Reading Time: 3 minutes Pre-harvest sprouting or germination of wheat triggered by wet weather during the end stage of new-crop maturity can lead to poor end-product quality. The falling number test is one effective and objective way to determine the extent of sprout damage in a wheat sample. “Farmers are especially interested in falling number when they come to […] Read more
Grain grading, and the science behind falling number
The test is an effective way to determine sprout damage in wheat
VIDEO: The many definitions of bread
Reading Time: < 1 minute Bread is on one hand one of the world’s most common foods, but on the other hand one of the most varied. In this video, staff at the Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi) talk about the different types of bread around the world, and how they work with customers to determine the best type of […] Read more
VIDEO: Putting more ‘superfood’ in the North American diet
Reading Time: < 1 minute It’s hardly an exaggeration to call pulses a ‘superfood’ — they’re high in protein and other nutrients, they’ve been proven to reduce bad cholesterol and they provide free nitrogen for the farmers who grow them. But while they’re a staple in diets in the Middle East, consumption is low in North America. In this video, […] Read more
VIDEO: The gluten story
Reading Time: < 1 minute If you’ve ever chewed a few kernels of wheat to make ‘gum,’ you’ve done a gluten test. Domestic and overseas wheat millers do a somewhat more sophisticated gluten test to determine how flour milled from different wheats will perform in a bakery. The gluten strength of different varieties has been in the news lately, and […] Read more
Prairie wheat mildew report
Mildew led to widespread downgrading in 2014, but the crop’s overall quality outlook is still positive
Reading Time: 3 minutes This past fall, mildew has been one of a number of downgrading factors affecting the Prairie wheat harvest to a greater extent than last year, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s all bad news for finding markets for milling quality wheat. Each fall Cigi (Canadian International Grains Institute) receives samples of the different wheat classes […] Read more
Winter wheat isn’t spring wheat
Ever wonder why buyers get so upset at the idea of mixing winter wheat with a shipment of spring?
Reading Time: 2 minutes Commercial bakeries need dependable flour to achieve consistent end-product quality, which means that traits such as extensibility, protein content, and water absorption must remain the same with each flour shipment. Millers around the world choose Canadian wheat because of its reputation for consistency among shipments, year after year. Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) is regarded […] Read more
Testing the quality of the 2014 wheat harvest
Here’s how Cigi figures out if your wheat will make good bread
Reading Time: 3 minutes Helping customers make wise buying decisions is an important part of customer service. This is especially true when buyers are purchasing significant quantities of a commodity produced thousands of kilometres away — like wheat grown in Western Canada for example. For over 10 years, Cigi (Canadian International Grains Institute) has completed an annual harvest assessment, […] Read more
Managing production costs, charting a profit
Theory is great for textbooks. In real life, farmers like Stan Jeeves, need practical marketing programs, which they’re building for themselves
Reading Time: 5 minutes Stan Jeeves runs a mixed farm near Wolseley, a southeastern Saskatchewan community once named one of Canada’s prettiest towns by Harrowsmith Country Life Magazine. Jeeves takes a common-sense approach to selling grain. “I start with calculating my cost of production,” Jeeves says. “And then I know when I need cash flow.” From there, Jeeves looks for […] Read more
Unsung champion
Move over red spring. Our red winter can be superior choice
Reading Time: 3 minutes When Canadian wheat is the topic of conversation, it’s only a matter of time before quality milling wheat becomes a focus. After all it’s our international brand, and our red spring wheat is said to be one of the best milling wheats in the world, perfect for bread baking. But did you know there’s another […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
