Each year, producers will plant 60 to 75% of Oklahoma's wheat acreage with the intent to graze it in the winter months before harvesting the crop for grain. Cultivar choices for this dual-purpose (DP) management system come almost entirely from cultivars bred in a grain-only (GO) management system. Genes selected for high yield in a GO system may not confer the same yield advantage in a DP system. Field experiments were conducted to test that hypothesis using 24 sets of winter wheat populations. Each set, with a unique pedigree, was derived from the same F₂ source and contained a base F₃ bulk population and F₅ bulk populations mass selected from the F₂ for three consecutive generations within either a GO or DP system. Grain yield and related agronomic traits were measured in these populations for 3 yr in both management systems. Populations mass selected in the DP system tended toward a more prostrate vegetative growth habit and appeared to tolerate grazing better than those selected in the GO system. Differences between selected populations were detected for grain yield when measured in the DP system, though yield differences were not so apparent in the GO system. At least for the bulk progeny, the results showed an adaptive advantage in the DP environment for those populations originally selected in that environment.