Australia
January 26, 2026
Dale, the new AH wheat from InterGrain, has impressed in its first season on-farm, showing excellent yield and grain quality in a year that delivered near-ideal conditions across the Mingenew district.
Released as a high-yielding, mid-maturing AH wheat with a focus on grain size and quality, Dale is designed to offer growers a modern alternative to long-standing varieties like Scepter, combining consistency with improved performance.
Mingenew farmer Peter Horwood, who farms with wife Belinda and son Mackenzie, put Dale to the test this season across some of their best country. Peter, a long-time collaborator with InterGrain and has hosted a breeding site on the property for over 15 years. He works closely with his local territory manager Richie Marsland and the breeders to identify lines that will suit his farm.
Peter has kept a close watch on Dale, trialled as IGW6993 in his local trial for several years.
“I’ve been interested in Dale because of its yield consistency and grain quality. We’ve grown Scepter for those reasons, but we’re always looking for a variety that performs well year in and year out—not just one that tops trials in a good season and drops away in a tough one,” Peter said.
The 2025 season provided an excellent test, with a late break followed by a kind season and an exceptional finish thanks to late rains and cooler conditions.
“Dale was sown at 38 kg/ha to maximize seed availability for 2026. The yield was exceptional, as you’d expect in a year like we had,” said Peter.
“Grain quality was good with low screenings. We didn’t deliver any this year however I like the fact that Dale is classified AH and if we make the protein window, a handy premium.
Harvestability was smooth, though Peter noted it wasn’t a fair comparison to other varieties given the low seed rate.
Peter also noted that although the Dale was harvested in late December after numerous rain events, the falling number tests showed over 350, which is promising.
“The true test will be 2026, but the internal data I’ve seen shows Dale has a large grain size, which should help reduce the risk of screenings which is important for us,” he added.
Peter has kept a silo of Dale for 2026 and plans to expand its footprint across a range of soil types and rotations.
“Finding wheats that perform consistently is critical for our business. Dale looks promising, and we’re keen to see how it stacks up against our current program in a different season.”
InterGrain wheat breeder Dr David Tabah said Dale’s performance has been exceptional in paddocks across WA and in our internal trial program and in NVTs.
“I’ve been excited by Dale’s consistency for years and we have fast-tracked its development to get it out to growers and in paddocks as quickly as possible,” said Dr Tabah.
“2025 was a great season to showcase Dale’s yield potential and stability across a range of seasonal conditions.
“We have a significant amount of Dale seed sown across WA in 2025 and harvest results so far have been very positive, Dale is shaping up to be an adaptable, consistent, high yielding wheat with excellent grain quality – a variety growers can count on, season after season.
We undertook a pre-harvest sprouting experiment this harvest season and Dale has consistently performed well.
“In terms of disease package, it has a good profile, including good yellow spot (MRMSp), stem rust (MRMSp) and powdery mildew (MSp) resistance,” Dr Tabah said.
Dale also has good resistance to P. thornei (MRMSp) and P. neglectus (MSSp), which will be useful in environments where root lesion nematodes are present.
Dale seed is available through Seed Club members or via farmer-to-farmer trade.
Peter Horwood said Dale was sown at 38 kg/ha to maximise seed availability for 2026 and achieved exceptional yield. Picture supplied by Peter Horwood and Farm Weekly.
Topics
Species
