The couple produced a staggering 16.791 tonnes paer hectare, beating the previous record of 16.519 tonnes held for two years by a United Kingdom farmer.
The Asburton couple will be entered into the book of Guinness World Records.
On average, irrigated wheat yields in New Zealand are around 12 tonnes a hectare, demonstrating how remarkable the new record is.
The crop was planted in mid-April 2016 and harvested mid-February this year.
Eric said it’s a big relief to have achieved the record, especially after coming close in previous years.
“We’re absolutely delighted to have set a new record – I feel a bit overcome in a way, it’s quite an achievement.
“It’s a very good feeling after all these years of achieving high yields to get the World Record, after all, it’s what we set out to do. Possibly one of the things that will come out of this is recognition of the New Zealand Arable Industry. It’s very small but there are some good farmers out there and it’s good to have the record back in New Zealand again,” Eric said.
Eric puts his success down to his partnership with Bayer and Yara. Bayer, for its agronomy advice and range of crop protection herbicides and fungicides; and Yara, for its nutrition input.
Bayer New Zealand crop science country manager Scott Hanson said the record is not only an important achievement for the Watsons, but for New Zealand as a whole.
“For me, the record demonstrates the skill set that we have in New Zealand in the arable industry. The New Zealand grain and seed industry is an important part of the global seed market. Farmers like Eric and Maxine demonstrate what New Zealand can do at a global level truly promotes our industry to the world.
“We hope that achievements such as this will help promote New Zealand as a global leader in growing grain and seed for both the local and global markets. Two years ago we worked with Warren Darling of Timaru to get the world record for barley. The addition of the wheat world record firmly puts New Zealand at the forefront of worldwide farming.
“In particular, the Canterbury region is demonstrating that it not only has the best arable growing conditions in the world, but also the best and most knowledgeable arable farmers in the world.”
Key facts about the world record wheat crop:
- Planted mid-April 2016, harvested mid-February 2017
- Location – Paddock 15, Wakanui, Canterbury, New Zealand
- Yield – 16.791 tonnes/ha (6.69 ton/acre or 249.68 bushels/acre)
- Harvested from 11.89 ha (29.39 acres)
- The harvest will most likely go into animal feed for dairy cows
