Kansas

This year, 4-H-FFA Wheat Plot Variety Contest participants will have to wait a little bit longer to learn whose project will earn the top award, a Wheat marketing tour.

"The time for the Sept. 10 awards ceremony is being pushed back from 11 a.m. until noon to allow 4-H members, their families and friends of 4-H to join 4-H Centennial events earlier in the morning," said Walter Barker, contest coordinator. The ceremony will be held in the Pride of Kansas building in the same area where the Wheat Plot Variety Contest entries are displayed.

Barker, a Kansas State University Research and Extension 4-H youth development specialist based in northwest Kansas, described the annual contest as one of the most difficult 4-H projects:

"Participants are each given 10 pounds of Wheat seed in six varieties and asked to track the seed from planting through harvest."

"The contest is intended to help young people develop a better understanding of Wheat production," he said. "Not everyone who enters the contest will become a Wheat producer. Most who complete the project typically develop a better understanding of challenges food producers face."

The project requires about a quarter of an acre, but living on a farm isn't always a prerequisite, Barker said. Some who have participated in the project previously have, for example, farmed with a grandparent.

Given the time the project requires, he said that he is pleased to see the number of entries up.

The first place award is a three-day, expense paid Wheat marketing study tour provided by the Kansas Wheat Commission. The reserve champion project award is a check for $100, provided by the Kansas Crop Improvement Association. Third through fifth place awards include a plaque and a cash award provided by the Kansas Grain and Feed Association.

Wheat Plot Variety Contest entries will be on display in the Pride of Kansas building throughout the fair. For more information on the contest, contact Barker at 785-462-6281.

Date: 8/25/05