A key grading factor for hard red spring wheat is based on mistaken information and could be eliminated.
Downgrading for low hard viteous kernel content is based on the notion the appearance and colour of the kernels reflect protein and the overall milling quality of the wheat.
To qualify for the top grade of Canadian Western Red Spring wheat, at least 65 percent of the kernels in a sample must be visually assessed as HVK. The minimum for No. 2 is 35 percent.
But it turns out that downgrading based on HVK is based on a false premise.
Read Also
Phosphate prices to remain high
Phosphate prices are expected to remain elevated, according to Mosaic’s president.
Scientists at the Canadian Grain Commission have made the startling discovery that HVK has no significant relationship to the overall milling quality of hard red spring wheat.
The results of the study, based on analysis of the 2004 and 2005 wheat crops, were presented to a meeting of the western standards committee last week.
The committee, made up of farmers and industry representatives, makes recommendations on grain quality issues to the CGC.
“I think the members were a little stunned by the information and the ramifications that has for the grain industry,” said committee member Bill Rusk.
“This is a huge issue for farmers.”
The committee responded to the study by recommending to the grain commission that HVK be reduced or eliminated as a grading factor as of Aug. 1, 2007, pending the outcome of consultations between marketers and customers.
That’s not soon enough for Rusk, who represents the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association on the standards committee.
He failed to convince the other members, including producers, marketers, processors and regulators, to eliminate HVK in time for the new crop year beginning Aug. 1, 2006.
“I was a little dismayed that the other producer groups were not more aggressive in moving this issue forward more quickly,” he said.
Downgrading due to HVK is needlessly costing individual farmers thousands of dollars a year, he said, and domestic and export buyers are getting high quality wheat at low quality prices.
However the majority of committee members decided such a significant change should be approached with caution.
HVK is seen by grain buyers around the world as an important grading factor for hard red spring wheat and is used as a marketing tool by competitors like the United States.
“For more than 60 years Canada has been able to extract value from customers for producers based on vitreosity,” said Canadian Wheat Board spokesperson Maureen Fitzhenry.
“You don’t want to immediately dismantle a system that existed for decades and provided value for farmers without examining all of the implications and making sure we’re doing the right thing.”
Fitzhenry said the board doesn’t take issue with the study’s conclusions and is not saying HVK should be retained.
But it does take the position that time is needed to consult with and educate customers and conduct a cost-benefit analysis.
“It’s just a matter of exercising due diligence,” she said.
If customers want an HVK assessment and if competitors like the U.S. are willing to provide it, Canadian exporters could be put at a competitive disadvantage.
Derek Dewar, who represents the National Farmers Union on the standards committee, agreed the industry needs to move carefully.
“The position it puts the wheat board in when they are selling grain is the focus of my concern,” he said.
He questioned whether customers who have for years paid on the basis of HVK would readily abandon that and adopt an unspecified new system of quality assessment.
“If the wheat board feels it’s extracting a premium based on HVK, taking any tool out of their hands that provides a premium leaves farmers in a tough position,” said Dewar.
