Arable
Consistency is key for successful milling wheat
• Match top nutrition to wheat variety • Profit and investment vital for future • Good opportunities to supply millers
E
astern region growers from three counties celebrated success at this year’s recent
AHDB Milling Wheat Conference – highlighting the importance of good links between farmers and millers to produce excellent qual- ity bread for consumers. Meeting specification to ensure consistency for all players in the supply chain was a key theme from the conference – along with a focus on the customer and the need to be sustainable and prof- itable going forwards. The one-day event saw the winners announced for the YEN Wheat Quality Awards, sponsored by agronomists Hutchinsons. The awards recognise excellence and innovation in achieving consist- ent, high quality wheat yields. Norfolk grower Alex Wilcox
was unveiled as the winner for harvest 2018. He fought off stiff competition from Cambridgesh- ire grower Sam Markillie, who
was runner-up; and Essex grow- er Richard Carr, who came third.
Grain quality Mark Charlton, from Allied Tech- nical Centre and chair of the Na- bim variety working group, said: “The winning entry demonstrat- ed great grain quality, good gluten rheology and produced the best loaves with excellent colour, struc- ture and texture.” Mr Wilcox farms 250ha at Stowbridge,
near Downham
Market. His entry was the high- est yielding and achieved 12.16t/ ha. It also achieved the highest protein yield of 1.35t/ha. Mr Wil- cox said he was keen to push the farm’s yield boundaries. “For me, the key elements for growing quality milling wheat are a healthy, well-structured soil, achieved through organic mat- ter applications and soil man- agement. It involves attention to detail in agronomy from seed bed
Alex Wilcox (right) receives his award from George Marriage of Marriage’s Millers
“
We are ensuring food supplies for our country, especially in uncertain times
conditions and nutrition through to fungicides.”
The conference brought to- gether growers, breeders, agron- omists, millers and merchants to exchange knowledge and share best practice. The event empha- sised the role of quality from vari- ety selection, agronomy manage- ment and post-harvest storage, through to milling and baking. Miller George Mason, senior executive at Heygates, said all sectors of agriculture faced vari- ous challenges – from production
Wheat Quality Award winners
First: Alex Wilcox, A&J Wilcox, King’s Lynn, Norfolk. Second: Sam Markillie, Arthur Markillie Ltd, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. Third: Richard Carr, LE Carr & Sons, Maldon, Essex.
and logistics, through to prima- ry and secondary manufacture. It was important to bring togeth- er the supply chain to try to boost efficiency.
Profitable production “We are trying to ensure food sup- plies for our country, especially in these political times of uncertain- ty,” said Mr Mason. “We have to be working together to stay in profit and invest in the future.” ADAS crop physiologist Sa- rah Clarke discussed effective nutrition programmes for mill- ing wheat. Variety choice and nu- trition are both key to achieving bread-making quality – as well as crop management, she told listeners.
“Growers can benchmark and learn more about their qual- ity from entering the YEN Wheat Quality Award and could think about carrying out tramline tri- als for nutrition programmes to see what could be achieved on their farm.”
The conference was closed
by AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds strategy director Martin Grant- ley-Smith. Despite ongoing Brex- it uncertainty, there would always be great opportunities for the UK milling wheat supply chain, he said.
“We produce very good quality
products. However, we must not be complacent and we must con- tinue to strive to ensure our qual- ity remains high and consistent, as well as delivering in the most cost-effective manner.”
10 ANGLIA FARMER • APRIL 2019
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