Before you order, open Teagasc’s sowing and variety guidance and its link to the DAFM variety list. Check which crop year the list is for, and keep the seed offer and the field plan next to it.
Best winter wheat varieties on the Irish list
Teagasc’s rule for choosing a variety: go for a high-yielding variety with good resistance to disease and lodging and the grain quality you want. Yield is given as a percentage of the control varieties, so a variety scoring 104 yields 4% better than the controls.
The 2026 list has 11 winter wheat varieties. Four are fully recommended: Fitzroy, Graham, KWS Dawsun and Spearhead. Seven are provisionally recommended: Champion, Kubik, KWS Equipe, KWS Scope, LG Rebellion, NOS Bullseye and RGT Hexton. Graham, Champion and Fitzroy account for about 70% of the seed available.
The 2026 scores differ between varieties. KWS Equipe and LG Rebellion ripen earliest (score 8) and Fitzroy is slowest (score 3); at about 2 days per point, that is up to 10 days apart. For Septoria, Fitzroy and NOS Bullseye score highest (7) and KWS Dawsun scores 4. Only Fitzroy (7), LG Rebellion (7) and RGT Hexton (6) have good resistance to yellow rust; the other varieties score 4 or 5.
Save the variety list you used for the order. Set the ratings against the field’s disease history and the date you plan to sow. Keep three things apart: how a variety did in trials, whether it is recommended, and whether the merchant can actually supply it.
The 2027 recommended lists were presented at Teagasc’s 2026 National Crops Forum. DAFM trials produced three candidates (NOS 515.254-12, LG Henri and NOS Monsoon), but they were not in certification, so there are no new varieties for the recommended list.
KWS Extase winter wheat and KWS Zyatt are not among the 11 varieties on the 2026 list. They appear only as parents: LG Rebellion is KWS Extase × KWS Zyatt and KWS Equipe is Chevignon × KWS Extase. If you are offered either one, ask the merchant for the exact variety name, the Irish trial evidence, its recommendation status and whether the seed is available. When the seed arrives, check the variety on the label against the list and against what your buyer accepts.
Quality traits are scored separately from yield
Teagasc scores each variety from 1 to 9, and a high figure is desirable. The traits include shortness and strength of straw, earliness of ripening, resistance to sprouting, resistance to disease, hectolitre weight, grain protein, 1000 grain weight, Hagberg Falling Number, milling quality, baking quality and grain hardness.
Ask your buyer which of these traits matter to them, and which matter for the field’s management. Write down why each variety is on your shortlist instead of picking from the yield column alone. Trial yield is relative performance, not a yield your own holding is guaranteed to deliver.
| What to compare | What to bring to the discussion |
|---|---|
| Market fit | The buyer’s specification and the varieties they accept |
| Disease management | Current ratings, the field’s history and your adviser’s reading of them |
| Harvest workload | Ripening, the likely order of fields and the machinery you have |
| Standing ability | Straw strength and whether the field has lodged before |
| Establishment | The seed batch’s characteristics and the conditions you expect at sowing |
Growing winter wheat: seedbed and establishment
A fine, firm seedbed is required for quick and even germination. Only the top 15 cm of soil needs cultivating, compaction must be avoided at all costs, and the seedbed should be prepared with the minimum number of passes. A fine, firm seedbed also reduces the risk of damage from slugs and leatherjackets.
The target for wheat is 250–300 plants and 450–700 ears per square metre.
Before you pick a date, walk the field and tell your adviser what the seedbed and the soil under it are really like. Note wheelings, wet patches and any place where work was interrupted. Check soil conditions before drilling even when the planned date has come, and if you postpone, write down the new plan and the next realistic opportunity to sow.
Early drilling raises BYDV, grass weed, disease and lodging pressure
Crops drilled early face higher pressure from Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV), grass weeds, disease and lodging, with likely higher growing costs. Crops sown in September to mid-October are more susceptible to yield loss from BYDV, and insecticide seed dressings reduce slug feeding on seed and the risk of early BYDV infection by aphids.
Spring and winter wheat: which one to plant
Winter wheat gives its maximum yield when sown from the end of September to early November; after that the potential yield declines and harvest is later.
Spring wheat is sown on a different seed table. Teagasc sows 350 seeds per square metre to establish 300, assuming 85% establishment, and the rate depends on the bag’s TGW: 144 kg/ha at 35 g and 169 kg/ha at 41 g. Winter wheat TGW is typically 40–55 g.
When you weigh spring against winter wheat, think about the market you are growing for, the seed you can get, the preceding crop and how much of the sowing window is left. Do not treat the two as interchangeable because a merchant lists both as “wheat”: keep the seed’s variety and the information that came with it if the plan changes.
Organic winter wheat: the seed rule
Organic production rules require organic plant reproductive material whenever it is available. If suitable varieties are on the organic seed database (ie.organicxseeds.com), the organic seed must be used. A farmer may apply for permission to use non-organic, non-chemically dressed seed only if none of the varieties offered as organic seed are available or suitable for the business. Ask your certification body about the seed sourcing, and keep their reply with the crop advice before you rely on a conventional seed offer.
Seed source and certification
Certified seed has high germination capacity, purity of sample, no weed seeds above tolerance levels and a treatment against seed-borne diseases. Home-saved seed is tested for germination and for Microdochium (Fusarium) seedling blight before use.
Know where the seed comes from; hand-rogueing of the crop for grass weeds continues regardless of the source of the seed. Give your adviser the seed’s origin and the field’s weed history.
Keep your spray records in one place. Free to start.
