The three Pacific Northwest wheat commissions have teamed up to purchase a $90,000 rapid analyzer for U.S. Wheat’s lab in Santiago, Chile.

The rapid visco analyzer is useful to assess flour starch properties, and particularly beneficial when looking at soft white wheat primarily grown in the region, said Amanda Hoey, Oregon Wheat CEO.

“We incorporate that data into our crop quality reports,” she said. “It gives the lab the opportunity to work with customers in the South American region and further demonstrate the value of U.S., Pacific Northwest wheat.”

The analyzer measures the viscous properties of starch, grain and other products. The equipment is slated to be installed for the upcoming season.

The three commissions also funded an analyzer for the Wheat Marketing Center in Portland in 2021.

They expect existing connections with customers to deepen as the equipment demonstrates the value of the higher-quality wheat, Hoey said.

“It doesn’t address all of the challenges we would have in getting wheat to there, but it does definitely help to drive some of the demand, and a better understanding of how best to use soft white wheat in particular,” she said.

Customers work with U.S. Wheat’s South American office, where technical specialist Andres Saturno and regional director Miguel Galdos engage them on the technical side, Hoey said.

Northwest wheat farmers have increasingly been investing in key South American markets in recent years, Hoey said.

“It’s definitely a growth and expansion area for us,” she said. “It’s a really great, continued story on the strength of the partnership between the Pacific Northwest wheat commissions and the opportunities we have in market development, at a time when we’ve seen some challenges in markets.”