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Grain grading and variety designation changes come into effect on August 1
Changes to the Official Grain Grading Guide and variety designation lists will be coming into effect on August 1, 2018 for western wheat classes.
July 25, 2018 By Top Crop Manager
Beginning in the 2018-19 crop year, individual official standard samples will be used to assess frost, heat stress and mildew damage in western Canadian wheat. An updated version of the Official Grain Grading Guide will be available on the Canadian Grain Commission’s (CGC) website on August 1, 2018.
The individual standard samples for frost/heat stress and mildew replaces the current combined standard samples as the assessment tools for these grading factors in all classes of Western Canadian wheat.
Under the previous guidelines, if both factors were present in a delivery, they were jointly assessed using the combined standard samples. New research conducted by the CGC has demonstrated that these grading factors do not have a compounding negative effect on the end-use functionality of the wheat. Individual assessment of these grading factors will prevent unnecessary downgrading of wheat.
The new standards for frost, heat stress and mildew will come into effect on August 1, 2018, for Western wheat classes. These changes are not applicable in Eastern wheat classes. However, the guides for mildew in Eastern wheat classes were renamed as standards, effective July 1, 2018.
New variety designation lists will also come into effect on August 1, 2018. Following a three year transition period, 25 varieties of Canada Western Red Spring and four varieties of Canada Prairie Spring Red wheat that do not meet the revised quality parameters for their current classes will be reassigned to the Canada Northern Hard Red class.
