Over the last thirty-five years grain yield of hard red spring wheat (HRSW) has increased dramatically in North Dakota (ND) and the neighboring growing regions. However, since the relationship between grain yield and grain quality among cultivars is generally negative, maintenance of adequate grain bread-making quality places some constraints on the improvement of yield potential. A three-year study was initiated in 2003 to examine the changes in the performance of HRSW cultivars for ND over the past thirty-five years. The experiment was conducted in two locations (2003) and three locations (2004 and 2005) in ND under irrigated and dry land conditions. The study included 33 HRSW genotypes laid out in a RCBD. Cultivars developed since 1968 and four experimental lines that have the potential for being released at North Dakota State University (NDSU) were used in this study. Also for comparison purposes, the Canadian cultivar “Marquis” (released in 1911) was included in this study. The agronomic traits measured included yield and its components, quality parameters, and reaction to the major prevalent diseases. The 2003 and 2004 agronomic data showed that newly developed HRSW genotypes are earlier in maturity, have higher biomass dry weight, harvest index, kernel weight, test weight, and grain yield compared to earlier released cultivars, particularly Marquis. The quality data showed that newly developed cultivars have a higher flour extraction and improved dough strength than earlier released cultivars while maintaining comparable levels of grain protein content and bread-making quality. In general, the gains obtained in grain yields were not achieved at the expense of quality performance. The reaction to foliar diseases varied regardless of year of release, but the resistance to Fusarium Head Blight was substantially improved in the HRSW genotypes released after 1999.