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Cereal Quality Survey Provisional Results

The first release of results from the AHDB-HGCA 2011 Cereal Quality Survey are now available, full tables can be viewed by clicking here. The results are provisional based on 18,000 wheat samples and 10,000 barley samples collected up to the 31st August 2011. As a consequence GB results will be biased towards earlier-cut varieties in the South and East. This can be seen in the regional breakdown with 75% of wheat and 63% of barley samples included in these provisional results grown in the East, South-East and South-West. The figures published are averages and hence there is variation around these numbers.

Full Cereal Quality Survey results are likely to be available in November when a more complete picture of GB wheat quality can be ascertained. It is expected that this data will change between the provisional and final results as harvest moves to completion across GB and more samples are analysed.

Headlines from the provisional data are as follows:

Wheat
• For wheat the provisional 2011 results (as at 31st August) show a lower moisture content and higher Hagberg Falling Number, specific weight and protein level compared to 2010 and the three year averages. This suggests the 2011 crop may be of better quality than 2010 when 37% of 2010 wheat samples made full bread milling specification (nabim group 1; 76.0 Specific Weight, 250 Hagberg, 13.0% Protein). However, it should be noted that 58% of samples are from nabim group 1 and 2 varieties and therefore the sample is biased towards higher quality bread milling wheat at this stage. Later results will give a better overall picture of the crop, especially for soft milling varieties.
• Average Hagberg Falling Number for GB wheat is 284 seconds, up 14 seconds on last season’s final results and 30 seconds above the three year average. This is the highest Hagberg since 2006, with relatively low variation across the regions (271 – 307 seconds).
• Average specific weight shows an increase of 2.8kg/hl on last season’s final results, to 79.8kg/hl. High specific wheat levels may go some way to compensate for the lower yields reported in the UK via higher flour extraction rates.
• Average protein content of 12.3%, an increase on 2010’s final result of 11.9% and 4% higher than the three year average. This suggests that there could be few issues with protein fallback penalties on contracts this season.
• Average moisture content this year is seen at 14.9%, lower than last year’s final result of 15.5%.

Barley
For barley the provisional 2011 results show a lower moisture content and specific weight and higher nitrogen content compared to a year ago. Although results are biased towards the South at this stage, the data indicates that high nitrogen content is an issue this season with winter barley samples. This suggests the availability of UK barley of malting quality may be tight for the 2011 season, putting more reliance on spring crop supplies.
• Average specific weight of 66.8kg/hl, lower than last season’s final result of 67.0kg/hl but higher than the three year average.
• Average nitrogen content is seen at 1.82%, higher than last year’s final result of 1.64% and the three year average.
• Average moisture content is 15.3%, lower than the 15.6% final figure recorded last season and the three year average.
• Screening results are better in general with an average of 1.3% of grain passing through a 2.25mm sieve (lower than last year and the three year average) and 95.8% of grain retained by a 2.5mm sieve (higher than 2010 and the three year average). This is an indicator that this year’s crop may be more consistent than 2010 with potentially less claims on contracts for screenings.

Further details on the AHDB-HGCA Cereal Quality Survey can be found in the survey results section (click here).

 

Charlotte Garbutt
5th September 2011

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