By Brian Hefty

If you want more protein in wheat, you need to make sure your crop has plenty of nitrogen late in the season.  There are a few other minor tips I will give you below, but nitrogen is the whole key.  In a year with good yields, your crop may use all the nitrogen toward yield, leaving a shortage on the protein side.  Add more nitrogen.  That’s it.

Since nitrogen is the big key, here are our top 5 suggestions on how to make sure you have an ample supply.

  1. Soil test in the fall or early spring before seeding.  We want to see three tests when it comes to nitrogen, cation exchange capacity (CEC), soil organic matter, and current nitrogen level in the soil.
    1. CEC is important because we believe your soil will only hold about 10 times your CEC.  If you have a 5, meaning 50 pounds of capacity, thinking you can apply 100 pounds early and have it be there late in the season is probably incorrect.
    2. With organic matter, we figure roughly 20 to 30 pounds of N comes available between spring and fall for each percent of organic matter.  The challenge with wheat in many areas is it finishes early, meaning organic matter mineralization doesn’t help wheat as much as it does corn, which needs a lot of nitrogen in July and August.  Nevertheless, if you have high organic matter, you will get more free nitrogen each year, and a lot of that N will come available when protein is being determined.
    3. On the nitrogen side, while it is leachable, if you have heavy soil and low rainfall there is a great chance that your soil test N will get into the crop eventually.
  2. Soil test for nitrate only late in the season.  Just before you need to address your crop’s nitrogen needs, find out exactly what is available by running some cheap, nitrate-only soil tests.
  3. Pull plant tissue samples throughout the year.  While tissue samples can’t predict how much N you’ll have later on, if your nitrogen levels look a little low as the season is progressing that’s a good indicator you need to apply more near the end of the season.
  4. Streambar nitrogen.  We like streambars because you can put big amounts of nitrogen on, if necessary, with minimal leaf burn.  Sure, you can broadcast some N, but you’d better put lots of water with it or leaf burn could be a big problem.
  5. Be realistic but also a little optimistic with your yield goal.  If you underestimate your yield level, you will likely also underapply nitrogen and end up with low protein.  I’m not saying figure 200 bushel wheat in a 50 bushel area, but I am saying try not to short yourself if you’ve had chronically low protein levels.

Other minor tips to raise your protein levels:

  • Minimize disease issues – Flag leaf timing and again at heading in wheat are great times to spray.  Now that fungicide prices have crashed, it’s more economical than ever to spray.
  • Have good overall fertility including sulfur and micronutrients.
  • Stop insects – Using a full rate of insecticide now runs about $2 per acre, so if you have harmful insects make sure you spray.
  • Control weeds – Weeds rob your nitrogen, which is one of the many reasons we hate weeds.  Use a pre program followed by the right post products based on the weeds present in your fields.

Having good protein levels may not be a concern for you, but if it is, our suggestions above will absolutely make a difference.