Farmers and industry leaders gathered for the annual meeting of the Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association, Aug. 9, in El Reno, Oklahoma.
Brett Carver, Oklahoma State University wheat breeder, and David Marburger, OSU small grains Extension specialist, updated growers on the 2018 crop and provided some topics to consider in planning for the 2019 crop.
Marburger remarked that of the 4.4 million acres planted to wheat in Oklahoma, only 2.2 million were harvested for grain. The rest were hayed or grazed out because of drought, fall armyworms, freeze events and other weather challenges. Carver agreed 2018 was an oddball year, where the hard winter wheat crop saw a compressed grain fill period. Therefore, in the wheat variety trials he conducted, you’d see that the wheats that performed well were those that had the ability to recover from a spring freeze and finish filling grain in a hurry.
“The drought lowered the grain fill ceiling and then those freezes made it come crashing down,” Carver said. It was a difficult year for the wheat breeding program because in his Oklahoma Elite Trials, across the board the varieties showed yield compression, yield inversion and in some instances negative genetic gains all because of outside environmental pressures.
“Don’t make mountains out of molehills, but we also have to use this data,” he advised growers. Making selection decisions isn’t just a one-year process, Carver reminded growers.
To that end, Carver explained a couple of new ways Oklahoma State is attempting to help farmers capture value in high quality wheat. First is “Gold N Grain,” a label the university is developing for wheat varieties it releases that provide exceptional quality characteristics millers and bakers may pay premiums for if they can source them. Two new varieties on tap to be released later this year are OK 13621, which provides exceptional dough strength, and OK 13625 which has production characteristics ideal for an organic wheat system, but is also ideal for bread and tortilla production.
“OK 13625 produced 27 bushels per acre and 11.5 percent protein on just 20 pounds of applied nitrogen,” Carver said. “It can tolerate low nitrogen conditions, but we aren’t quite sure genetically why yet and so we’re studying it further.” Bakeries that have received samples of flour from this wheat have already demanded more and that has created a pull-through market for this variety.
Carver said OK 13621’s dough mixing and strength were off the charts and while it’s weak in Hessian fly resistance, the performance in the kitchen is an added value opportunity for farmers to not pass up.
The other label OSU is trademarking is the “Graze N Grain” system, designating true dual-purpose wheat varieties that have grazing tolerance, are adapted to a wide range of nitrogen availability, have disease and insect resistance, are drought and cold tolerant, and have improved canopy closure and fall tillering capabilities.
The selection process for these Graze N Grain varieties includes selecting and testing under grazing conditions for early vigor, canopy closure, growth habit and recovery.
Investment in research, both private and public, is helping wheat compete with other crops for acres, explained Oklahoma Wheat Commission Executive Director Mike Schulte.
“U.S. farmers continue to increase their investment in research for better technology, and that’s key,” he said. There are opportunities now and in the future for capturing value at the farm level by creating varieties that meet targeted needs of consumers. For example, the commission is trying to capitalize on the taste and flavor profiles of wheat varieties to help market them to end users like pasta makers, small and specialty bakeries, and more.
One such example is the story of the recent release of Smith’s Gold, a variety out of Oklahoma State’s breeding program, which offers a completely different flavor package than commodity-type hard red winter wheats, Schulte explained. With help from the Wheat Marketing Center, the commission found it’s ideal for pasta production, replacing durum wheat. A pasta manufacturer in Oklahoma City now offers a whole wheat pasta using only Smith’s Gold wheat, grown in Oklahoma.
Right now is an exciting time for wheat growers to consider their production goals and marketing strategies and decide if capturing value is right for their operations.
Jennifer M. Latzke can be reached at 620-227-1807 or [email protected].
