California Wheat Quality Meeting Held Wheat breeders, millers, bakers, growers, and handlers gathered at UC Davis on November 6 for the annual California Wheat Collaborator Meeting. This meeting, organized by the California Grain Foundation and UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, provides an opportunity for baking quality labs from across the country to evaluate varieties being considered for release and provide input to breeders. The California meeting focuses on hard red, hard white, and durum varieties suitable for California and Arizona.
Speakers this year included: Dr. Jorge Dubcovsky (update on wheat breeding); Phil Mayo (Collaborator Program); Steve Windh (changes in the California milling market); Brittany Hazard (increasing resistant starch in wheat through TILLING); and Claudia Carter (new developments at the CWC lab).
The day closed with a tasting panel featuring Collaborator and specialty varieties.
New UCCE Grants Funded; Reports Posted The Commission's Research Committee met in October to consider wheat- related research proposals from UC Cooperative Extension farm advisors and specialists. Now in its fifth year, the mini-grant program supports targeted field research and provides internships to promising students. For the FY 14/15, projects totaling $36,370 were approved plus internships of just over $7,000. Details are available on the CWC website. Also available are the reports on the past four years of research as well as video presentations for last year's projects.
In addition to the UCCE field research, the Commission funds Dr. Dubcovsky's wheat breeding program at UC Davis. With the end of the shared funding available under the eight-year Discovery Grant program, the Commission increased its funding to $275,000 for the current fiscal year. Research is the primary use for assessment dollars collected from wheat growers.
California Alfalfa and Grains Symposium The annual research conference focusing on issues of interest to forage and grain growers, PCAs, CCAs, and agronomists is taking place in Long Beach December 10-12. Chaired by Dan Putnam, UC Extension forage specialist, the meeting always provides good networking opportunities and the latest scientific updates. An optional tour of local hay and grain export facilities is also available. For details and registration: http://ucanr.edu/sites/Alfalfa/
2014 CA Crop Quality Reports Now on Web The Commission's lab, now under the direction of Claudia Carter, completed its annual crop quality testing in September and published the reports just last week. These reports are used by customers at home and around the world to evaluate the quality of the 2014 crop. The Hard Red/Hard White Report and the Durum Report (covering both Arizona and California) can be found on our website. Spanish and Italian versions will be available soon.
