With crop production costs remaining under pressure and attractive milling premiums not always available to some, Frontier national technical manager, Kirsty Richards, believes more growers will scrutinise the contribution each wheat variety makes to the whole-farm gross margin.
For many businesses, that is focusing on yield and increasing the emphasis on high-output feed wheats. However, Dr Richards says selecting a hard Group 4 should involve more than choosing the variety with the highest headline yield.
"Producing a large heap of grain is clearly important, particularly when fertiliser and other input costs are creating so much uncertainty," she says.
"But growers also need to consider how reliably a variety can deliver that output within their own system. Specific weight, disease resistance, standing ability and drilling flexibility all have a direct bearing on whether the crop fulfils its potential."
This is encouraging some growers to look beyond familiar varieties and consider newer genetics that can fill a defined role within the rotation.
"There will always be established varieties which continue to perform well on particular farms," she says. "But where growers are looking for a specific combination of attributes, there is a strong case for introducing newer varieties on a field-by-field basis."
More than headline yield
KWS Scope's pedigree was one of the characteristics that initially attracted Frontier. The variety combines KWS Kinetic genetics, known for its very high yield potential, with Informer, a German bread-making wheat which Dr Richards says is likely to contribute to its strong specific weight.
"As a feed wheat, Scope offers the potential to produce plenty of grain, but it also brings the grain quality needed to protect the value of that crop," she says.
"That combination of output and specific weight is important. A variety still needs to produce a marketable sample, particularly in seasons when crops have experienced stress." On-farm experience and early trial results this season have shown that KWS Scope has stood up to the challenges of the 2026 growing season and delivered a market-leading combination of yield and grain quality.
Its agronomic package also gives Scope a clear role within a mixed wheat portfolio. The variety has one of the strongest Septoria resistance ratings in the hard Group 4 sector, combined with the stiffest straw in the Group 4 sector on the RL and resistance to orange wheat blossom midge.
Dr Richards says strong Septoria resistance may have received less attention during recent dry seasons, particularly in eastern regions, but growers should avoid assuming the disease has become less relevant.
"Septoria is expensive to control and can be a significant yield robber," she says. "Some Western growers may already have seen the value of stronger resistance this season, but it is an attribute all growers should retain within their variety mix because the next season may look very different."
KWS Scope's lodging resistance provides another form of insurance. Its stiff straw supports earlier drilling and could be particularly valuable in early seasons like we are experiencing in 2026, on more fertile sites and in northern areas or where crops have a long growing period.
"We have not had a major lodging season for some time, but that does not mean the risk has disappeared," she says.
"Some of the newer varieties are relatively tall or need careful positioning. Scope's standing ability means growers have greater confidence when placing it into an earlier drilling slot."
Managing yellow rust within the portfolio
Scope is relatively susceptible to yellow rust, and Dr Richards stresses that crops will require monitoring and timely fungicide treatment. However, she says the score should be considered alongside the variety's wider package rather than in isolation.
"Growers should acknowledge Scope's yellow rust rating and plan to manage it," she says. "Yellow rust is manageable when treatment is correctly timed, whereas Septoria can be more costly and difficult to control once it becomes established."
The key is to avoid concentrating varieties with similar weaknesses across the entire wheat area.
"You would not want the whole farm planted with varieties carrying yellow rust scores of three or four, because that would put pressure on sprayer capacity at T0 spray timings," she says.
"But KWS Scope can sit alongside varieties with different resistance profiles, spreading both agronomic risk and workload. Variety choice is about building a balanced portfolio rather than expecting one wheat to do every job."
That portfolio approach, combined with KWS Scope's ability to be drilled reasonably early and remain within its safe sowing window until the end of January, gives growers room to respond to an unpredictable autumn.
"You may select Scope for an early slot, but if the weather changes and drilling is delayed, the seed still has somewhere to go," Dr Richards says.
"That flexibility, alongside yield, specific weight, Septoria resistance and strong standing power, is why we see Scope as a useful addition to the hard Group 4 market."
A useful early-drilling option
Frontier agronomist Max Howlett says KWS Scope has performed competitively in its first season on farms he advises, with yield and specific weight comparing well with established hard Group 4 wheats.
"The ability to drill it from around mid-September is a real selling point," he says. "It is fairly short, produces a good specific weight and, where I have seen it on farm, it has performed alongside other leading feed varieties."
Early establishment may become particularly valuable following seasons in which dry spring conditions have placed crops under sustained pressure.
"The earlier-drilled crops have generally looked better than later-drilled crops," says Mr Howlett. "A more established root system appears to have helped them tolerate the dry conditions, so I expect there will be another push towards appropriate early drilling."
He reiterates that growers need to be realistic about the risk of yellow rust and to build timely monitoring and treatment into the agronomy plan.
Flexibility for autumn 2026
For KWS product manager Matt Bull, Scope's strength lies in bringing several useful characteristics together in one variety. Its high output potential and drill date flexibility is supported by strong standing power, good grain quality and robust Septoria resistance. He also notes that it has the added benefit of orange wheat blossom midge resistance to help simplify pest management.
He agrees that the variety could be particularly useful for growers seeking to begin drilling in the earlier autumn window without committing their entire wheat area to varieties carrying the same disease risks.
Weather extremes are becoming increasingly common and having well-established wheat in the ground in autumn will help should we have another dry spring.
He does, however, note that Scope should not only be seen as an early drill variety. Its characteristics and profile give it the flexibility to be a high performer in that slot, but the variety absolutely has the yield potential to deliver reliably in the main drilling slot too.
The early harvest data, both from farm and official trials, is looking really positive for KWS Scope.
With drilling decisions increasingly shaped by weather volatility, workload and cost of production, Scope offers more than headline yield. Used in the right position and supported by proactive yellow rust management, it provides a practical route to spreading risk while maintaining the high output expected from a modern hard Group 4 wheat.
