Identifying additional markets for Group 4 wheat

In the right season, decent premiums can be had for certain Group 4 varieties, if marketed correctly, he says. What is essential is varieties are stored separately, and it could be worth factoring extra markets into variety planning, he adds.

“If you have anything over 180 or even 150 Hagberg you could stand to be adding a premium,” says Mr Paterson. “Get your grain analysed and keep it separate. There may be anything from £3-£7 per tonne.

“There are probably 20 different specifications of wheat I can think of. For Group 4 hard wheat alone there are maybe five to six different specifications. It’s not just all feed.

“Some of the large millers are very good at using some Group 4 hard wheat. If it’s a good year for it they need continuity of supply.”

Potential

Mr Paterson cites 10.7 per cent protein, 74kg/hl specific weight and 130 HFN, or 11.7 per cent protein, 74kg/hl specific weight and 180 HFN, as examples of Group 4 hard wheat specifications which may have potential for blending into bread-making grists.

Export is also a possibility; for example, UK wheat being blended in Spain, with quality wheat from France and Germany, he says. And Group 4 hard wheat can be useful for flours for ethnic flatbreads, where there is no need for dough to rise. Also, the hard Group 4 variety Duxford, for example, is now on the list of a large breakfast cereal manufacturer, he says.

“You should find out which opportunities exist in your area. The market has become more transparent with information flow.

Premiums

“Sometimes consumers or end users don’t want Hagberg, they just want a bright, bold Group 4 - which might attract a premium in itself.”

Mr Paterson says the market will decide if premiums are available, once it gets a picture of harvest. But additional markets are still worth considering in variety choice.

“Look first at whether you’re growing a first wheat or second wheat, whether late drilled or early drilled and at yield potential, but this is an added spin-off. Even if you’ve grown it as a feed wheat you can still meet a specification - that’s the beauty of it,” he adds.

Benefits

One grower who has experienced the benefits of a windfall Group 4 premium is Essex farmer Simon Dixon Smith.

Growing 400 hectares (988 acres) of wheat at Fennes Farm near Braintree, he looks for varieties with good lodging and disease resistance to fit his low maintenance growing approach.

Normally just two varieties are planted - a Group 2 and a Group 4. But despite growing Duxford as feed wheat, he still achieved a £3-£6/t premium last season. That was after protein analysis came back at more than 12.2 per cent.

“We had everything tested and when it came back it looked like there might be something in it. It was good on protein, which was why it got a premium,” says Mr Dixon Smith.

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