by Mykel Taylor, Extension Assistant, Department of Agricultural Economics, Kansas State University.
Profile updated August 2008.
Overview
Proponents of hard white wheat (HWW) have focused on improved milling and baking qualities and other characteristics that appeal to domestic and foreign wheat buyers. Although not a new class of wheat to growers in Australia and Turkey, the United States has had very little HWW production until the last decade. As a result, the recent passage of a new farm bill that includes a program specific to HWW has spurred discussion.
The advantages of HWW to millers and consumers include higher extraction rates and a sweeter taste in whole-wheat products. The drawbacks to HWW have come on the production side. Growers face issues such as competitive yields, growing conditions that cause pre-harvest sprouting, and the extra time and effort of maintaining an identity preserved commodity. Even with the advantages to millers and consumers, many producers have not been convinced the premiums for growing HWW are enough to cover the cost of segregation and certified seed (see Economic Issues with Certified and Bin-Run Wheat Seed). All these issues have contributed to the problems facing an emerging market: the demand would exist if the supply were constant and stable. The supply will emerge if the demand is strong enough to encourage it. The question remaining is how to jump-start the process.
Research and Development
Some of the issues that have deterred significant levels of production are being resolved. Researchers at Kansas State University (K-State) first began developing varieties of HWW in 1982. Since that time, four varieties (Heyne, Betty, Trego and Lakin) have been made available by general release from K-State. Other varieties were made available to the American White Wheat Producers Association a decade earlier. Trego, released in 1999, has performed very well over the past several years in K-State performance trials. Trials conducted in the western portion of the state show Trego leading both hard white and hard red varieties in yield performance. The occurrence of pre-harvest sprouting is also greatly reduced in the drier climate of western Kansas, making the variety very well suited to that area.
By dedicating significant resources to the development of HWW varieties, researchers are releasing high-quality varieties for both the producer and the miller. In MF 2499 Economic Issues with Milling Hard White Wheat, the quality attributes of different HWW varieties with regard to flour extraction are discussed. The results of a three-year trial by the Wheat Marketing Center in Portland, Oregon, indicate milling extraction rates for several HWW varieties are higher than for hard red varieties. Part of this performance advantage is due to higher test weights of the HWW varieties. The cost savings that higher extraction rates provide to millers has resulted in economic incentives for varieties with consistently higher extraction rates.
Sprouting has been an issue with HWW crops. In particular, sprouting is an issue in eastern Kansas and eastern Oklahoma. However, recent varieties suggest that this issue is being addressed in state breeding programs.
Marketing
The promise of expanded foreign markets and better milling and baking qualities of HWW has resulted in several contracting programs in various states including Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and Oklahoma. Some programs are aimed at reaching a critical mass of production to begin trading with foreign buyers. Other programs are designed to provide a secure supply of wheat for specific wheat-based products. In either case, premiums have been an integral part of the contract. Although premiums vary greatly, the base premium is typically $0.10 per bushel.
Contract requirements also vary. Most contracts require certified seed to be planted. Some companies require the use of their own genetics by requiring specific varieties to be planted. In most cases, the varieties have unique characteristics that make the wheat well suited to a particular end product. Other requirements include selling all the grain back to the contracting company and no replanting of seed. This is usually intended to protect the genetic purity of the HWW crop.
Production and Trade
According to the USDA, 227 million bushels of white wheat were produced in 2007. The yield was more than 60 bushel per acre, significantly more than durum wheat or hard red wheat. Imports of white wheat were negligible (10 million bushels), but exports totaled 162 million bushels, or over 70 percent of production.
Hard White Wheat Incentive Program
Despite the efforts of researchers, contracting programs and other proponents of HWW, plantings have not grown significantly in the past several years. In an attempt to expand both the market and production of HWW, a government program was added to the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002. In this program, money was set aside to provide incentive payments to HWW producers. The goals of the program are to boost acreage of HWW through monetary incentives, while accounting for quality and market development. This three-year program increased HWW plantings by providing an economic incentive for producers to purchase HWW.
Sources
Boland, M., K. Dhuyvetter and M. Howe, Economic Issues with Certified and Farmer-Saved Wheat Seed, Kansas State University, 2001.
Boland, M., and K. Dhuyvetter, Economic Issues with Milling White Wheat, Kansas State University, 2002.
National Association of Wheat Growers
Wheat Outlook, ERS, USDA, August 2008.
Wheat Year in Review, ERS, USDA, May 2008.
Profile created January 2003 and updated August 2008.