Issue 24
Prairie Grains Magazine
1999

Prairie Grains is the official publication of the Minnesota Association of Wheat Growers, North Dakota Grain Growers Association, South Dakota Wheat, Inc. and the Minnesota Barley Growers Assocation.

Copyright Prairie
Grains Magazine
Nov/Dec  1999

Wheat World

HRS experts advise buyers to "spec" for sprout

Although some hard red spring wheat and durum in the U.S. was affected by sprout damage, there's still a lot of good quality wheat available here.  And if you're concerned about sprout damaged wheat, simply specify a falling numbers value in the purchase contract to assure U.S. HRS and durum wheat shipments of sound quality.

That's the key advise extended by Bert D'Appolonia to spring wheat and durum buyers in crop quality briefings for European buyers held in October.  D'Appolonia, professor emeritus of cereal science at NDSU, offered technical advice and analysis of the 1999 U.S. spring wheat and durum crop on behalf of U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) to wheat buyers and users in the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and Norway. 

All of these countries are key buyers of  U.S. spring wheat and durum, and most already have falling numbers specifications in place.  The falling numbers test evaluates sprout damage by measuring correlating enzyme activity in wheat.  A falling numbers test of 300 to 350 seconds is desirable.   Anything below that indicates a higher incidence of enzyme activity or sprout damage, which may result in pasta prone to increased breakage in the case of durum, and increased dough stickiness and deformed loaves for bread made from spring wheat.

"The quality of the 1999 crop is still pretty good.  Test weight is a bit down, but there doesn't seem to be a problem with scab.  And although strength of gluten or protein is down a bit overall, it's still a good quality protein.  I don't think the badly sprouted grain will get into the export market; it'll go for feed.  So if they spec  (specify) for it in their contracts, they'll be alright," says D'Appolonia.

Buying wheat like choosing the right octane

D'Appolonia points out to end users that buying wheat can be similar to buying different grades of gasoline.  "You can buy 91 octane fuel, and you can buy 87 octane.  There's different choices and different prices. You'll probably have better performance with the higher octane, just like you'll have better performance from wheat with higher falling numbers.

Jim Peterson, marketing director for the North Dakota Wheat Commission, says it makes sense for countries to specify a certain quality in their contracts, including falling numbers.  "Many countries in Europe have a wet environment and are familiar with sprout; why would they want to import wheat like theirs?"  He says key spring wheat markets are sensitive to sprout damage: Japan is one.  Communication about quality is important for customer relations, he says. When it comes to negative factors such as sprout, "we don't want them to be surprised and have to throw out wheat flour," Peterson says.  The sensitivity in the export marketplace is a key reason why there are discounts for sprout damaged wheat at the country elevator level.  In time, he says, the marketplace will sort it out, just like it did with the even bigger problem of scab earlier in the 1990s.

USW urges Russian food aid

USW vice president Vincent Peterson testified in front of a House Ag Committee this fall, in support of food aid to Russia. Peterson, who is the USW regional vice president overseeing the Russian market, offered comments on the need for donations, an analysis of the current program, and ideas for improvement.

He explained that the market need for wheat in Russia is greater this year than last year and told committee members that wheat producers are "highly supportive" of the Russian request for a commodity program.  Because of poor weather and inadequate farm inputs, he said that this year "domestic sources in Russia tell us that no more than 55% of Russia's wheat crop will qualify as food grade wheat."

"It is not a crisis of potential mass starvation," Peterson pointed out. "It's a crisis of economic failure, and a U.S. food donation program can provide needed economic help."

Preparing for value-enhanced grain marketing

At a U.S. Grains Council workshop last summer on international value-enhanced grain marketing, it was concluded that two things must happen for U.S. agriculture to capture premiums for value-enhanced grain marketing in export markets: 1) Growers, agribusiness and traders need to work together to allow for value-enhanced grain movement in the current system; 2) U.S. agriculture will have to move away from the traditional commodity mind set. 

