The Canadian Grain Commission has approved new sprouting tolerances for Canada Western amber durum wheat beginning in the 2013-14 crop year.
As of Aug. 1, tolerances for severely sprouted kernels will be relaxed for the top two grades of CWAD and tightened for No. 3 durum.
Tolerances for severely sprouted kernels in No. 1 CWAD will be doubled from 0.1 percent of total kernels to 0.2 percent.
Tolerances for severely sprouted kernels in No. 2 durum will increase from 0.2 percent to 0.4 percent.
The combined total of sprouted and severely sprouted kernels for both grades will be unchanged at 0.5 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively.
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Daryl Beswitherick, the grain commission’s program manager of quality assurance service, said the changes will have little or no financial impact on durum producers when sprouting is not a prevalent concern.
In years when sprouting is more common, the changes will allow more durum to qualify for the top grades, he added.
Seventy-one percent of the CWAD produced in 2012 fell in the top two grades.
New tolerances have been also established for No. 3 CWAD.
Beginning Aug. 1, samples that contain more than three percent severely sprouted kernels and more than seven percent total sprouted kernels will no longer qualify as No. 3.
Samples that exceed those limits will automatically be downgraded.
There are currently no grading thresholds for severely sprouted kernels in No. 3 CWAD.
Beswitherick said grain commission research found that tolerances for severely sprouted kernels in the top two grades of CWAD could be relaxed without affecting end-use quality. The research also suggested that sprouting tolerances for No. 3 CWAD should be tightened to ensure end-users’ expectations.
The changes were approved based on recommendations made by the Western Standards Committee last November.
The commission also approved new moisture specifications for barley in the newly established food barley class.
Maximum moisture levels for covered food barley varieties will be set at 13.5 percent and moisture levels for hulless food barley varieties will be set at 14.0 percent, effective Aug. 1 in Western Canada and July 1 in Eastern Canada.
Moisture specifications for feed and malting barley will not change.
The grain commission also announced last month that Canada Western Solin will no longer be regulated under the Canada Grain Act beginning in 2013-14.
