2007 Regional Crop Quality Report

Growing conditions were near ideal and good harvest conditions secured a sound crop.

Have you ever unloaded wheat at the elevator during harvest and had a college student with an NDSU car show up?  As they take samples from your truck and some of your neighbors, have you wondered what they do with the samples?

Over 800 of those samples are selected for MN, MT, SD and ND for the U.S. Hard Red Spring Wheat/Durum Crop Quality Report.

Overall, the 2007 U.S. hard red spring wheat crop production is 4 percent higher than last year while yields were slightly above trend line and 15 to 20 percent above last year.

The average grade for the regional crop is a No. 1 Dark Northern Spring with nearly threefourths of the crop making the No. 1 grade. Compared to 2006’s strong quality, this year’s crop has a higher average test weight of 61.1 pounds, slightly fewer shrunken and broken kernels and an improved thousand kernel weight of 31.2 grams. Damage levels were again minimal at 0.1 percent, well below the five-year average of 0.6 percent. Thanks to a dry harvest in most areas, all four states averaged falling numbers above 400, with a regional average of 428.

Protein levels are lower at 14.2 percent (12% basis), but this compares to 15 percent for 2006’s drought impacted crop and 14.5 percent for a five-year average. The distribution of protein still shows 72 percent of the crop above 14 percent.

Milling extractions are similar to 2006, but extractions were slightly lower than the five-year average.  End-use functionality shows similar dough strength to 2006.

Export Cargo Sampling
Data contained in previous sections of this report are derived from the testing of samples gathered during harvest from origination points throughout the U.S. hard red spring wheat region. The results provide an assessment of the overall quality of the crop produced in a given year. U.S. Wheat Associates, the export market development arm for American wheat growers, furthers this information by commissioning an export cargo sampling program. The program provides an accurate representation of the supplies moving through the grain marketing and transportation system and actually reaching export points. Results show the quality levels at which U.S. wheat is realistically traded and are useful to customers in developing reasonable purchase specifications. The Federal Grain Inspection Service oversees the program whereby all export inspection agencies at all ports collect every tenth sublot sample from every vessel of U.S. wheat shipped during three two-month time periods annually. The hard red spring wheat samples are sent to the North Dakota State University Plant Science Department’s Hard Red Spring wheat Quality Laboratory for analysis.

2007 Durum Crop Overview
Buyers will find the 2007 crop will more than meet their needs for making high quality pasta, couscous and other products due to the overall level of kernel soundness, high protein content and strong color. Kernel qualities of the crop are very similar to 2006’s high quality crop.

The crop averages a No. 2 Hard Amber Durum, the same as in 2006, as the average test weight of 59.9 pounds per bushel was just short of the needed 60 pounds.  Fifty-one percent of the crop makes a No. 1 HAD, compared to only thirty-five percent last year.  Test weight distribution show over one-half of the crop to be greater than 60 pounds per bushel, though some western areas are showing lower test weights due to the extended hot period late in the season.

A drier bias to the second half of the growing season and favorable harvest conditions promoted a crop with low damaged kernels, low moisture, high falling numbers and strong vitreous kernel counts. The average protein level of 15.1 percent is the same as 2006.

Because durum demands a special agronomic environment, the states of North Dakota and Montana in most years jointly produce 80 percent of the U.S. durum crop. Farmers in California and Arizona grow the remainder.