridan is short for Sheridan Lake. This variety has shown a strong adaptation in southeastern Colorado in CSU’s crops testing trials, especially at the Sheridan Lake location.

Telluride (formerly  EXP CO18D007W), a hard white winter wheat, is higher yielding than Snowmass 2.0 and Breck, the dominant hard white wheat varieties in Colorado, with excellent performance under dryland and irrigated conditions.  Telluride has excellent straw strength and protein deviation. It will be included in  the CWRF/Ardent Mills UltraGrain Premium Program. However, it will be a non-exclusive variety, meaning growers can market the variety to other companies besides Ardent Mills if they so choose.

″I’m excited to maximize wheat production with Sheridan and Telluride. I welcome wheat farmers in Colorado and neighboring states to lean on me when considering these new varieties for their farm,″ said Tyler Benninghoven, PlainsGold^® Seed and Trait Specialist. ″Not every variety has a place on the farm, but I’m confident with proper guidance, these two options will increase the wheat acre ROI in the central and high plains regions.″

These varieties were developed by the Wheat Breeding and Genetics Program at Colorado State University (CSU). Through a long-standing partnership between CSU and CWRF, ownership has been transferred to CWRF, which will market the varieties under its PlainsGold^® brand.