Wheat growers in southeastern Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba will have an opportunity to tap into a new market in 2016: the American market for Elgin wheat.
This year is the first year that Elgin ND has been available to growers in Canada.
The high-yielding American variety was developed by plant breeders at North Dakota State University and has been available to U.S. growers for several years.
However, it was only registered for commercial production in Canada in 2015.
Grain handling company Ceres Global Ag Corp. is offering production contracts at its facility in Northgate, Sask.
Read Also
Keep it clean on pre-harvest chemical use
Canadian farmers urged to toe the line on pre-harvest pesticide application and market product restrictions to avoid grain marketing headaches.
Growers who sign up must use certified seed, which is available through FP Genetics and its seed grower network.
FP Genetics holds exclusive Canadian distribution rights for the variety, which was multiplied in Western Canada last year.
“We’re offering an attractive program that will provide growers with various contracting options,” said Jason Labossiere, grain origination manager at Northgate.
“We offer deferred delivery contracts, basis contracts or flat price targets with different delivery opportunities as we’re trying to be a flexible as possible to attract new customers to our new (Northgate) facility,” he said.
Labossiere said early interest in the contracts has been strong, as is the market demand among U.S. millers.
Elgin is classified as a Canada Western Interim Wheat variety in Canada, but in August it will be reclassified into Canada’s new milling class, Canada Northern Hard Red.
“The uptake has been incredible,” said Labossiere.
“It seems like a lot of producers are excited to look at this new class.”
He said the crop that is contracted by Ceres in Northgate will be “aggressively priced” relative to Canada Prairie Spring varieties but will trade a discount to CWRS varieties.
Current contract prices are C$5.90 to $6.10 for early fall delivery. Delivery windows will be expanded as contracted amounts increase.
Daily bid sheets are also available to interested growers.
“The volumes we can move is really unlimited into U.S. markets,” Labossiere said.
There are no minimum volume requirements and no deadline for signups.
Rod Merryweather, chief executive officer with FP Genetics, said farmer interest could be strong.
He estimated that as many as 50,000 acres could be contracted through the Ceres program, but he warned that seed availability could be a limiting factor.
Supplies of pedigreed Elgin seed have been multiplied in Canada for only one year, and inventories within a reasonable distance of Northgate will be limited.
Merryweather said Elgin will be an attractive option for wheat growers on the eastern Prairies who are looking to squeeze a few more dollars out of every acre.
One year of trial data in Saskatchewan determined that the variety produced yields 15 to 28 percent higher than the CWRS check variety Carberry.
Labossiere said protein levels in 2015 were as high as 13.7 percent with strong falling numbers and low vomitoxin levels.
Data compiled by the Saskatchewan Advisory Council on Grain Crops shows protein level .9 percent below Carberry with maturity two days earlier and plant height six centimetres taller.
Information on disease resistance is limited because it is a new variety in Canada.
Merryweather said full registration will be sought this spring.
He said Elgin represents an excellent opportunity for farmers based on data that suggests yield potential 10 bu. per acre higher than CWRS checks.
