North Dakota Wheat
Hard Red Spring Wheat
Hard Red Spring Wheat Production
Hard Red Spring Wheat (HRS) is primarily grown in the northern areas of the United States, where summers are generally mild, and it is not too hot for young, tender plants.
Around 95% of HRS is grown in North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, and South Dakota. Idaho and Washington also grow HRS. North Dakota produces around half of the HRS grown in the U.S.
HRS is planted between April through the end of May and harvested in August and September.
HRS wheat quality begins with the varieties planted. While public breeding programs have historically dominated HRS variety development, lines from private companies have increased in recent years. Successful HRS varieties have good yield potential, strong disease resistance and attractive grading and end-use quality traits such as high protein, strong gluten strength and high loaf volumes.
The North Dakota Wheat Commission provides research funds to the HRS breeding program at North Dakota State University (NDSU). Lines developed at NDSU must pass through an in-depth quality evaluation prior to release.
Hard Red Spring Wheat Facts
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Around 12.0 million acres of HRS are planted annually in the United States, with half of that planted in North Dakota..
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Approximately 525 million bushels of HRS are produced annually in the United States.
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North Dakota produced approximately 265 million bushels of HRS annually.
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Average spring wheat yields are near 45 bushels/acres.
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About 50% of HRS is used domestically while the other half is exported.
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The Asian region is the largest export destination for HRS, followed by Central and South America.
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HRS is also exported in smaller quantities to Europe and African and Middle Eastern markets.
Subclasses for HRS are based on vitreous kernel content.
HRS subclasses are:
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Dark Northern Spring (DNS) – at least 75 percent or more dark, hard, vitreous kernels
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Northern Spring (NS) – between 25 and 74 percent dark, hard, vitreous kernels
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Red Spring (RS) – less than 25 percent dark, hard, vitreous kernels
Hard red spring wheat stands out as the aristocrat of wheat for baking bread. HRS wheat has the highest protein content among all U.S. wheat varieties, ranging from 13% to 16%, which results in a higher gluten content. Some of the world’s finest yeast breads, hard rolls, bagels, and pizza crusts are made with HRS.
Flours mills also use HRS as a blending wheat to increase gluten strength in batches of flour. Adding HRS to lower protein wheat improves dough handling and mixing as well as water absorption.