To that end, the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute at NDSU, USDA, and the North Dakota Wheat Commission are sponsoring a conference on "Diversifying Into Emerging Markets," Nov. 30, at the Doublewood Inn, Fargo.  The conference will focus on how grain handlers, shippers, and exporters can successfully establish container and identity-preserved grain marketing channels for emerging markets.  For more information, contact Kim Vachal at the UGPTI, ph 701-231-6427. 

Preparing for tomorrow's needs, today

Does the world need more varieties of wheat to meet increasingly specific uses? Do shippers want a tighter uniformity of shipments? Are these two needs sometimes in conflict with each other?

The answers, as USW leaders heard at a recent meeting, are yes, yes, and yes.

On the one hand, experts argue, industry needs to promote common varieties with consistent quality. On the other hand, with overseas privitization comes more demand for specialized shipments.

The end use characteristics are a "greater force behind new varieties," according to Foreign Agricultural Services deputy director Lee Schatz, who points out that foreign buyers increasingly want access to those end-use targeted varieties.

Preserving product identity and meeting more exact product specifications are essential if the U.S. is to continue to lead the world in wheat exports, Schatz says.

Schatz confirmed the direction that USW is taking in working with the importers: our markets are no longer centralized government buyers with minimal focus on end use. Rather, new and creative marketing outreach is directed to private business people who are focused on end use and long term profitablity.

Exporters aim for custom quality and consistency

The growing sophistication of privatized markets demands more sophisticated specifications, custom quality and, especially, consistency of shipments, according to Tom Hammond, of Columbia Grain International, Inc.  Pointing out that there are now less than half the number of U.S. wheat exporters than there were in 1982, Hammond says that combining cargos and preserving product identity are two of the major trends that exporters are dealing with as the industry consolidates.

Trade Teams this summer

Each year, U.S. Wheat Associates and your local checkoff-funded wheat organization host visiting delegations of foreign wheat purchasers.  This year, buyers and millers from Brazil, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Macedonia, Madagascar, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, Senegal, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela, and Yemen met with wheat experts, producers, and sellers in Arizona, California, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington DC, and Wyoming.

Koreans replace Canadian wheat with U.S. variety

Korean bakers and millers recently switched to a flour blend for pan bread made primarily with hard red spring (HRS) wheat, in one case replacing a formulation of 100% Canadian western red spring (CWRS) that had been used for the past 10 years.

The USW office in Seoul worked with a Korean team of millers and bakers, bringing them to the Northern Crops Institute to evaluate quality characteristics, and conducted commercial tests in Korea late this spring.

One company, which previously used 100% CWRS, decided to produce superior pan bread with 80% HRS and only 20% CWRS. Instead of importing 5,500 tons of CWRS annually, this company will now buy 4,400 tons of HRS and only 1,100 tons of the Canadian variety.

Another company also liked the 80:20 (HRS:CWRS) formulation better than their previous 50:50 specification.

Korean millers and bakers, who recently decided to use American wheat in pan breads, are shown here with personnel from USW and the Northern Crops Institute, Fargo.  Both USW and NCI are supported in part by the Minnesota wheat checkoff, directed by the Minnesota Wheat Research and Promotion Council.

Focus on Egypt

From biblical times, Egypt has been famous for wheat and bread. The Egyptian people have historically depended on bread for life — in fact, the word "Aish," which literally means "life," is the word they use for bread.

Per capita consumption of wheat in Egypt is among some of the highest in the world, reaching close to 400 pounds per person. Because the country uses its land for uses other than growing wheat, it relies on imports to provide about 54%, or 6-7 MMT, of its wheat needs.

The competition for the Egyptian wheat import market is very intense. The U.S., Australia, the European Union and Argentina are the major suppliers, with the U.S. currently enjoying about 55-60% of this market.

The work of U.S. Wheat Associates and the Foreign Agricultural Service of USDA is extremely vital, striving to maintain this important cash market. Continuing efforts to ensure that Egypt's wheat needs are met, last summer USW hosted a U.S. tour of wheat facilities for Samir El-Shukankiri, Egypt's official government wheat buyer, and four high ranking officials of Egyptian mills.