The most exciting news about this year’s wheat crop is there is no exciting news, the Wheat Marketing Center’s executive director says.

Protein levels, kernel weights, test weights, falling numbers, ash and other characteristics are all consistent with five-year averages.

2022 is “a relatively normal year for the Pacific Northwest for soft wheats,” said Mike Moran, executive director.

Some pockets of the region might have slightly lower test weights, but it’s nothing of concern to a miller or exporter, Moran said.

Moran and technical director Jayne Bock provided an update on the wheat crop during the Idaho Wheat Commission ‘s “From the Field” webinar.

Last year, in response to the drought, the center advised customers on how to address higher protein content in soft white wheat, the predominate class of wheat exported from the Northwest.

The wheat’s actual performance wasn’t far off the five-year average, Bock said.

“Overall, not a lot of adjustments were necessary last year to accommodate that higher protein,” she said. 

The center educates overseas customers on how best to use U.S. wheat in their products. 

“Anybody that can do something with wheat, our role is really to help them better understand how to identify the class of wheat that is best suited for their purposes, and how to maximize the qualities of that wheat for their end-use,” Moran said.

“If you choose your wheat correctly … you don’t need a whole lot of other ingredients, you can really simplify and streamline your formula and the way you make it,” Bock said. 

That’s going to become more important in the future as customers place greater emphasis on nutritional targets for breeding programs, she said.

Global consumer trends will also emphasize “clean labeling” — food products with simplified, recognizable ingredients, with fewer additives, preservatives and “fewer unfamiliar words,” Moran said.

“If you’re starting with a high-quality wheat, you don’t need a lot of other things to make your product work,” he said.

The center also tells growers how their wheat is used once it leaves the farm, traveling to grain terminals on the way to millers, bakers and distributors.

“Having the ability to see where their wheat goes really gives more depth of meaning when they’re out in the field and they’re thinking about the decisions they’re making agronomically and varietal selection,” Moran said.

It’s important to convey back to wheat breeders what end-users are experiencing, as they work to meet target quality characteristics in the varieties they develop, he said.

“That consistency is probably one of the most important qualities anybody in baking and manufacturing is looking for — it is going to be predictable and consistent year after year,” he said.