Our product development studies focus on baking consistencies and functionalities for several foodstuff creations, for both domestic and international buyers. We work to promote specific varieties where potential demand has been identified, employ origin sourcing strategies, identity preservation and help to structure combination cargoes, by both rail and by our large inland port facility located in Catoosa, Oklahoma. Exports account for 55% to 65% percent of the demand for our Hard Red Winter wheat. We focus to build greater market share domestically with our HRW, HWW and SRW wheats. We also provide functionality courses to our buyers with specific identity-preserved wheat varieties grown across the state. We spend a great amount of time working with regional buyers from Mexico, Central America, Africa, South America, China, Japan, and Taiwan as well as with our domestic mills and bakeries across the U.S.
We work closely with U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) who is the export development organization representing the U.S. wheat industry. USW promotes global exports by demonstrating the consistent quality, reliability and availability of U.S. wheat. With the support of 17 state wheat commissions and matching contributions from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, USW conducts market analysis, trade servicing, technical assistance and consumer promotion in more than 100 countries.
As a key part of its commitment to transparency the Oklahoma Wheat Commission (OWC) in conjunction with Plains Grains Inc. (PGI) and USW, produce annual crop quality reports. These reports are compiled from sample testing and analysis conducted during and after harvest by our USDA partner laboratories.
The Oklahoma Wheat Commission (OWC) and Oklahoma State University (OSU) Wheat Improvement Team (WIT) have placed great emphasis on wheat varieties that have the most suitable characteristics for artisan bread products, whole grain breads, tortillas, steam breads, pasta and frozen dough product developmental lines. The analytical research conducted on the OSU wheat varieties, is handled by the Wheat Marketing Center (WMC) technical laboratories in Portland, Oregon, where quality materials and methods are observed by milling and baking specific OSU varieties with formulations and production methods that can be utilized by large scale millers and bakers within the domestic and international markets.
The OWC also promotes the Gold’n’Grain distinction utilized to highlight the OSU wheat varieties that are found to be most suitable for millers and bakers when it comes to best flour extraction rates and baking functionalities. Wheat varieties funded by producer check-off dollars thru the OSU public wheat research program are given these distinctions based on what they are best suited for. In several instances OSU wheat varieties carry both Graze’n’Grain and Gold’n’Grain distinctions. The OWC focuses on consumer preferences conveying the importance of following the dietary guidelines provided by the USDA at choosemyplate.gov and why it is valuable to utilize wheat and whole grain products in order to maintain proper health.
Graze’n’Grain gives producers dual-purpose wheat varieties that offer them greater opportunity to increase profitability options on the farm. It also creates a more sustainable environment so cattle and other animals have more forage opportunities. Research on Graze’n’Grain varieties also shows minimal loss of grain production and quality, in fact, the science shows grazing capacity on varieties in the OSU wheat research program essentially links quality via adaptation.