Keep the supplier and lot documents that sit behind the word “certified”. If a consignment is unfamiliar, find out what it is and what quality it has before mixing it with other seed. If you plan to use seed saved on the holding, tell your adviser which field it came from, how it was cleaned and how its quality was assessed; grain that is good enough to sell has not necessarily been assessed as planting material.
Thousand grain weight and wheat for planting
TGW is the weight of one thousand seeds, expressed in grams. A heavier batch needs more kilograms to deliver the same number of seeds per square metre, so seed bought by the tonne is not compared by weight alone. When buying wheat for planting, the TGW of the delivered lot is the figure the seed rate rests on, because the figure printed on the recommended list is the three-year average and not the batch’s own. Ask the merchant for the TGW of the delivered lot, with the unit and the test it came from.
If two batches cost the same per tonne, work out the seed cost for the plant population you want rather than comparing the bag price. A higher TGW is not on its own a reason to choose or reject a variety.
Seed rate: from plants per square metre to kilograms
Seed rate (kg/ha) = TGW × desired plants per m² ÷ establishment rate (%). Teagasc’s example of 55 × 280 gives 193 kg/ha at an 80% establishment rate. A second Teagasc example, TGW 50, 280 plants and 70% establishment, gives 200 kg/ha. The recommended winter wheat seeding rate is 140–200 kg/ha.
General recommendations based on previous years’ seed rates have little bearing on the variety about to be drilled. All seed rates should be based on thousand grain weights.
Run the sum once for each batch you are offered. With 280 plants and 80% establishment, TGW 50 g gives 175 kg/ha and TGW 55 g gives 193 kg/ha, because the seeds are heavier, not more numerous. Enter the establishment rate the way the formula is written: 80 in a formula that divides by a percentage, not 0.80. Have your adviser check the first calculation. Then multiply kg/ha by the area to get the amount for the field, and keep the quantity ordered, the quantity in stock and the quantity actually drilled as three separate figures.
The minimum standard for germination is 85%, but that is laboratory testing under ideal conditions. In practice it is not uncommon for only 60 to 70% of seeds to germinate in the field. Sow too few seeds and the crop depends on tillering; sow too many and inter-plant competition gives tall, weak plants and many small ears.
The right number of seeds depends on seed quality (germination, thousand grain weight, variety), soil conditions, time of year, anticipated pest problems, previous experience and sowing method, drilling or broadcast.
Selling the crop: compare offers on the same basis
Tell the buyer the variety, what the grain is for, roughly how much you have and where it is, and whether it is standing, freshly harvested, dried or in store. Ask what quality evidence they need and how it should be sampled. Keep the laboratory report with the lot it describes, and check what area or consignment the sample stands for before you describe the whole holding. For seed or another specialist market, find the relevant contract before you compare it with a feed wheat quote.
When you ask for offers, get the quote date and how long it is valid, the quantity it is based on, the delivery period and the payment terms. Ask for the moisture and quality conditions and for any deductions or charges that can apply. Compare ex-farm and delivered offers separately, and find out who pays for transport, drying, storage and handling. Ask how the final weight and quality are decided, keep the buyer’s answer with the offer, and settle any unclear deduction before you accept a contract.
Winter wheat prices: the Teagasc budget price and margin
Teagasc’s crop-margin tables are an indicative guide; land suitability, rotation, risk avoidance and husbandry skills must also be considered. VAT is excluded from input costs and outputs.
The 2026 budget for winter feed wheat uses a net price of €190 per tonne, total variable costs of €1,839 per hectare and a grain-only break-even yield of 9.7 t/ha. BPS aid is not included. In the margin table the winter feed wheat figure runs from –€355/ha at 6.5 t/ha to €120/ha at 9 t/ha and €310/ha at 10 t/ha.
Cereal yields were variable and prices volatile in 2024. For nitrogen, focus on profit per hectare, not maximum yield. The Teagasc Profit Monitor records both variable and fixed costs on the farm.
If you use a margin table in your own budget, write down which edition it is and which price it assumed, and replace that price with the real offer when you compare ways to sell. Work from your own expected saleable yield and costs, with your adviser. Keep gross margin apart from the profit of the whole business, and when you compare two crops, put both on the same accounting basis: one before overheads against another after all costs says nothing about which crop is better.
No-till winter wheat and the sowing window
Lower-cost non-inversion systems (min-till, strip till, no-till) can be as effective as plough, till and sow as long as the seedbed conditions are good at sowing. Grass weeds are challenging with non-inversion systems, and sterile brome is the most difficult. The seedbed rule is unchanged: compaction must be avoided at all costs.
Before you drill without tillage, describe to your adviser the amount and spread of residue, earlier wheel traffic, soil structure and the drill you will use. Set times to check wheat establishment, weed emergence and disease before drilling, and write down the conditions under which you decided. If you compare no-till with another system on the same holding, mark the areas and keep their earlier history, so that differences in soil, sowing date, seed batch or weed pressure stay visible when you read the results.
With modern varieties sowing can run up to February, but crops sown from December onwards usually establish poorly and slowly, and yield potential is reduced. Early sowing on its own does not guarantee maximum yield. The best time is between the last 10 days of September and the first 10 days of October, if soil and weather conditions suit.
Sowing too early brings its own problems: the soil may be too dry for rapid establishment, young plants may catch diseases from old stubbles, volunteers from previous crops may not have been killed off, and late spring frosts are a risk.
Look at the proposed drilling date, the variety and your disease monitoring plan together. A date in the diary does not say what disease risk you accepted when you chose it. Early on, agree with your adviser who receives reports of suspect plants.
Next step
Confirm the variety, the batch TGW and the establishment rate you are assuming. Nitrogen for the crop is covered in crop nutrition.