Designer Wheat Around the Corner

WASHINGTON - Nov 2/99 - STAT -- Wheat breeders in the United States expect to soon start designing wheat varieties which meet the specific requirements of major buyers in individual markets.

Under a cooperative researchg agreement between agreement allows the Agricultural Research Service, American Institute of Baking, and Kansas State University; plant breeders will work with foreign buyers to specify the characteristics future wheat varieties need to exactly fit the needs of variuous groups of users.

This initiative is similar to those which some traders and market observers have argued is essential to plant varietal development programs for all commodities, including field peas, lentils, dry edible beans, and other grains and oilseeds.

In the past, traditional wheat breeding has emphasized higher yields. But that’s no longer enough to attract more business. Today’s wheat producers need new, targeted wheat varieties to expand their markets overseas, according to Don E. Koeltzow, director of ARS’ Grain Marketing and Production Research Center in Manhattan, Kansas.

Researchers at the Kansas-based research facility will analyze the milling and baking qualities of hard red winter wheat grown in California, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas.

Then the researchers will match those quality traits with the needs of foreign buyers. Flour samples from U.S.-grown hard red winter wheat varieties will be provided to 12 foreign cooperators. The cooperators will provide feedback about how well these varieties meet the quality traits desired by buyers in their respective countries.

More hard red winter wheat--the kind used to make white pan bread and hot dog and hamburger buns--is grown than any other kind of wheat in the United States. Half of all U.S. wheat is currently exported, making it clear future success in export markets is linked to success meeting the specific needs of buyers.