Wheat samples submitted to the Canadian Grain Commission’s harvest sample program are confirming what industry has been predicting for weeks: protein levels in this year’s wheat crop will be lower than last year’s.
CGC’s preliminary report on durum quality released Oct. 1 shows mean protein levels in No. 1 CWAD at 11.5 percent.
That number is based on 81 samples submitted by growers in southwestern Saskatchewan.
Protein in 62 samples of No. 2 CWAD, also from southwestern Saskatchewan, was slightly lower at 11.2 percent.
Data from other growing regions was not available.
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Last year, durum samples from across the West had mean protein values ranging from 12.4 up to 13.3.
Mean protein in spring wheat is also expected to be as much as a percentage point lower than last year.
Spring wheat samples submitted to the CGC show preliminary protein levels in No. 1 CWRS wheat ranging from 12.4 percent in northern Alberta to 13.2 percent in southwestern Manitoba.
Last year, mean values for No. 1 CWRS ranged from a low of 13.1 in northern Manitoba to a high of 14.2 percent in southwestern Manitoba.
Values for spring wheat are preliminary figures based on a small number of samples.
Numbers are likely to change as harvest progresses. Normally, protein and grades for spring wheat diminish as later samples are submitted.
Each year, the CGC releases wheat quality data in three phases.
The first phase assesses protein content by grade for 10 regions across the West.
As of Sept. 24, sufficient data was available for four of 10 regions.
Preliminary values were listed as follows:
• Region 1 — (southwestern Man.) — 13.2 percent based on 60 samples
• Region 6 — (northeastern Sask.) — 12.5 percent based on 81 samples
• Region 8 — (southern Alta.) — 12.7 percent based on 69 samples • Region 10 — (northern Alta.) — 12.4 percent based on 55 samples
A complete list of protein values, including the 10-year average for all regions, can be viewed at the CGC’s website.
Meanwhile, wet weather across much of Saskatchewan and Manitoba during the last week of September is likely to result in downgrades of some unharvested crops, especially cereals such as wheat and barley.
Harvest operations in many parts of Saskatchewan and Manitoba ground to a halt in late September as widespread generalized rains fell on many regions.
Rainfall accumulations during the last week of September were heaviest in central, east central and northeastern parts of Saskatchewan, with precipitation ranging from roughly 20 millimetres near Saskatoon, 30 mm at Wynyard and 50 mm in the Watrous area, about an hour southeast of Saskatoon.
