Some 20 miles away, at a research center in Junction City, scientists are developing hybrid wheat seeds that promise higher, more consistent crop yields as drought becomes more common across the Plains.

Taken together, the experiments could change the future of the struggling U.S. wheat industry, which is being threatened by shifting consumer trends and the rise of lower-cost global rivals eroding America’s export dominance. The U.S. economic prospects for wheat, a crop that’s been cultivated for 10,000 years, hang in the balance.

When it comes to technology, for decades wheat has been the horse-and-buggy to its sports car brethren, corn and soybeans. And American farmers have been growing less of the crop, sometimes planting it only in rotation with other crops to preserve soil health.

However, hybrid wheat is finally becoming more widely available, and genetically modified varieties may launch in the United States within a few years. The push represents a bet that the science will arrive in time to make it profitable enough to matter for growers.

“Wheat hasn’t been, for lack of a better word, a technified crop,” said Jon Rich, Syngenta’s hybrid wheat operations head, who has spent years developing the product.

Wheat buyers have been more resistant to genetic modification, partly because of consumer skepticism, while most GM corn and soybeans are used as feed for animals.

Shrinking demand

Once the world’s top wheat exporter, the U.S. has not held that title since 2017, according to federal data. Farmers are grappling with a three-decade downtrend in per-capita flour consumption, a trend reinforced by U.S. president Donald Trump administration’s new federal dietary guidelines and the rise of gluten-free diets.

Things are trending differently in Canada, where mills produced 2.68 million tonnes of wheat flour in 2025, a 7.7 per cent increase over 2024 levels.

Wheat industry millers and scientists who gathered for an annual meeting earlier this year in Olathe, Kansas, said the new guidelines stigmatize grain-based foods, further diminishing the market.

“The fact that we are having to say ‘bread is real food,’ it’s unfortunate,” said Jane DeMarchi, president of the North American Millers’ Association.

The United States became a corn-growing behemoth in part due to an early 20th-century breakthrough that has eluded wheat: hybrid seeds, which yield more grain even under stressful conditions such as drought. Average U.S. corn yields rose from around 25 bushels an acre in the 1930s to 186.5 bu. in 2025.

‘Cracked the code’

Creating a hybrid wheat seed isn’t as simple. The seeds and plants are much smaller than corn and have more complex genetics, making hybridization efforts costly for companies to develop and sell.

However, recent scientific advances in DNA sequencing have lowered costs for breeders, triggering a boom in research and commercialization efforts. Seed and chemical companies Syngenta and Corteva are pushing forward in the U.S., projecting billion-dollar payouts — eventually.

Chuck Magro, Corteva’s chief executive officer, says the company has “cracked the code,” and that its hybrid hard red winter wheat used to make bread can increase crop yields by 20 per cent. Corteva plans to release the seed commercially in the U.S. in 2027.

Syngenta, the Swiss agrichemicals and seeds group of China’s state-owned Sinochem, has been selling hybrid spring wheat seed to farmers in the northern U.S. Plains states since 2023, reaching 12,000 to 15,000 acres in 2025. Still, that’s a fraction of the 45 million U.S. wheat acres seeded annually.

Syngenta and Corteva are also working on other hybrids, including for soft wheat used in pastries and Asian-style noodles, in coming years. However, it’s a gamble if farmers will be willing to pay for seeds that can cost twice as much as conventional offerings.

The vast majority of U.S. corn and soybeans are grown from genetically modified seeds that offer built-in herbicide tolerance and resistance to yield-robbing pests.

That is one hope for wheat, too, scientists said, and GMO technology could eventually also offer traits that boost nutrition or grain quality.

“Anything that gives our producers an advantage can improve profitability — that would be welcome,” said Allan Fritz, a longtime wheat breeder with Kansas State University.

The plants in the Manhattan, Kansas, lab have been genetically modified with a drought-resistant trait known as HB4, developed by Argentina’s Bioceres Crop Solutions, and bred to tolerate a particular herbicide not currently used on wheat. While that grain was approved for U.S. production by the USDA in 2024, none has been planted on U.S. fields.

Genetic lines of wheat vary by region, so public university researchers are testing whether the HB4 traits will function in wheat grown in the U.S. Plains.

