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By Alice McFarlane

Sprouting Wheat

Strategies for handling sprouted wheat

Oct 9, 2019 | 5:00 PM

Cereal crops are suffering after rain and snow delayed combining and growers are reporting sprouting in wheat both in standing fields and in the swath.

That`s when falling number (FN) for wheat is affected. FN is not an official grading factor but it’s very important to millers and bakers and is often a contract requirement with grain companies.

The Alberta Wheat Commission Business Development and Markets Manager Geoff Backman said farmers need to know what those numbers are and how it will affect sales and price.

“We haven’t heard about farmers getting downgraded but what appears to be happening anecdotally is the grain companies are refusing to accept delivery of wheat with a low FN for contracts that specify a number one or number two grade,” Backman said. “According to some farmers some grain companies have added clauses to grain contracts so that the farmer is agreeing to only deliver wheat with a FN above a minimum value when they sign that contract.”

The FN indicates enzyme activity detrimental to the baking process. Lower FN is often linking to sprouting. Backman said bakers are looking for flour, which produces baked goods that rise evenly with no air holes.

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“Bakers want to be sure the flour that they are using in their products is going to produce consistent high quality products and that’s one of the reasons why they come to Canada. Canada generally is expected to deliver wheat with a falling number greater than 300 and when numbers get under 300 end users start to get concerned.” Backman said.

The recommendation is to store early harvested wheat separately from later crops that show signs of sprouting. Backman said blending wheat is not a good option to deal with a low FN as it’s different situation from when you blend for protein or when you would blend for moisture.

“You need to blend with an exponential amount of wheat. For example, anecdotally, I’ve heard that one tonne of bad FN may need to be blended with as much as 20 tonnes of good FN wheat.” Backman said.

“We have been hearing from some of our farmers that they are being asked for samples from every single bin on their farm. So be prepared. Take some extra samples and be ready to provide those samples to grain companies,” Backman said. “You can go to the Canadian Grain Commission. They’re still running their harvest sample program. If you send in a sample you will get a FN. You can also reach out to grain analysis labs and get a sample result.”

Backman said if you have wheat with a low FN it’s important to have a Plan B marketing plan.

“Try to make it so that you’ll be able to have some of your low FN wheat purchased with some of your higher FN wheat. That may help with price. It will probably help with movement.” Backman said. “We’ve had some really good feed prices over the last two years. If you think you’ve got some low FN wheat, get out there and try and find a feed contract at a price that works on your farm and find a home for some of this low FN wheat.”

More information on FN is available here.

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliceMcF