Plans to shift the winter wheat variety CDC Falcon from its classification as a Canada Western Red Winter (CWRW) to a “general purpose” class are now on hold for three years at least.
The Canadian Grain Commission, which announced in 2010 that it would shift Falcon and four other wheat varieties to the Canada Western General Purpose (CWGP) class effective Aug. 1, 2013, said Monday that Falcon will now stay put until Aug. 1, 2014 and possibly even later.
When the move was first announced in 2010, “we stated that CDC Falcon would not move until at least one replacement variety with the similar or better agronomic factors was available to producers,” CGC chief commissioner Elwin Hermanson said Monday.
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Seed companies SeCan and Canterra Seeds said last month in the Manitoba Co-operator that they have replacements in the pipeline for Falcon, but added that adequate supplies wouldn’t be available until probably 2014.
“Right now, it appears that replacement varieties won’t be ready in time, so we have decided to keep Falcon in the CWRW class until 2014,” Hermanson said Monday in a release.
The four other wheats, CDC Kestrel, CDC Clair, CDC Harrier and CDC Raptor, will still move to the CWGP class on Aug. 1, 2013 as scheduled, the commission said.
Once those wheats are moved, the CGC will require all winter wheats in the CWRW class to conform to milling wheat standards.
The CGC said in 2010 that it expects restoring the CWRW class, to include milling winter wheats only, to improve Canadian competitiveness in the winter wheat milling market.
Related stories:
Falcon wheat to remain a Red Winter, for now, Aug. 10, 2011
Five CWRW wheats to be reclassified General Purpose, July 16, 2010
