Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 11225 Advancing Seed in Alberta | spring.2017 (WRT-QET). According to Elaine Sopiwnyk, director of grain qual- ity for Cigi, WRT-QET meetings involve assessments of candidate cultivars in relation to check varieties, evaluations or revisions to quality guidelines for each wheat class, as well as reviews of methods used for candidate cultivar evaluations. “All of these activities draw heavily on the expertise that Cigi members bring to the table,” says Sopiwnyk. Something else Cigi staffers bring to these meetings is insight into international customers’ requirements for variety character- istics, such as desired gluten strength for a particular wheat class headed for Chinese steamed bread, or ash content in semolina intended for Italian spaghetti. Cigi is also working on three projects focusing on registered wheat varieties within Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) Agri-Innovation Program. One of these is a project organized by Harpinder Randhawa of AAFC’s Lethbridge Research Centre, which will test large quantities of registered CPSR wheat varieties – 12 varieties grown at 12 locations – in addition to other work Cigi is conducting on registered varieties of CWRS and CWAD. “Although CWRS is an important wheat class for Alberta pro- ducers, the highest amount of insured acres of CPSR in Western Canada is planted in Alberta, making it the second most impor- tant wheat class,” says Sopiwnyk. “Cigi’s assessment of these 12 CPSR varieties may help determine whether any varieties offer innovative opportunities for domestic or international customers.” Harvest Assessment As well as its work with wheat varieties, Cigi has other projects that go on all year round. Through its market support activi- ties, Cigi provides targeted technical support and customized training that brings customers from key markets to Winnipeg to learn about the Canadian grain value chain, and to participate in hands-on technical sessions in Cigi’s processing facilities to learn how to optimize Canadian grain in a multitude of end products. In recent years, Cigi has had an increasing focus on applica- tions of pulse flours in commercial food products. Cigi has teamed up with Warburton’s, a British bread company, to investigate the incorporation of pulse flours in bread products to increase nutritional characteristics and add value to the Canadian pulse industry. But autumn is Cigi’s busiest season: this is when the annual new wheat crop assessment begins. Buth says the harvest assessment involves analyzing grain samples coming through the commercial system from elevators and grain handlers in the western and eastern Prairies. Cigi performs qual- ity analyses on these samples, looking at protein content, gluten strength, starch damage and colour, as well as end-use suitability. “This year, we received 114 samples from nine different com- panies. These were composites of the deliveries of new crop from elevators throughout the Prairies,” says Buth. Cigi’s qual- ity reports on eastern and western composite wheat samples can be found online at canadianwheat.ca. After these technical analyses, Cigi staff prepare products such as breads, Asian noodles and pastas using the new crop samples to assess their performance. Once the new crop assessment is complete, western Canadian wheat new crop missions (a collaborative effort with Cereals Canada and the Canadian Grain Commission) set off for coun- tries in Asia, Latin America, Europe, North Africa and West Africa, presenting the new crop summary to end-use customers during November and December. The new crop summary includes a review of the growing season, technical information on grading factors and wheat class qualities, functionality of the various grades within a wheat class, and how customers can best utilize the different classes to produce products using their own cooking or baking methods and equipment. “We’re focused on that technology transfer to customers,” says Buth.