GrainsWest Winter 2020

Winter 2020 grainswest.com 33 Canada’s global reputation as an exporter of high-quality, high-protein wheat is in large part due to the country’s rigorous grain grading and variety registration system, which guarantees agronomic stability for farmers and consistent quality for end-users. The country’s variety registration system uniquely governs variety development, registration, release and commercialization. Canada’s place in the global wheat trade pecking order is being tested. The high volume of grain being exported from the Black Sea region has created a significant shift in the marketplace (see “Surfing the Black Sea” in the October 2019 issue of GrainsWest ). It is therefore imperative Canada protect its brand as a producer of top-quality grain, or face losing a critical competitive advantage. “Canada’s brand reputation is among the best,” said Patti Miller, Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) executive division chief commissioner. “If buyers come back each year to buy Canadian grain it’s because they know what they are going to get.” Fifteen years ago, the Black Sea region of Russia and Ukraine exported virtually no grain. Today, it exports approximately 50 million tonnes of wheat annually. Production is low-cost and most of the grain is within trucking distance of ports. The industry doesn’t face the large transportation cost that Canadian farmers do. “It’s going to be difficult for us to compete just based on price,” said Cam Dahl, president of Cereals Canada. “We really do need to work to our strengths and preserve that brand. The delivery of consistent, high-quality products is critically important to the competitiveness of the Canadian cereal crops.” A UNIQUE SYSTEM Canada’s variety registration process is a unique and somewhat complex system managed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Under the Canada Seeds Act, CFIA has the authority to register wheat varieties. It can also give recommending committees the authority to set criteria for new variety registration. The CFIA also approves and issues the variety registration. Under the same act, the CGC assigns the new wheat varieties to an appropriate class and has the authority to deny a variety’s entry into a wheat class. The commission also maintains the wheat class variety eligibility list. The Prairie Grain Development Committee (PGDC) recommends new varieties for registration through its four recommending committees: wheat, rye and triticale; oats and barley; pulses and special crops; and oilseeds. The team that forms the Prairie Recommending Committee for Wheat, Rye and Triticale is tasked with assessing varieties as they go through co-op trials. Through a voting process, its task is to recommend varieties for registration. When purchasing Canadian grain based on class and grade, end-users such as millers are assured of high-quality shipments.