Crop stars of the future SRUC names Winter Wheat Challenge winners

The latest winners of the Winter Wheat Challenge have been announced.

Edinburgh-based students Josh Bain, Kerr Sloan, Josh Gray and Sam McKinnon were presented with the trophy at the Royal Highland Show by Caroline Bysh, Vice Principal – External Relations & Student Experience at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC).

Organised by SRUC and sponsored by the Mains of Loirston Charity Trust, with in-kind contributions from Aberdeen Grain, the competition sees groups of students try to achieve the highest profit margin, based on grain price, yield, input costs and grain quality.

Each team made agronomic decisions relating to the growth of winter wheat crops at two sites: one in Edinburgh and the other in Aberdeen.

Their decisions were implemented by the field trials teams at each site in replicated plots. At harvest, the plots were yielded and grain quality analysed and the winners were the team with the highest profit margin averaged over their two crops.

This year’s winners chose to grow crops of bread making wheat cv Skyfall at each site. While input costs were high, good yields coupled to securing a milling quality premium for their Aberdeen crop gave them the highest profit margin.

Caption: From left to right, Josh Bain, Kerr Sloan, Josh Gray and Sam McKinnon receive the Winter Wheat Challenge trophy from Caroline Bysh at the Royal Highland Show