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The new Canada Western Hard White Spring (CWHWS) wheat class is out in the world and Canada is working with customers to establish solid market channels.

Along with the addition of white seed, the performance and quality specifications targeted for these varieties were modeled closely on those developed for Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat, says Graham Worden of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) product development and marketing support division.

As well, for lower protein, higher yielding opportunity, there is a desire to develop new varieties to improve on the limited success of AC Vista. This variety is in the Canada Prairie Spring White (CPSW) class that has been tarnished for both farmers and customers by earlier under-achieving varieties.

"This is resulting in a two-pronged approach to hard white wheat development. One element is to develop higher protein CWHWS varieties with protein levels only slightly lower than CWRS to give the new class greater end-use flexibility. Although targeted to bread production this category also has noodle applications."

Reducing livestock pollution with feedgrains

Some simply call it manure, but to crop development researchers it's a lost opportunity. The more livestock feed that passes through the animal, the less that is captured to produce meat and milk.

That's why researchers are taking a sophisticated approach to improving the feed value of common feedgrains such as barley. By tailoring the nutritional components of the feed to meet the digestibility and nutritional parameters of the animal, they can increase performance and reduce waste.

A leading example is low phytate (LP) barley now in development. LP barley is low in phytic acid - a form of phosphorus that is almost indigestible by monogastric livestock such as hogs and poultry, and typically ends up in manure. LP barley varieties contain the same amount of phosphorus, but in a form that is more available to the animal, improving feed efficiency and reducing phosphorus waste by 50 percent or more.

Simple plan, big opportunity

For wheat breeder Dr. Ron DePauw, the reason for starting a new breeding effort to develop a subclass of extra-strong gluten durum was a simple:

"We're always looking for new opportunities for new products that farmers can grow profitably." But while finding those opportunities is one thing, taking action to capitalize on them is another, says DePauw, wheat breeder at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's (AAFC) Semi-Arid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre (SPARC) in Swift Current.

Because the public investment in breeding is limited and funding for new research efforts is viewed as more risky than funding established efforts, SPARC and other public institutions often look for strategic partnerships with industry to help get new initiatives off the ground.

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Reducing livestock pollution with feedgrains

Simple plan, big opportunity