The North Dakota Wheat Commission released its annual crop quality reports, according to an Oct. 22 statement. The organization has been conducting harvest surveys for more than six decades, and the data is used for regional reporting as well as the U.S. Wheat Associates overall report covering all six classes of wheat produced nationally.
These surveys are important because they inform both domestic and international customers about wheat quality, which helps them plan their purchasing strategies for the coming year. The survey covers hard red spring wheat from North Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, South Dakota and the Pacific Northwest, as well as durum from North Dakota and Montana.
During harvest season, state wheat check-off groups work with the National Ag Statistics Service to collect nearly 900 samples of hard red spring wheat and durum. These samples are sent to North Dakota State University for analysis on kernel quality and end-use properties. The samples are grouped by region and protein level before being milled into semolina or flour for further analysis on bread and pasta qualities.
Jim Peterson, Policy and Marketing Director at the commission, said this year’s challenging weather made sample collection difficult but did not compromise survey accuracy. “This fall has been the most challenging collection period in recent memory,” he said. “We have goals of how many samples we want to collect each week. With the weather, getting predictable, steady samples was difficult, but we’re confident the survey is a fair representation of what will make it to the commercial market.” Peterson also said accurate results matter because buyers depend on these reports: “Our job is to represent the crop to help optimize the strengths our wheat has over competitors and help our customers manage year-to-year changes in end-use performance,” he said. “We don’t try to hide things, and customers really find value in our surveys because they trust they’re the most accurate representation of the crop. This year’s crop was diverse and extreme in some issues, so our data will be vital to customers that need to adjust their strategies to accommodate for variances in crop quality.”
The commission’s latest reports are available online at https://ndwheat.com/publications/cropqualityreports/.
The North Dakota Grain Growers Association funds its operations through membership dues from farmers and agricultural leaders; it promotes economic vitality by supporting advocacy efforts at both state and federal levels while working with organizations such as Midwest Council on Agriculture; it also aims to increase profitability through education initiatives—all according to the official website.
