The consultation closes on May 20.
The CGC has proposed a Canada Eastern Special Purpose class that would allow all registered wheat varieties to be assigned to a class and receive a statutory Canadian grain grade. The proposed wheat class would take effect on July 1, 2018.
The CGC said the class would have no quality parameters, require disease and agronomic data and include varieties that do not fit within the parameters of any other Canadian eastern wheat classes.
The proposal is part of changes to the Canadian wheat class system launched in 2016. At that time, stakeholders said the eastern wheat classes were appropriate for their needs. It was decided that no changes would be proposed to those classes until further discussions could occur, the CGC said.
Now, stakeholders said it is an opportune time to introduce a wheat class in eastern Canada that is similar to the Canadian Western Special Purpose wheat class. The CGC said there are a number of wheat varieties being brought for registration that do not meet the quality criteria for the existing eastern wheat classes. However, there are market opportunities for these varieties that exhibit or contain special unique characteristics.
Wheat classes are established through extensive consultation with end-users, breeders, marketers and other stakeholders within the value chain. Each class has its own set of performance characteristics that are primarily based on functional, or end-use, characteristics.
New varieties being considered for registration are assessed against specific benchmarks to determine each new variety’s appropriateness for a particular class.
Comments on the proposal may be mailed to: Eastern Wheat Class Modernization, Canadian Grain Commission, 600-303 Main Street, Winnipeg MB R3C 3G8. They also may be faxed to 1.204.983.2751 or e-mailed to [email protected].
