In only 45 days, Patricia Rayas and an Oklahoma State University research team compiled detailed data never before available to Oklahoma wheat buyers and sellers.
     Rayas is the cereal chemist for the Oklahoma Food and Agricultural Products Research and Technology Center. The support of the FAPC and the Oklahoma
    Wheat Commission made this published survey report possible.
     The detailed survey report on the quality of wheat establishes a way to help market the value of wheat. It became available July 24 in a publication for buyers and sellers of Oklahoma wheat. Elevator managers also may use the survey report as a selling tool to let domestic and international buyers know early the quality of this year's hard red winter wheat crop.
     "Premiums and discounts are established by the market, and this report will be used as a marketing tool to tap the potential premiums and discounts of this year's crop," Rayas said. "Also, when a buyer has more information on how the wheat will perform in the mill and bakery, a trust is established with the elevator and a sale may be made. When buyers have to guess, they're naturally more cautious."
     Other states rely on the U.S. Wheat Associates' quality report that contains composite averages of all wheat producing states. The U.S. Wheat Associates report is distributed in October, six months into the crop year. The Oklahoma hard red winter wheat survey contains information on individual samples and averages by region and the whole state. This particular report is much more detailed and timely, Rayas said.
      "FAPC has the mission of adding value to agricultural products in Oklahoma. This report aided in illustrating the value of the hard red winter wheat crop," Rayas said.
      Rayas said she is excited about the availability of this information and especially about the reaction it will bring from wheat buyers. She said this will be a positive change not only for Oklahoma's wheat industry, but also for the nation as a whole.
     Seven OSU individuals made up the research team. Rayas was the primary investigator. Maurice Brannan, field collaborator, collected the samples that were used to conduct the report. Xiaowu Liang was the wheat research specialist at FAPC. Graduate students Christina Francisco, Boonyeam Nobnob and Jan                Uriyapongson and undergraduate Carlos Silva also helped with the testing.
     Brannan and Rayas took composite samples, 14 to 15 pounds each, from the five most statistically important wheat producing areas as deemed by the Oklahoma Agricultural Statistics Service. Samples were taken twice during harvest.
     Collection began May 30, when about one-third of the harvest was completed, and then again at the end of harvest. The collection process continued until June 26.
     The first samples were taken from truckloads as they delivered wheat to selected county elevators within a two-day to four-day span, Rayas said.
 Wheat samples were then poured into buckets, mixed, bagged and delivered to the Enid Grain Inspection Office for grading. From Enid, the samples went to         FAPC for analysis. The process was repeated for second samplings.
     "The grading process is important because it determines if the wheat is grade 1 through 5, with 1 being best," Rayas said. "This is one of the specifications that determines the price of wheat."
     After milling the wheat, researchers tested the flour, determining the ash, protein and moisture content. Then the researchers measured the mixing and extension properties of the dough.
     "Mixing and extension properties are important tools to predict functionality, or how the dough is going to perform during the processing stage of baking, and the quality of the final product—bread," Rayas said.
     For baking tests, individual samples were measured using equal weights at three ranges of protein: high, greater than 12.5 percent; medium, 11.5 to 12.5 percent; and low, less than 11.5 percent. The samples were baked for evaluation of physical characteristics such as crumb texture, color, grain, volume and other properties.
     Wheat and grade data were collected, and flour research was performed on the samples. All methods were completed with official U.S. Department of Agriculture procedures and official U.S. Standards for Grain.
     After completing the research, Rayas traveled to conference meetings in Lawton, Enid and Ardmore to meet with millers. She presented the Oklahoma crop report as an effective marketing tool of the growth of value-added food and agricultural products in Oklahoma.
     "The audiences learned about the methods and strategies used to analyze the quality of wheat and what this quality data means to sellers and buyers as well as to bakers," Rayas said.
     Colombian wheat buyer representatives visited FAPC this summer and heard results of the quality survey.
     The visit was part of a hard red winter wheat growing area tour hosted by the U.S. Wheat Associates and funded by the Oklahoma Wheat Commission. It gave the visiting buyers a glimpse at how the Oklahoma wheat looked and what they might expect from production to quality to shipment.
     On Sept. 26, the first actual sale and shipment of wheat from Oklahoma to Colombia was confirmed, said Gary Gilbert, Oklahoma Wheat Commission director.
     Gilbert said the report is a step forward, not just because it addresses characteristics of the wheat, but because of its timeliness.
     Through the efforts of Rayas and the Oklahoma Wheat Commission, final reports were distributed to grain companies across the United States and to export customers.
     With continued support of the wheat industry professionals, Gilbert and Rayas said they anticipate this to be an annual publication available to support and improve the Oklahoma wheat industry.