Oklahoma State University Ag Research and Kay County OSU Extension came together to educate the public and farming community with information gained from the wheat variety trial field days. Friday, May 20, 2022, Don Schieber’s family was one of many scheduled around the state to host a wheat field day on their farm. Breakfast was catered by DeWaynes BBQ and Catering, and sponsored by Farmer’s Cooperative Elevator of Tonkawa.

The program began in the shop with guest speakers and updates by Dr. Tom Coon - Dean of the Department Agriculture Sciences and Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University – New Frontiers Fundraising Campaign Update. Mike Schulte - Director of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission – Surveys, and Campaign by Oklahoma Wheat Commission to build a new research greenhouse for Oklahoma State University. Dave Hunziker – “Voice of the Cowboys” OSU Sports Radio – OSU Sports Report and was sponsored by Helena Agri-Enterprises, LLC of Blackwell.

Moving from the shop Dr. Amanda De Oliveira Silva, OSU Small Grains Extension Specialist, and the Wheat Improvement Team led the educational program at the wheat demonstration plot next to Don Schieber’s homestead. The wheat improvement team and topics were: Dr. Tom Royer, Extension Specialist for Small Grains and Row Crop Entomology – Wheat Crop Pest Update. Dr. Meriem Aoun – Extension Small Grains Pathologist – Wheat Disease Update. Dr. Amanda De Oliveira Silva - OSU Small Grains Extension Specialist – Wheat Variety Demonstration Plot Walkthrough. Israel Cyrineu – Graduate Student in Plant and Soil Science at Oklahoma State University – Best Management Practices on Late Planted Wheat.

“We’ve had a test plot on our farm for 18 years. I used to work at the research station in Lahoma. We are happy with all the new varieties Dr. Carver and the wheat improvement team develops. They lead the nation in a lot of areas and there is a lot of OSU wheat planted in Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. All the varieties on site are planted in Kay County except the two experimental varieties. The top eight varieties in planted acres are OSU varieties, the old variety Endurance is still in the top eight,” said Don Schieber about the day’s event.