Grainnet

CWB: Vast Majority of Canadian Wheat Used for Food, Not Fuel

Winnipeg—More than 88 per cent of wheat acres on the Canadian Prairies are seeded with spring wheat or durum, used mainly to make bread and pasta for human consumption.

The CWB's 2008 Variety Survey, released October 9, shows the proportion of wheat grown for food has not changed from the past, despite recent public attention to ethanol production.

The vast majority of western Canadian wheat farmers still plant Canada Western Red Spring wheat (61.9 per cent) - a premiere breadmaking wheat - or Canada Western Amber Durum (26.5 per cent), a high-quality ingredient in pasta and cous-cous.

"This survey confirms that Prairie grain farmers are still working to feed the world," said CWB president and CEO Ian White, adding acres dedicating to milling wheat have for decades hovered around 90 per cent of total wheat acres.

There are seven other minor classes of wheat, including those used more frequently for animal feed or ethanol.

A new wheat class - Canada Western General Purpose - was introduced this year with no milling quality requirements, intended to introduce high yield wheat varieties for the feed and ethanol markets.

It now contains three varieties.

To grow high-quality milling wheat, producers are turning to newer wheat varieties scientifically bred for specific agronomic traits.

Twenty-seven new varieties of Canada Western Red Spring have been introduced since 2001, with more on the way for next year.

A newcomer called Lillian, introduced just two years ago, has already become the most commonly seeded spring wheat variety in Canada.

Another new variety, Harvest, was first planted three years ago and this year overtook Superb as the second-most widespread spring wheat.

AC Barrie, the top variety on the Prairies for over a decade until 2006, has dropped down to fourth spot, below Superb.

"Farmers are showing strong interest in new varieties that can help them deal with the most serious cropping issues they face at a particular time," CWB agronomist Mike Grenier said.

"Lillian is helpful in dealing with sawfly, while Harvest has advantages for sprout resistance. The days of one long-standing common variety are definitely over."

Grenier said new varieties planned for release next year will show even more improvements in yield, protein and agronomic traits like maturity, lodging, sprouting and pest resistance.

Beyond 2009, he said farmers can look forward to additional varieties with improved resistance to wheat midge, leaf rust and fusarium head blight.

Other survey highlights are listed in the attached backgrounder.

More than 8,800 farmers participated in this year's survey, with more than a third completing it online.

The CWB conducts the survey each year to determine how variety trends for wheat and barley align with customer requirements for milling, baking and brewing.

It also assists farmers with their annual seed variety selection.

The CWB Web site hosts an innovative online tool to help farmers easily view the Variety Survey results, featuring maps with pop-up boxes displaying top variety by crop district.

For more information, call 204-983-3101.