The Rural Voice, 1999-08, Page 18With consumers demanding
consistent. high-quality
products, a new system in
the wheat industry is finding a niche
in Canada.
Identity preserved wheat, a rela-
tively new concept for this country,
is becoming a highly sought-after
commodity for end users of the grain.
When C&M Seeds recently intro-
duced their new identity preserved
hard red wheat Patriot to a group of
seed producers, elevator operators,
millers, farmers and farm journalists,
they brought in a number of speakers
to discuss the importance of identity
preservation.
Mike Groom of nationally-promi-
nent Warburtons Bakery in England
explained the attraction of a product
followed from seed purchase through
delivery after harvest. Warburtons,
known for their consistently high-
quality product, was looking for just
the right combination of wheats
which would produce the desired end
results.
As the largest independent bakery
in England and consumers of two and
a half tonnes of flour each week at a
cost of $65 million per year, the com-
pany needed a reliable source of the
material.
With a combination of European
and Canadian wheats, extensive stud-
ies showed that specific percentages
of as many a five varieties would
produce a high quality bread, with
good volume, texture and shelf life.
However, the problem arose as to
how to ensure a consistent blend of
these wheats for the bakeries. There
needed to be a method to ensure the
variety from the time the seed was
purchased, through planting, harvest,
elevator storage, milling and ship-
ping to the factories.
It was because of this need that a
system of preserving the identity of
14 THE RURAL VOICE
the wheat became essential.
While looking for countries with
which to undertake the program,
Warburtons studied Australia,
Argentina and Russia, along with
Canada, but the first three all present-
ed difficulties, particularly with
transportation.
Always pleased with the quality of
Western Canadian hard wheats,
Warburtons began their research in
1990 and built a tech centre five
years later.
(Ontario has not been considered
for this program because soft wheats
are more extensively grown. They
are similar to the varieties grown in
England and Europe.)
The role of the centre was to pro-
vide a Zink between the producers
and the end users, to gather informa-
tion and share results.
The centre was able to check the
quality of contracted wheat and
develop a benchmark against which
to measure up and coming varieties.
Groom arrived in Winnipeg in
1998, serving as the identity pre-
served project manager.
Over the term of the project, more
than 800 producers and 32 elevators
became involved with eight regions
in Manitoba and seven in
Saskatchewan dedicated to identity
preserved wheat. The company has
1,050 railroad cars used to transport
the product. Before any commodity
is moved, substantive testing is done
at the tech centre. Not only is the
wheat test baked to ascertain quality
of results. but it is tested by region to
determine from where the best prod-
uct derives.
There is an annual crop assess-
ment which weighs heavily on deci-
sions made for the next year's variety
selections.
These decisions are not made
solely on the virtues of the single
wheat variety from a single area, but
the "synergy" with the European
wheats, said Groom. For Warburtons,
determining the best combination is
an ongoing process. Each season,
emerging varieties are tested to deter-
mine its benefits to the mix.
In 1996, the blend consisted of 40
per cent Teal, 15 per cent Columbus,
15 per cent Pasque, 20 per cent Cora
and 10 per cent Domain.
The following year Domain was
removed, Barrie added, and the per-
centages adjusted. Teal became the
base, making up 60 per cent of the
mix.
As the economic value of Barrie
became apparent, it jumped from 10
per cent to 30 per cent in 1998 and
Teal was dropped to 50 per cent.
For 1999, Teal and Barrie each
held 45 per cent and Elsa was added
for the remainder.
"This is an extremely good
blend," said Groom.
"Good products do make a differ-
ence. High protein is not an indicator
of high quality. Functionality is qual-
ity."
Once matches are determined, the
tonnage by variety and region can be
quantified.
The process to guarantee quality
and quantity is a matter of risk man-
agement said Groom.
The Tech Centre is also working