Field trials are still at least two years away, said Brad Erker of the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation, a farmer-governed trade group that has partnered with Bioceres to commercialize HB4 in the U.S.

Selling GM wheat seed is even further off, by 2030 or 2032 at the earliest, Erker said, and will only occur if major buyers of U.S. wheat, such as Japan and Mexico, agree to allow purchases.

“That’s part of the goal with this, to make it more attractive to grow wheat,” said Erker.

“We don’t have GMO technology for our farmers in wheat, and corn and soy and sunflowers and sugarbeets and cotton all do.”

Some 20 miles away, at a research center in Junction City, scientists are developing hybrid wheat seeds that promise higher, more consistent crop yields as drought becomes more common across the Plains.

Taken together, the experiments could change the future of the struggling U.S. wheat industry, which is being threatened by shifting consumer trends and the rise of lower-cost global rivals eroding America’s export dominance. The U.S. economic prospects for wheat, a crop that’s been cultivated for 10,000 years, hang in the balance.

Wheat not ‘technified’

When it comes to technology, for decades wheat has been the horse-and-buggy to its sports car brethren, corn and soybeans. And American farmers have been growing less of the crop, sometimes planting it only in rotation with other crops to preserve soil health.

But hybrid wheat is finally becoming more widely available, and genetically modified varieties may launch in the U.S. within a few years. The push represents a bet that the science will arrive in time to make it profitable enough to matter for growers.

“Wheat hasn’t been, for lack of a better word, a technified crop,” said Jon Rich, Syngenta’s hybrid wheat operations head, who has spent years developing the product.

Wheat buyers have been more resistant to GMO wheat due in part to consumer skepticism, while most GMO corn and soybeans are used as feed for animals.

Shrinking demand

Once the world’s top wheat exporter, the U.S. has not held that title since 2017, according to federal data. Farmers are grappling with a three-decade downtrend in per-capita flour consumption, a trend reinforced by the Trump administration’s new federal dietary guidelines and the rise of gluten-free diets.

Things are trending differently in Canada, where mills produced 2.68 million tonnes of wheat flour in 2025, a 7.7 per cent increase over 2024 levels.

Wheat industry millers and scientists who gathered for an annual meeting last month in Olathe, Kansas, said the new guidelines stigmatize grain-based foods, further diminishing the market.

“The fact that we are having to say ‘bread is real food’ – it’s unfortunate,” said Jane DeMarchi, president of the North American Millers’ Association.

The United States became a corn-growing behemoth in part due to an early 20th-century breakthrough that has eluded wheat: hybrid seeds, which yield more grain even under stressful conditions such as drought. Average U.S. corn yields rose from around 25 bushels an acre in the 1930s to 186.5 bushels in 2025.

Corteva says it ‘cracked the code’ on hybrid wheat

Creating a hybrid wheat seed isn’t as simple. The seeds and plants are much smaller than corn and have more complex genetics, making hybridization efforts costly for companies to develop and sell.

But recent scientific advances in DNA sequencing have lowered costs for breeders, triggering a boom in research and commercialization efforts. Seed and chemical companies Syngenta and Corteva are pushing forward in the U.S., projecting billion-dollar payouts – eventually.

Chuck Magro, Corteva’s chief executive, says the company has “cracked the code,” and that its hybrid hard red winter wheat used to make bread can increase crop yields by 20 per cent. Corteva plans to release the seed commercially in the U.S. in 2027.

Syngenta, the Swiss agrichemicals and seeds group of China’s state-owned Sinochem, has been selling hybrid spring wheat seed to farmers in the northern Plains states since 2023, reaching 12,000 to 15,000 acres in 2025. Still, that’s a fraction of the 45 million U.S. wheat acres seeded annually.

Syngenta and Corteva also are working on other hybrids, including for soft wheat used in pastries and Asian-style noodles, in coming years. But it’s a gamble if farmers will be willing to pay for seeds that can cost twice as much as conventional offerings.

GMO crops

The vast majority of U.S. corn and soybeans are grown from genetically modified seeds that offer built-in herbicide tolerance and resistance to yield-robbing pests. That is one hope for wheat too, scientists said, and GMO technology could eventually offer traits that boost nutrition or grain quality, too.

