Finding ways for bakers, millers and wheat growers to work cooperatively toward enhanced wheat quality has been a wheat industry aspiration since early in the 20th century. A recently announced initiative between Grain Craft, ADM Milling Co. and a major baking company marks a new high-water mark in these efforts. Under the program, the millers agreed to supply flour milled… Read more »
New research from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln has led to the discovery of a novel gene that improves drought adaptation in wheat — a breakthrough that could contribute to increased world food security. In new research published in Plant Biotechnology Journal, Harkamal Walia, associate professor and Heuermann Chair of Agronomy and Horticulture at Nebraska, and colleagues describe a novel form… Read more »
White bread is extremely popular but a drawback of its production is the lack of fiber content in its flour. Now an international team has discovered the gene responsible for the fiber in flour, and have been able to produce white bread that is high in fibers at last. The new flour they created, described in the journal PLOS ONE… Read more »
Hayden Wands, vice-president of Global Procurement, Commodities at Bimbo Bakeries USA, Dallas, Texas, U.S., will provide a baker’s view of wheat quality as part of a keynote presentation at the Wheat Quality Council’s annual meeting set for Feb. 18-21 in Kansas City. In addition to Wands’ presentation, the meeting will feature a three-hour forum on Feb. 20 titled “The Science… Read more »
Israeli researchers have discovered a new family of proteins in plants, which may cure the wheat yellow rust disease, the University of Haifa said in a report published Tuesday. It is estimated that this disease, caused by parasitic fungi, affects about 5 million tons of wheat a year worldwide, causing a loss of more than 1 billion U.S. dollars. The… Read more »
The climate is not only warming, it is also becoming more variable and extreme. Such unpredictable weather can weaken global food security if major crops such as wheat are not sufficiently resilient—and if we are not properly prepared. A group of European researchers, including Professor Jørgen E. Olesen from the Department of Agroecology at Aarhus University, has found that current… Read more »
Wheat is an essential ingredient in food that feeds the world. The price of wheat, like all agricultural commodities, depends on weather conditions in primary growing regions each year. In 2008, the price of wheat rose to its all-time peak price at $13.345 per bushel as drought conditions limited supplies and caused the price to explode to the upside. At… Read more »
With Hurricane Harvey gone and most of the damage assessed, the Texas wheat industry looks forward to repairing, rebuilding and getting back to work. Hurricane Harvey dropped a record of 50 inches, or 127 centimeters, of rain. Following the flooding from Hurricane Harvey, some Texas ports are still closed, rail embargos remain in effect and virtually no wheat was inspected… Read more »
Improvements in breeding tools are helping to make hybrid wheat a reality.
A revival in British milling wheat premiums is, in rendering German supplies more competitive, threatening to revive UK imports, whose high level since the nightmare year of 2012 has surprised investors. While prices of higher quality wheat have outperformed worldwide – a reflection of a poor quality, if record large, global harvest – those in the UK appear to have… Read more »