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Asparagine can react with reducing sugars during heating to produce acrylamide, which has high oral and dermal toxicity along with mutagenic and carcinogenic activities. Thus, a key concern in the baking industry is to reduce asparagine in flour to minimize the potential for acrylamide formation in finished products. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the variation in asparagine concentration in Nebraska wheats and to identify environment factors that contribute to asparagine accumulation. A secondary objective of this study was to determine asparagine concentration in prominent gluten-free crops that are currently replacing wheat in many baked goods. In wheat, asparagine concentration varied from 110 mg/kg to 540 mg/kg among five locations and three cultivars. Data suggests that longer exposure to solar radiation and higher evapotranspiration leads to higher asparagine. We also speculate that high asparagine in wheat grown in some parts of the state was due to slight sulfur deficiency in the soil. Asparagine concentration and reducing sugars showed negative correlations with high molecular weight proteins (p=0.0023, r=-0.315 and p=0.0146, r=-0.255 respectively), which is desirable for gluten quality. In our second objective on gluten-free grains, preliminary data indicated that pearl millet and oats may have a higher asparagine (827 mg/kg and 332 mg/kg), while sorghum (141 mg/kg), proso millet (68 mg/kg), and buckwheat (57 mg/kg) may have lower asparagine compare to wheat (271 mg/kg average). Therefore, our study indicates the important role of environmental conditions in determining free asparagine concentration in wheat and suggests that replacing wheat with other grains in gluten free products can influence a food product’s potential for acrylamide formation.