“Anything that gives our producers an advantage can improve profitability – that would be welcome,” said Allan Fritz, a longtime wheat breeder with Kansas State University.

The plants in the Manhattan, Kansas, lab have been genetically modified with a drought-resistant trait known as HB4, developed by Argentina’s Bioceres Crop Solutions, and bred to tolerate a particular herbicide not currently used on wheat. While that grain was approved for U.S. production by the USDA in 2024, none has been planted on U.S. fields.

Genetic lines of wheat vary by region, so public university researchers are testing whether the HB4 traits will function in wheat grown in the U.S. Plains. Field trials are still at least two years away, according to Brad Erker of the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation, a farmer-governed trade group that has partnered with Bioceres to commercialize HB4 in the U.S.

Selling GMO wheat seed is even further off, by 2030 or 2032 at the earliest, Erker said, and will only occur if major buyers of U.S. wheat, such as Japan and Mexico, agree to allow purchases.

“That’s part of the goal with this, to make it more attractive to grow wheat,” said Erker. “We don’t have GMO technology for our farmers in wheat, and corn and soy and sunflowers and sugarbeets and cotton all do.”

—With files from Glacier FarmMedia

“This significant investment strengthens our ability to bring forward the next generation of high-performing hybrids, supporting yield gains, agronomic resilience and long-term success for Canadian farmers,” Leta LaRush, vice-president of BASF Agricultural Solutions Canada, said today in a news release.

BASF Agricultural Solutions announced the expansion of the Canola Breeding Centre of Innovation in Saskatoon. Construction will begin this spring with completion expected by the end of 2027.

Why it Matters: With climate change driving weather unpredictability, canola producers need varieties that survive better and yield more.

The expansion will add advanced infrastructure, including precision-controlled growth systems and a research-grade glasshouse, the company said in the news release. These will increase breeding capacity and shorten innovation cycles, it added.

“These enhancements are critical to implementing genomic selection at scale, enabling faster, more precise breeding decisions and accelerating genetic gain across all InVigor programs,” BASF said.

The new glasshouse – a facility that enables researchers to develop experimental climates — is designed to support future hybrid breeding programs.

The centre will focus on the development of new InVigor hybrid canola varieties to better withstand changing environmental pressures and accommodate growing global demand.

Saskatchewan agriculture minister David Marit said the annoucement was great news.

“It just shows the research that’s happening here and the confidence of a company like BASF to invest here. They see opportunities around the research and looking at genetics,” Marit told Glacier FarmMedia.

“You look at where the canola industry is going just in the least 15 years with new varieties, new higher oil contents, straight cut varieties, higher drought tolerant varieties — it just adds to what’s going on here in the province.”

• – with files from Karen Briere

The company entered one TruFlex Roundup Ready hybrid and one LibertyLink hybrid into the 2025 Canola Variety Evaluation Trials (CVET), which offer side-by-side comparisons under consistent management.

Eight Manitoba sites were harvested this year after one location was lost to early-season weed pressure, giving a useful first snapshot of how these brand-new entries stack up against established Prairie genetics.

According to Stephen Denys, the company’s director of market and product development, this is actually the second year Maizex has participated in these trials, though it marks the first year the company has products available for commercial sales.

“For Manitoba farmers that are considering Maizex canola, our message is that we are launching high performance products to the market that are performing well on the farm in our commercial trial sites,” Denys said.

“We believe we are providing a new high-quality alternative for farmers to consider for the 2026 season.”

Why it Matters: With fresh CVET data in hand, Manitoba growers now have their first unbiased look at Maizex’s new canola hybrids, revealing one steady performer and one that may need more Prairie testing.

Maizex is a Canadian, farmer-owned seed brand that has been known primarily for corn, soybeans and other eastern crops. Its move into Prairie canola is part of a broader push to give growers more domestic seed options.

The TruFlex hybrid, sold as MC 5230TF, is designed as a broadly adapted variety with basic clubroot protection and the usual disease package, while the unnamed LibertyLink hybrid is positioned as the stronger clubroot option for areas where that disease is already established.

