Preliminary sampling found a falling number for No. 3 wheat of 305, but later harvested crop dropped that to 280
Canada has provided its wheat customers with an update on this year’s crop quality.
Each year Canada prepares a Canadian Wheat Crop in Review report that is given to millers, bakers and other customers attending New Crop Trade Mission seminars around the world.
The report is also available to all other customers on the canadianwheat.ca website.
The report has to be prepared in time for the missions, which run from Mid-November through the end of January.
It meant the report could include only samples that the Canadian Grain Commission received before late October because there had to be time to analyze the data and prepare and publish the report.
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Elaine Sopiwnyk, director of grain quality with the Canadian International Grains Institute, said only half of the crop had been taken off the fields at that time because of the unusually late 2019 harvest.
That meant international customers on the Asian and Latin American stops of the trip, which were conducted in November, were not receiving a complete picture of the 2019 crop. They were told there would be updated data to follow.
Sopiwnyk said in years where harvest drags on, the early-harvested material is usually of better quality than the late-harvested crop that has often been exposed to harsh weather. That was indeed the case in 2019.
The big quality issue with this year’s wheat crop is the falling number, which is a measure of how many seconds it takes for a plunger in a test tube to fall through a slurry comprised of ground wheat and water.
Sopiwnyk said the slurry is like a gravy where the starch makes it thicker.
Rain or snow during harvest results in sprout-damaged wheat containing the alpha-amylase enzyme.
That enzyme breaks down the starch into sugars. Starch that is broken down can’t swell, gelatinize and produce a viscous slurry that can support the weight of the plunger.
In the extreme case of severely sprout-damaged feed wheat, the falling number can approach the minimum level of 60 seconds, which is the stirring time prior to releasing the plunger. The plunger immediately sinks to the bottom of the test tube.
Sopiwnyk said buyers typically want to see a falling number of 300 seconds or higher. Anything below that threshold makes them nervous.
In the initial report, the falling number for a composite of prairie samples was 390 seconds for No. 1 Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat, 335 for No. 2 and 305 for No. 3.
Cam Dahl, president of Cereals Canada, said it was no surprise that the falling numbers for No. 1 and No. 2 CWRS were well above the 300-second threshold because there are tight tolerances for sprouted and severely sprouted wheat in those two grades.
However, the falling number for No. 3 wheat was close to the minimum acceptable threshold and well below the 2018 prairie composite of 350 seconds.
When CIGI updated the number to include late-harvested material based on samples delivered up to Nov. 22, it dropped to 280 seconds, which is below the 300-second threshold.
Dahl said a low falling number typically affects the functionality of the flour.
“Sprouted grain is more difficult to use and it also doesn’t rise the same. You don’t get the same kind of loaf volume,” he said.
However, he added that there doesn’t appear to be any functionality issues with this year’s wheat crop despite the low falling number. He attributes that to improved crop genetics.
Sopiwnyk said all of the other important quality factors such as absorption, protein content, stability and baking quality are essentially the same when comparing the early- and late-harvested crops.
Dahl said the bottom line is Canada’s customers are going to get the type and quantity of wheat that they need this year but it may take a little extra effort.
“Sourcing is more difficult. It is a more challenging year logistically and from a sourcing perspective,” he said.
Thirty-one percent of the 5,420 samples submitted to the grain commission made the top grade, 42 percent were No. 2 and 16 percent No. 3.
In a typical year there would be more No. 1 than No. 2, and about 90 percent of the crop would make the top two grades compared to 73 percent in 2019.
