Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) Western Panel Chairman and Hyden grower, Dale Baker (photo) told the 56th Australian Cereal Chemistry Conference in Fremantle that grain quality was more important than ever before.

He humorously recalled the “good old days” when WA growers harvested as fast as they could, not necessarily to get the best quality wheat, but to ensure suckers didn’t grow too tall and end up in the sample.

“Thankfully, today’s environment is a lot different. The risks have changed and it’s rare to be knocked back at the bin due to eucalyptus contamination.”

The industry had changed rapidly in the 35 years he had farmed and getting knocked back a grade today on quality could make a big difference to a grower’s bottom line.

“Quality can add to the bottom line, however growers need to be aware of the risks associated with chasing it,” Mr Baker said.

He noted protein was the real price driver and there was a big difference in prices for quality wheat, with Australian Hard (AH) paying a premium of $9.00 per one per cent shift in protein and Australian Premium White (APW) paying $3.50 per one per cent.

“Recent WA trial work suggests the current high nitrogen application costs are making it uneconomical to chase protein,” Mr Baker said.

“However, it may be economical if it pushes growers out of the Australian Standard White (ASW) grade and into the noodle grade ASWN. Noodle growers need to be aware that if they chase protein and miss out, ending up in the ASW grade, they risk loosing $50 a tonne.

“There is profit in quality for growers, but real premiums and discounts need to be applied to varieties so that we can remove the ‘dogs’ in our receivals.”

He concluded by saying growers needed to recognise their environment, select the right genotype and apply the appropriate management techniques.

Opening the special growers day, GRDC Board Chairman and Mt Barker grower, Terry Enright said the GRDC was delighted to support the event, which offered growers a unique insight into leading world wheat research. The GRDC sponsored 12 growers to attend the conference free.

“It’s a great opportunity for growers to receive technical information tailored to them, so they can extract some worthwhile take-home messages.”

Other topics on the grower day included variety identification at grain receival, what Asian millers want from Australian wheat and wheat variety classification.