Farmers can navigate their way toward more money this year by signing a special delivery contract for a new kind of durum wheat.
The Canadian Wheat Board announced last week that producers will be eligible for a special $5 a tonne premium for AC Navigator, an extra strong durum variety that has a limited but lucrative overseas market.
That’s on top of a $2.50 a tonne premium already available for Navigator along with three other varieties of wheat under the board’s variety-specific contract program.
The Navigator durum must have a protein content of at least 12 percent at time of delivery in order to qualify for the additional premium.
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The board wouldn’t say how many acres or tonnes of Navigator it would like to see produced.
“We hope to have a significant volume to go to the market with,” said board spokesperson Earl Geddes.
“We think we’ll have adequate supplies to meet our market demand this year.”
The world market for extra strength durum is only about 250,000 tonnes, mainly in Italy, and other exporters like the United States are well established.
AC Navigator has strong protein, with a gluten strength rating about four times greater than the variety Kyle. Navigator is owned by Saskatchewan Wheat Pool.
Italian pasta manufacturers buy the extra strong durum for blending purposes.
While blending is commonplace with bread wheat, most pasta is made from one type of durum.
The big exception is in Italy, which doesn’t produce enough durum to meet domestic demand and must import.
By using the extra strong protein varieties for blending, processors can achieve the protein strength they desire while at the same time minimizing imports.
The board is offering four variety-specific contracts, designed to conduct market testing and evaluation in both domestic and export markets.
The other varieties eligible for special delivery contracts are the durum variety AC Morse, the Canada Prairie Spring white variety AC Vista and the CPS red variety AC Crystal.
Farmers who use pedigreed seed are eligible to sign up in advance for these programs. The board guarantees 100 percent acceptance of eligible grades and will also pay farmers for on-farm storage until date of delivery.
A new feature this year is a $2.50-per-tonne premium payable at the time of the storage payment after delivery.
Spring sign-up forms will be available in mid-March from all applicable seed vendors who are listed in each of the provincial seed guide directories.
Forms will also be made available to elevator companies.
The board is discontinuing contracts for the durum AC Melita and for Glenlea, a variety in the Canada Western Extra Strong wheat class. The board says Melita may have a limited future due to its agronomic performance, and most growers seem to indicate a preference for Morse over Melita.
Glenlea will continue to have good market opportunities, but with production at levels sufficient to satisfy market requirements, the board said it is no longer necessary to have a specific program.
