Yield or Protein? What’s Your Priority When Growing Wheat?

Canadian wheat has a reputation in many parts of world of being the best wheat for milling. Customers will blend high protein Canadian wheat into their recipes to make up for lower quality grain.

20150804_wheat_ripeNew wheat varieties released in Canada over the last few years have opened the door to growing higher yielding wheat. Some producers are adjusting their fertilizer plans to try to get the best of both worlds, but all else being equal, varieties that yield more generally have lower protein content.

Higher protein wheat, depending on supply and demand, usually fetches a higher price — a protein premium, but some growers will say the yield increase with new lower protein varieties more than makes up the difference in value.

As you wrap up #harvest15 and plan your crop for 2016, there’s a choice to be made between aiming for high yield, but potentially lower value grain or targeting wheat with good protein but lower yield potential.

That brings us to this week’s poll: yield or protein? What’s your highest priority when growing wheat?

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