The company has said it is developing more western-focused hybrids, but these two represent its starting lineup as it enters a highly competitive canola market.

In the TruFlex trial, MC 5230TF landed squarely in the middle of the group. It did not top the tables, but it did not lag either, and at several of the sites its yield was statistically similar to the check, based on the least significant difference (LSD) values in the CVET data. Its blackleg and clubroot resistance ratings and pod-shatter score were in line with the system’s commercial norms.

What stood out most was its steadiness across very different growing conditions, from the sandy soil at Carman to the heavy clay at Arborg. For a first-year western entry, that consistency may catch the attention of growers who like to trial new genetics on a few acres before making a bigger commitment.

“For the TruFlex hybrids, our performance shows close to but below what we are seeing in commercial trials,” Denys said.

“It is unfortunate that there are not more commercial hybrids in these trials to show to a broader degree the performance we are seeing.”

Yield gap

The LibertyLink hybrid had a tougher first season. In the combined Manitoba results, it finished near the bottom of the LibertyLink entries and, in multiple locations, the gap between its yield and the check exceeded the LSD, meaning the lower performance was statistically meaningful rather than random variation.

Its disease-resistance package and pod-shatter tolerance were competitive with others in the category, so the weaker performance likely reflects how difficult it is for a brand-new hybrid to compete in a herbicide system with long-established favourites.

One season of data does not determine a hybrid’s future, but the first-year numbers suggest that this entry may need additional refinement or more years of Prairie testing before it can stand shoulder to shoulder with the leaders in its class.

Maizex sees those results differently.

“For the Liberty Link hybrids, when we break down the site locations, at most locations we have a very positive story to tell with strong performance, echoing what we are seeing in commercial trials across the Prairies,” Denys said.

“At a couple of the locations the performance brings down the overall average, and we believe plot quality concerns contribute to this yield drag.”

Disease tolerance is becoming increasingly important to growers, Denys said.

“We understand that the majority of the market in Manitoba is LibertyLink based, with our LibertyLink offering competitive yield and an excellent disease package, including a wide range of clubroot pathotypes,” Denys said.

“For many farmers, disease tolerance is becoming a key decision factor in canola hybrid selection.”

This year’s CVET results also came with some notable production hurdles. Seven of the eight Manitoba locations reported high verticillium pressure, with only Morris showing low levels.

Weather variability added to the challenge: Arborg received only 47 per cent of normal precipitation and saw several plots deactivated due to poor emergence, while other sites recorded seasonal totals well above 250 millimetres.

All hybrids in the program faced the same conditions, so the results offer a fair comparison, but the overall stress of the season provides important context for how first-year entries performed.

“Like any independent trials or in any other crop, it is important for farmers to review multiple sources of data as they make their variety decisions,” Denys said.

“For farmers who position and succeed with Truflex hybrids, we believe this is a best-in-class option to consider including excellent straight cut attributes.”

“The most yield potential a crop has is when the seed goes into the ground,” says Paul Sullivan, certified crop advisor with Sullivan Agro, an eastern Ontario agronomy consulting firm. “After that, stresses like emergence, weather, nutrient availability and timing all pull back on the total genetic potential of the seed.”

Sullivan says farmers need to do research, discuss seed options and consult advisers when making selections. Here are three considerations.

Hybrid selection is one of the biggest determining factors when it comes to yield, and in many cases, yield is the greatest determining factor in return on investment.

“Selecting a hybrid that is appropriate for your farm and growing region is the first step,” says Ben Rosser, Ontario provincial corn specialist. “Public and private corn trials are conducted across the province, so do your research, ask your neighbours about their experiences and your seed rep for the most local information on performance and yield.”

Bushels as well as other factors must be considered, like dry-down capabilities to decrease potential drying costs, seed cost and pest or disease tolerance.

“Hybrid maturity and end use markets also need to fit into the selection criteria, especially when it comes to managing risk tolerance for weather and field conditions,” says Rosser, who notes that soil conditions, planting and target harvest timing must be considered for each field when selecting for maturity.

