Versatility increasingly important when selecting wheat varieties

High performance wheat varieties combining high productivity and versatility are becoming increasingly important, say analysts.

With more land going into the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), savvy growers are making the most of the rest by choosing marketable wheat varieties capable of generating a good revenue efficiently.

“Where farmers allocate land to the scheme, what remains must be increasingly productive to offset any loss of income,” says Andersons Centre senior analyst James Webster.

“The need to maximise outputs and optimise production costs will highlight the importance of growing varieties which are both highly productive and very efficient in terms of utilising inputs.

“The overall value of input costs has fallen, but the need to keep overall production costs in check remains, putting the emphasis on selecting varieties with good nitrogen efficiency and strong inherent disease resistance.

“Fundamentally, first wheat will always be the best, most productive option and deliver the highest margins, but this season’s exceptionally wet weather has severely impacted many farm businesses’ cropping plans.”

Yield and quality

In the case of wheat, the focus will often be on growing varieties which have the potential to produce high yields but can also be managed to generate a milling premium, if the potential is there to achieve a quality sample, he believes.

“KWS Extase, for example, which combines the potential to generate a milling premium with high yields, provides multiple marketing options. The UK is good at producing wheat with 12% to 13% protein and growing a versatile variety such as KWS Extase allows farmers to keep their options open.

“Very good disease resistance may enable savings in crop protection products, which in turn will reduce application costs, labour and fuel, so even with potential new milling varieties coming along the case for growing it remains strong.”

After five years at the top of Group 2, KWS Extase a top choice for UK wheat growers, regardless of end market, and can even take the fight to the best of the Group 4s, believes KWS expert Kirsty Richards.

Still offering the highest untreated yield on the Recommended List at 93% of controls, it delivers the most complete package in terms of disease resistance, grain quality and consistency, she says.

“KWS Extase is a UK-adapted UK Flour Millers (UKFM) Group 2 milling wheat which was developed from KWS’s French breeding programme.

“It has excellent grain characteristics, meets the needs of domestic millers and is approved for export, making it possibly the most exciting variety to be recommended in recent years.”

As a UKFM Group 2, KWS Extase is fully approved for UK breadmaking but may also have some specialist bakery applications, she points out.

“These differing end uses may attract varying market prices, so for example lower protein KWS Extase would suit UK millers’ lower protein contracts, although growers should check the precise requirements of local markets.

“In breadmaking trials, KWS Extase produced flours and doughs similar to those of Group 2 controls, the resultant bread having very good oven jump and loaf height with a good light crust colour.”

But it’s not just as a milling wheat where KWS excels, with many of its features making it an ideal variety for Group 4, says Dr Richards.

“Add in a yield of 101% of control, just 2% behind the UK’s most popular wheat KWS Dawsum at 103%, and you can see why many growers believe KWS Extase is a sound bet as a high specification Group 4.

Full package

“The variety’s exceptional combination of yield and disease resistance, including excellent resistance to Septoria tritici, makes KWS Extase a variety that farmers will want to grow this season and beyond.

“You can aim high and go for a milling market but if the economics of production change, or you just miss out for some reason, you’re still likely to have very high yields of top-quality feed wheat produced from a very simple to grow package. “Regardless of end market that high untreated yield is going to be your ally throughout the growing season. The sharp reduction in chemical control options means varieties with strong inherent disease resistance are increasingly in demand.”