USA
March 5, 2019
New Wheat Quality Council western quality check LCS Rebel is setting the standard across the Northern Plains.
The Wheat Quality Council has added LCS Rebel to its list of hard red spring quality checks — varieties that set the bar for end-use quality across the country. LCS Rebel was named a western quality check for 2019, joining existing check Glenn and new eastern check Linkert.
Wheat Quality Council reports are the gold standard benchmarks for end-use quality nationwide. The Council conducts rigorous tests on wheat varieties, comparing a wide range of kernel, milling and bread baking metrics against check varieties. LCS Rebel is now one of the quality checks for that process, a standard for all western wheats measured.
“The Wheat Quality Council has been looking for hard red spring check varieties to join Glenn for 5 to 7 years,” says Hayley Butler, Limagrain Cereal Seeds Quality Manager. “But nothing has been up to par — until now.”
LCS Rebel was put through the paces to become a quality check. The Wheat Quality Council studied its end-use quality results over multiple growing seasons. They considered a number of quality benchmarks, from test weight, protein levels and kernel characteristics to milling yield, water absorption and stability. Commercial viability was also important — market value scores and acres planted. Then the Council’s consortium of cereal chemists, breeders, millers, wheat commissioners and other industry members deliberated over a number of months. LCS Rebel became a clear choice, matching and even besting the existing quality check in some categories.
And quality matters. “End-use quality is absolutely crucial,” says Derald Gefroh, owner of Dakota Seed Conditioning. “A wheat with high yield and protein but no quality isn’t worth anything. You end up with high discounts, and nobody wants that.”
Quality Manager Hayley Butler puts wheat quality to the test in the LCS Quality Lab.
“Quality has been very important for growers,” agrees Ryan Kadrmas of Kadrmas Farm. “Buyers requiring quality appear to be willing to pay a premium for it.”
End-use quality plays a large role in the global wheat market, too. “International competitors are improving their quality, and foreign buyers will always consider price versus value,” says Butler. So the U.S. wheat industry needs to continue improving quality to stay ahead of the curve.
Gefroh puts it this way: “If you’re breeding wheats and stepping down in quality, you don’t even need to release them — because someone else is stepping higher.” With LCS Rebel, farmers don’t have to choose between yield, protein and quality. “LCS Rebel is as good as anything. From start to finish, it looks good. I recommend it to my customers as a well-balanced wheat with a good disease package and great quality.”
LCS Rebel made its certified seed debut during the 2017 growing season and caught the attention of Northern Plains farmers by consistently outperforming market leaders in the balanced category. “LCS Rebel has a good balance of yield and protein that most farmers are looking for,” says Kadrmas. “Compared to Glenn, LCS Rebel has better yield potential while still maintaining the same quality and protein.”
LCS Rebel has an exceptionally wide area of adaptation and is in high demand. Certified seed sold out last year. For more information about LCS Rebel, visit LimagrainCerealSeeds.com/LCS-Rebel or contact LCS Northern Plains Sales Manager Russell Oberg at 701-799-8028.
In addition to LCS Rebel, the LCS hard red spring wheat portfolio includes:
- LCS Cannon, new for 2019, a higher yielding balanced profile with excellent straw strength adapted for western North Dakota and the Red River Valley.
- LCS Trigger, delivering the highest yield available in the Northern Plains as well as excellent straw strength.
About LCS
Limagrain Cereal Seeds (LCS) is a cereal breeding operation dedicated to developing new wheat and barley varieties bred expressly for farmers’ climates, soils and growing conditions. LCS is a division of Group Limagrain, a farmer’s cooperative established in 1965 with cereal breeding programs in every area of the world wheat and barley are widely grown. Through the exchange of elite Group Limagrain germplasm across six continents, LCS gives U.S. farmers access to the best genetics in the world. LCS combines modern technology with traditional principles of sustainable agriculture, allowing the company to bring varieties to market in nearly half the time of conventional breeding.
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