Marketing of triticale for grain production in the U.S.A.

George Fohner

resourceseeds@resourceseeds.com
Resource Seeds, Inc. Gilroy, USA (United States)

Stanisław Nalepa

Resource Seeds, Inc. Gilroy, USA (United States)

Abstract

Marketing of Triticale for Grain in the USA
In 2002, only 10,000 ha of triticale were harvested for grain in the USA. Triticale is used exclusively as a feed grain and has to compete with corn and soybeans. New varieties of triticale yield up to 15% higher than wheat, but this is not always enough to compensate for the lower grain price and lack of government subsidies available to wheat growers. Polish varieties of triticale have played a significant role in the development of triticale production for grain in the USA. The susceptibility of Bogo and Alzo varieties to yellow rust has held up their introduction, but the MAH 3800 line shows good promise. Resource Seeds, Inc. is working to stimulate the development of the triticale grain market by coordinating supply and demand and ensuring adequate profit for traders and growers. In the Northwest of the USA, a system for controlling the distribution of seed and the purchase of crops was created in cooperation with a trading company and a group of producers, which also made it possible to obtain funds for research, breeding and training of farmers. The price of triticale grain is set depending on its protein and lysine content and on the prices of alternative feeds on the market. A very promising market for triticale is the region of the Southeast, leading in the production of pork and poultry, where wheat is commonly used for feeding and where there is a deficit of feed grain. Replacing wheat with triticale there would not only improve the balance of feeds, but also the balance of nitrogen and phosphorus in the agro-ecosystem. Animal production releases too large amounts of these elements into the environment, mainly from imported corn and soybeans. The inclusion in the circulation of matter of a plant grown on site and as good at using nitrogen and phosphorus as triticale would reduce the amount of nitrogen released by about 25%. Resource Seed, Inc. has established cooperation with both university staff and leading farmers in this region, in order to arouse the interest of producers and users of triticale grain. At the same time, cooperation has been established with seed companies, which provide the distribution of seed grain and the purchase of crops, similarly to the Northwest region. Such activities throughout the marketing chain force the product to be assessed by the market, which should soon verify the usefulness of triticale in the conditions of the USA.

Keywords:

nitrogen management, phosphorus management, marketing, triticale, U.S.A., feed-grain