GrainsWest Fall 2020

Strydhorst did note that this price spread was based on a snapshot in time. But, she said, it is very typical for CWRS prices to be significantly higher than CPSR prices. “I think the price spread is the big reason why CPSR acres in Alberta have fallen off over recent years,” she added. But for farmers like Nolan Robertson, it just doesn’t make sense to keep trying to make grade with CWRS. He farms 7,600 acres near Fairview. His father regularly grew CPSR back in the 1990s when there was a significant yield advantage. Somewhere in the 2000s they decided to switch back to CWRS. This year, though, they decided to try CPSR again, and chose AAC Penhold and AAC Goodwin. Robertson said they mainly switched because he was having a hard time making protein on CWRS. Working closely with an agronomist they tried everything to boost protein, but concluded they just can’t make CWRS work on their farm. In the past, CPSR’s yield advantage over CWRS was enough to make up for the lower price, said Robertson. Now, though, the CWRS varieties have caught up in terms of yield. Challenging harvests have also pushed Robertson to return to CPSR. While he was mostly making No. 3 in CWRS wheat due to protein levels, his nearby neighbours made No. 2 in CPSR. Even in challenging years, they weren’t being discounted. “We thought if there’s a chance we continue to have these hard harvests, which we seem to have quite regularly up here in the Peace Country, that trying to achieve that No. 2 CPS will net us more than a No. 3 or feed Hard Red Spring,” he said. “So, that’s another reason why we decided to switch back.” Agronomically speaking, Robertson likes that CPSR varieties are shorter, with better standability than CWRS varieties and are less prone to lodging. As well, his highest yielding wheat has been a CPSR variety and the class has given him fewer pre- harvest sprouting problems. CPSR must be seeded a little heavier to ensure plant populations are high enough, he said. Seed should be treated, as it tends to be more susceptible to disease, particularly at the seedling stage, than the Hard Red Spring varieties, he added. To ensure good emergence, Robertson seeds CPSR a quarter-inch shallower than hard red. In the Peace Region, Viterra, Cargill and Richardson all take CPSR wheat. But while there are multiple delivery times for CWRS wheat, there are only a few short delivery windows for CPSR. The advantage of this is that you get your tonnage gone, said Robertson. But the disadvantage is that you need to be ready to haul when you get that call. Watch for your copy in the mail or visit seed.ab.ca to find the latest issue The Fall 2020 Alberta Seed Guide IS NOW AVAILABLE.