Martey Vermey, senior agronomist with Grain Farmers of Ontario, says because corn is driven by heat, selecting the appropriate heat units and relative maturity go hand in hand.

“Maturity will differ across growing regions and between hybrids, so be sure to select appropriately for your farm.”

“Every hybrid is different and requires a different management approach to maximize genetic potential,” says Vermey.

Knowing more about hybrid genetics allows farmers to take advantage of seed strengths and farm around the weaknesses. Population, planting window, soil type, fertility, crop protection products and harvest timing must all be considered.

“Ask yourself what problems you want to solve through seed traits,” says Vermey. He recommends making a list to evaluate risks and how the management approach will support selected hybrids.

Problems or risks can include weed control, insect pressures, standability, emergence issues, soil conditions, desired planting and harvesting windows, and nutrient concerns.

Disease tolerant hybrids can be beneficial, so know the diseases and pests in the region.

“Farmers need to match hybrids to overall management styles and equipment,” says Vermey. “Individual field conditions also need to be accounted for when it comes to aligning corn seed with crop management too.”

Trait resistance is another factor. Resistance to European corn borer hasn’t been identified in Manitoba or Ontario yet, (though it has been confirmed in the Maritimes and Quebec), Vermey reminds farmers to “monitor your fields diligently and be aware of any breakthrough insects you think you are controlling with traits.”

Manitoba Agriculture this year was urging producers, particularly those with a long history of corn production, to be on the lookout for adult rootworm. Northern corn rootworm has been making inroads in the province for the better part of a decade, although western corn rootworm was only found locally in 2021.

Ear flex can also be a consideration. Sullivan says all hybrids will flex in at least one of three ways — ear girth, ear length and depth of kernel. Understanding ear flex timing can be factored into management, especially when considering plant populations.

For those who use variable rate planting equipment and field nutrient-based soil mapping systems, Sullivan recommends paying extra attention to ear flex and working with an adviser to select corn genetics to maximize crop potential.

Hybrids can change quickly from year to year.

“Use all available resources when deciding hybrid selection and placement,” says Rosser.

The more data, the better. He recommends reviewing performance data over multiple growing seasons to get the best picture, and preferably data that has been collected across various growing conditions and environments.

“Look for hybrids with consistent performance across large data sets and multiple conditions.”

Vermey also recommends talking to neighbours to learn what works for them.

“But understand your neighbour’s management — their time of planting, soil, nutrients and fungicide control — will be different from your own, so be sure to carefully research how a hybrid will perform on your own farm too.”

Consulting trusted advisers should also be part of the research. Ideally, advisers should be local so they can help select the best fit for a particular growing region, heat unit level and disease and pest pressures.

“Don’t be afraid to try something new. Try adding one or two new hybrids every year to see how they work on your farm,” says Sullivan, who advises adding new hybrids in small increments or on limited acres to reduce risk.

He also recommends on-farm strip trials to measure performance and inform future hybrid selection.

The firm says the brand bring together the work and genetic legacy of the companies that merged to establish Corteva, (notably Pioneer Seeds) and sets a new standard for agronomics, standability and yield for the category.

Related stories: The Latest News and Stories from Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show

Greg Stubbs, an agronomist with Corteva, said the line of hybrids was grown only in plots in Ontario last year, and two heat-unit varieties were introduced commercially this season.

Corn with BMR technology, in use for over a decade among silage corn growers in Ontario, is known for its high digestibility and lower content of non-digestible fibre (NDF) when compared to traditional silage varieties. This translates into more milk produced per pound of silage consumed.

But the most widely-recognized drawback with BMR in the past, Stubbs admitted, has been lower yield potential.

“If you’re growing BMR, you just know you’re going to have to grow a couple more acres to get the same amount of silage.”

Standability has also been a challenge if weather conditions prevent harvest at ideal moisture levels.

Varieties developed for the Bovalta brand, however, have shown improvements on both fronts. And this has happened while maintaining the advantage BMR has in terms of milk production.

Last year’s difficult harvest conditions, when dairy producers sometimes had difficulty getting into the field to harvest corn silage at the optimum moisture level, provided insight into the performance of the Bovalta hybrids. And it was positive insight.

“I heard good feedback from last year,” Stubbs said.