Elimination of KVD Applauded

CANADA - Saskatchewan pork producers are applauding key changes due to take effect at the start of the new crop year in the registration requirements for new varieties of wheat, writes Bruce Cochrane.
calendar icon 21 July 2008
clock icon 3 minute read

Effective August 1 kernel visual distinguishability or KVD will be removed as a registration criterion for all eight western Canadian classes of wheat and a new Canada Western General Purpose class will be introduced.

Saskatchewan Pork Development Board general manager Neil Ketilson says the distingioshability issue has long been an obstacle to the development of the high yielding feed wheat varieties necessary to maintain the competitiveness of the Canadian livestock industry.

Neil Ketilson-Saskatchewan Pork Development Board

The competitive issue to me is one with respect to how well we have been able to in Canada stay abreast of the yield advantages and the yield increases that have been found in other parts of the world.

If you look for example at corn in the United States the average yield there has increased significantly over the last 10 to 15 years because of variety improvements and the KVD issue in Canada has really hamstrung the researchers and the ability to get licensed varieties of wheat, especially, into the hands of farmers so that we can increase that yield on a per acre basis and be more competitive with the yield increases in the United States.

In terms of our competitive advantages, if you can grow 75 bushels of wheat compared to the old varieties at 50, that just means that the grain farmers are better off and we have more feed grain available to us which should be cheaper for the livestock industry but also enable to the grain farmers to make more money so it's a win win for both.


Ketilson anticipates the changes will result in the development of higher yielding varieties suited specifically for the needs of Canada's livestock and ethanol industries.

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