The Canadian Grain Commission wants to rejig Western Canada’s wheat classes and do away with kernel visual distinguishability rules for minor classes.
In a discussion paper released last week, the commission said the proposed KVD changes would offer more flexibility to develop higher yielding non-milling varieties suitable for feed or industrial purposes.
“This proposal could provide producers, marketers and customers with access to a wider range of wheat varieties than the current system permits,” said CGC assistant chief commissioner Terry Harasym.
At the same time, the commission says its proposal would allow for the segregation of milling quality varieties in the minor classes, and maintain quality control for the major classes.
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The commission’s plan, which is up for public discussion until Sept. 30, has already drawn criticism from Canada’s wheat export agency.
Gord Flaten, director of product development for the Canadian Wheat Board, says the CGC proposal has several “fundamental flaws” and fails to deal with one of the most vexing issues.
“The easy part is to propose removing KVD requirements,” he said.
“The difficult part is to figure out how we can then efficiently and effectively segregate those indistinguishable varieties.”
The CGC’s proposal would see creation of two new wheat classes, to be called Canada Western Red Multipurpose and CW White Multipurpose.
Those new classes would encompass the six so-called minor classes Canada Prairie Spring Red and CPS White, CW Red Winter, CW Extra Strong, CW soft white spring and CW hard white.
Varieties falling into those classes would no longer have to be visually distinguishable from each other in order to be registered, although they would still have to be distinguishable from the two major classes of CW red spring and CW amber durum.
The commission would publish a list of milling quality varieties in those minor classes. Farmers delivering on minor class contracts would be expected to make varietal declarations, although the CGC provides no details on how such a system would be set up.
In its discussion paper, the commission noted that while minor wheat classes are segregated at the primary elevator, they are often blended and shipped together to export customers.
In the 10 years ending in 2004, the two major wheat classes CWRS and CWAD accounted for 85.5 percent of prairie wheat production, with CPS accounting for 8.5 percent and all other classes six percent.
Flaten said the board has concerns with the commission’s proposal.
It seems to be based on the assumption that there would be a significant market for lower quality milling wheat mixed together and sold under the new multipurpose class.
“The market trends we see suggest not much of a milling market for multipurpose classes whose quality is difficult to predict,” said Flaten, adding most buyers want consistency above all else.
The board is also concerned that CW hard white, which is being developed as a high quality premium price wheat, is being lumped into the multipurpose class.
The CWB has proposed introducing a series of measures such as class eligibility lists, varietal declarations, increased monitoring and testing, incentives and penalties. If that can be done successfully, only then would consideration be given to changing KVD requirements.
“We hope that in the consultation process over the summer the necessary changes can be made,” said Flaten.
The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association welcomed the CGC proposal, saying the rolling back of KVD will eliminate a major constraint to the development of new wheat varieties.
“It means farmers will be able to get better access to those varieties that can improve the profitability of their farms,” said president Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel, adding the association would also like to see KVD requirements relaxed for CWRS and CWAD.
The restructuring of wheat classes is part of a three-pronged wheat quality assurance strategy that was adopted by the CGC after it abandoned an earlier proposal for a varietal eligibility declaration system.
The other two elements of the strategy are development of rapid, affordable technology to identify varieties, and increased monitoring of rail car and vessel shipments for non-registered varieties.
The goal of the strategy is to prevent non-registered varieties from entering the handling and transportation system and to make it easier for plant breeders to develop and register lower quality wheat varieties for feed or industrial purposes.
