Canada Northern Hard Red is part of a modernization effort that will see three classes eliminated and two created
Farmers will soon be growing wheat for a new milling class: Canada Northern Hard Red.
Canadian Grain Commission official Murdoch MacKay told a Canadian Seed Growers Association meeting in Saskatoon Nov. 4 that the creation of a new milling class is part of a plan to modernize the wheat classification system.
The commission has plans to eliminate three existing wheat classes and create two new ones by Aug. 1.
The changes are designed to assist with marketing and provide domestic and international buyers with a more consistent product with tighter end-use parameters.
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“We’re looking at developing a new … milling class,” MacKay said.
“What we want to do is be able to provide a more consistent and balanced functionality because there’s been too much variation in the last few years.”
Central to the commission’s changes is an effort to narrow the quality parameters within the Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) class and ensure that gluten strength and protein levels fall within a higher and more predictable range.
Creation of a new milling class will allow the grain commission to reclassify a number of Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) varieties to the new CNHR designation.
CNHR varieties will still offer good milling characteristics but will have gluten strength in a range that typically falls below top quality CWRS varieties.
Organizations involved in wheat marketing and promotion, including the Canadian International Grains Institute, are expected to begin sharing details of the new milling class with domestic and international buyers within the next few months, MacKay said.
The commission has already identified nearly 30 existing wheat varieties that will be moved to the new milling class.
CWRS varieties to be reclassified will include Lillian, Harvest and Unity, as well as U.S. varieties Faller, Prosper and Elgin, which were recently registered in Canada and are currently placed in the Canada Western Interim Wheat (CWIW) class.
CGC had initially announced its intention to reclassify the low gluten CWRS varieties on Aug. 1, 2017, but commission officials now say the reclassification will be pushed back by a year to allow producers and other stakeholders more time to prepare for the changes.
“There were a lot of people that cautioned and advised us to take our time, think about it … and see if we can get some more information on potential markets, values and grades,” he said.
“We thought that we needed (to have) more comprehensive communication with the producers, the breeders and the other stakeholders.”
MacKay said the next steps in the modernization process will include:
- Elimination of three existing wheat classes, Canada Western Feed (CWF), Canada Western General Purpose (CWGP) and Canada Western Interim Wheat (CWIW), which includes Faller, Prosper and Elgin.
- Creation by Aug. 1 of two new wheat classes, Canada Northern Hard Red (CNHR) and Canada Western Special Purpose (CWSP).
- Reclassification of 30 registered wheat varieties to the new CNHR class.
Varieties that are likely to be moved to the new milling class in August will include Faller, Prosper and Elgin.
brian.cross@producer.com
