Wheat prices bow to low quality

BISMARCK, N.D. – Producers of hard red spring wheat in the upper Midwest have reaped one of the biggest harvests in history, but the bin-busting crop isn’t of high enough quality to pay the bills for many farmers.

The same cool weather that produced the bumper crop reduced the level of protein in the grain used for bread products. Since lower-protein grain can hurt the quality of bread and other foods, it brings a lesser price, and farmers are finding their bumper crop worth a lot less than expected.

“It’s the difference between a break-even scenario vs. a profitable year,” said Byron Richard, who farms near Belfield in the southwest part of North Dakota, which grows about half of the nation’s spring wheat each year.

North Dakota’s 2009 crop is the largest in 13 years, thanks to a record yield, or bushels harvested per acre. But much of the grain is coming in with less than 14 percent protein, generally considered the threshold between good-quality and poor-quality grain.

The problem for farmers is not likely to have a large impact on consumers.

The American Bakers Association acknowledged any disruption in supply typically affects consumer food prices. But given “the relative size of the hard red spring wheat crop, the ability to blend wheat, if necessary, and the overall competitiveness of the market, it is unlikely that low protein levels in this year’s spring wheat crop will affect prices,” it said.

Also, bakers in the U.S. use different types of wheat with varying proteins for different products, said Hayden Wands, chairman of the association’s commodity and agricultural policy committee. For example, hard red spring wheat is used for hearth breads and crusty rolls, while bakers use hard red winter wheat for pan breads and soft red winter wheat for cookies and crackers.

Wheat industry officials say they hope to work with the milling and baking industry to produce quality food from spring wheat that doesn’t quite meet the 14 percent protein standard. They say it would be in the best interest of food producers who want a stable supply, because some farmers are switching to other crops, such as corn and soybeans, to avoid the risks associated with wheat quality discounts.