Ultra Early Demo Plots, The Results!

22/9/2026

We all thought Greg & Joe were crazy when they brought the seeder out in January, then February and again in March. Our team mimicked the work of Dr. Brian Beres (linked here). We recorded crop growth and stage development throughout the season using a crop intelligence weather station to monitor the soil and air temp, soil moisture, and more. A few weeks ago, on August 20th, the small plot combine (Small Plot Inc) harvested the plots to collect what matters most, yield data!

Each month a plot of AAC Oakman VB (CWRS), AAC Westking (CWRS) and AAC Frontier (Durum) was planted when the soil temperature reached 0 degrees at 2” deep. We trialled these varieties and crop types because of some of their unique traits:

AAC Oakman VB - Solid stem, midge tolerant CWRS
Check it out here!
AAC Westking - Stands very well, high yielder/performer
Check it out here!
AAC Frontier - Ergot resistance, I for FHB
Check it out here!

We seeded the plots on an irrigated field so moisture was even across the seeding dates. We predict that if the same thing was done on dryland, and typically our dryland receives early moisture, there would be wider yield gaps that favor crops planted earlier.
Whether Ultra early seeding is conducted on dryland or irrigation, the advantages are similar. Getting seed in the ground early allows:

Earlier Flowering to beat the July Heat
Lower FHB risk
Earlier harvest date
More competition against weeds in early season
Less sawfly risk
Less water needs per unit of grain

We found that the maturity of the January and February planted crops was similar to our AAC Coldfront winter wheat. The March seeding we found to be slightly behind the winter wheat. April was found to be about two weeks behind the winter wheat maturity. All three varieties, generally, had similar yields and bushel weights. There was some fluctuation between the months, with January coming in with some of the highest numbers!

Below is the yield data that was collected from the trials:
The January plots had more patchiness, It looks like the AAC Oakman VB did better earlier and the AAC Westking and the AAC Frontier Durum were mixed. (February looked very good)
I think what these ultra early results show is that seeding based on soil temperature should not hurt you, only provide some yield gains and or spread some risk.