Rylee Reynolds, his dad and grandpa don’t do anything special when they select the part of their farm they’re entering in the national wheat yield contest.

“We don’t do anything different to our yield plot (than) we do to the rest of the farm,” Reynolds told the Capital Press. “We’re just picking a spot that looks good and we’re thrashing that. … It’s just a random place that we decide, ‘Yup, that looks pretty good, that’s going to be our spot.'”

It paid off this year. 

Reynolds had the highest yield of 231 bushels per acre — a contest record. The previous record was 211 bushels per acre in 2019.

Reynolds considers it a “pretty cool accomplishment.” He’s always strived to compete, he said.

“I knew it had been a really good wheat year in our area,” Reynolds said. “I was expecting the yields to be up, maybe not nationwide, but in the Pacific Northwest area.”

Timely rains in the fall and spring played a big role in his win.

“We’re in a desert, so without water, without irrigation, we have nothing,” he said. “We actually caught a break and got a little rain after our irrigation water had shut off. That just allowed us to tiller and continue to grow late in the fall, and the same thing happened in the spring. Before our water turned on, we got some rain that keeps the ground loose, allows us to tiller and so we had a really good stand to start.”

Reynolds raised the soft white winter variety Ovation, from Syngenta.

It was the first time he achieved a yield that high, he said.

Reynolds, 27, farms in Twin Falls County with his dad, Gary, and grandpa, Dean, both of whom he considers mentors.

“I’ve been farming since, you know, I guess you could say 10,” he said. “I just have loved it forever. It’s just in my blood.”

He married wife Madison in 2020. They have two sons, Baker, 2; and Rawley, who was born Oct. 11.

He came back to the farm in 2018, after graduating from Boise State University. He studied general business, but it just cemented his decision to keep farming.

“There’s no way you can put a farm kid behind a desk,” he said.

Dad Gary also placed in the winter wheat irrigated category.

“At the end of the day, bushels are how we get paid, so we want to all do well because we’re all in this together,” Reynolds said. “But yeah, it’s fun to have a little family competition.”

All four Bin Buster winners are from the Pacific Northwest, according to the National Wheat Foundation, which puts on the contest.

“We know that genetics, environment and management all need to be just right for wheat to thrive, and we are proud to see so many wheat growers continue to reach for higher and better yields, while also growing wheat that customers desire,” Joe Kejr, National Wheat Foundation chair, said in a press release.

Reynolds welcomes more farmers competing in the contest.

“I think it will only push the whole industry to be better,” he said.

He’ll survey crop stands in the early spring, right as they are coming out of dormancy. He officially decides which stand to enter at harvest time, he said. 

Any advice to other farmers?

“Just never give up, be persistent, stay after it, pay attention and don’t overlook the small things,” he said. “This just helps me make sure we are doing the best we can.”

Winter Wheat-Dryland

Bin Buster: Gene Warren, Washington

1st: Derek Berger, Oregon

2nd: Kurt Druffel, Washington

4th: Erik Olson, Idaho

Winter Wheat-Irrigated

Bin Buster: Rylee Reynolds, Idaho

1st: Joel Zwainz, Washington

2nd: Gary Reynolds, Idaho

Spring Wheat-Dryland

Bin Buster: Bruce Ruddenklau, Oregon

1st: Trevor Stout, Idaho

Spring Wheat-Irrigated

Bin Buster: Derek Friehe, Washington

1st: Dallin Wilcox, Idaho

2nd: Wes Vandyke, Oregon

The contest recognizes winners in two primary competition categories: winter wheat and spring wheat, and two subcategories: dryland and irrigated.

Contestants had to prove their wheat would grade at levels 1 or 2 to compete.

The 24 winners are shipping in a grain sample that will be analyzed for additional quality parameters, and if they meet all the specified customer-desired quality targets, they will receive a $500 award.

National winners will receive a trip to the Commodity Classic in Orlando, Fla., in March 2023 and will be recognized at the National Wheat Foundation’s Winner’s Reception.