Low Cost Alternative to KVD Critical to to Maintaining Canada's High Quality Milling Wheat Reputation
CANADA - Farm-Scape: Episode 2232. Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork.
1 September 2006
3 minute read
Farm-Scape, Episode 2235
The Canadian Wheat Board says a low cost alternative to visual identification of wheat will be critical to maintaining Canada's reputation as the world's best producer of high quality milling wheat.
In June the Canadian Grain Commission announced plans to restructure western Canadian wheat classes to allow the registration of varieties more suitable for feed and for ethanol production.
Key changes, intended to take effect August 1, 2008, will include the creation of a new general purpose class of wheat and a relaxation of kernel visual distinguishability requirements.
Canadian Wheat Board vice president of product development and market support Earl Geddes notes the agency has been involved for some time in research looking at the ability to identify varieties of wheat in a farmer's truck.
Varietal ID on the driveway of an elevator is very important to us.
As we look forward to introducing this general purpose wheat class part of the monitoring process will be ensuring the wheat that is delivered to us either does or doesn't contain the varieties in the general purpose wheat class.
Clearly from a milling standpoint these new general purpose varieties with low protein and low protein functionality aren't going to be acceptable in a flour mill or in a bakery anywhere in the world so we're going to be able to keep them separate.
Conversely the malting and feed industry are going to be wanting to make sure that the varieties that they're buying specifically for their processes have the feed milling and ethanol characteristics that they're looking for so very important technologies for everybody in the industry."
Geddes suggests, as wheat varieties that look similar to milling varieties are registered, it'll become increasingly difficult to keep them separate.
He says, while the demand for a general purpose type of wheat is huge, we don't want to ruin Canada's high quality reputation on the export market so another method will be needed to determine variety right at the elevator when the wheat is delivered.
Staff Farmscape.Ca
