As many as six new varieties of wheat designed for the ethanol and feed markets could be recommended for commercial availability this week.
The Prairie Grain Development Committee (PGDC) will consider dozens of new varieties of cereal grain, oilseeds, pulses and special crops at its annual meeting in Winnipeg.
Most of the attention, however, will be focused on the new Canada Western General Purpose (CWGP) class, which will make its official debut Aug. 1.
The new class will be the home for wheat varieties designed for industrial and feed uses rather than milling.
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With the elimination of kernel visual distinguishability as a factor in the approval process, the door should be wide open for new CWGP varieties, as long as they meet agronomic and disease resistance standards.
“As of now there are no quality parameters for the committee to look at for GP wheats,” said Kevin McCallum, a wheat breeder with AgriPro and chair of the wheat, rye and triticale committee.
He said that with the new class still in its infancy, even end users who will make use of it aren’t sure about quality requirements such as starch levels for ethanol and protein content and digestibility for feed.
“It’s kind of hard to project what we need for quality when the end users are still figuring it out themselves,” he said.
The committee is seeking input from the industry, he added, but it’s still a work in progress.
As of last week, six varieties were being proposed for CWGP approval, including five winter wheat varieties and one spring wheat.
Varieties approved by the committee are recommended to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for commercial registration. The CFIA rarely rejects the committee’s recommendations, although last year it did block introduction of a new low phytate barley on the grounds it was a “novel feed” product.
Earl Geddes, a PGDC member and vice-president of product development for the Canadian Wheat Board, said one of the issues facing the wheat committee with respect to the new CWGP class is whether to establish a minimum yield standard.
One of the stated reasons for abandoning KVD is it will enable the development of high yielding, lower quality varieties that may not be visually distinguishable from high quality milling wheat.
“The question this year is will there be a criteria to ensure the industry is driving forward to increase yield, which is the intent of the new class,” he said.
“If a proposed variety doesn’t give more yield than say (the winter wheat) CDC Falcon, do you register it?”
Besides the CWGP class, the wheat, rye and triticale committee will be considering about 14 new varieties. Other committees will be reviewing new barley, oat, pulse, special crop and oilseed varieties.
