AAFC News Release
February 11, 2008

KVD ENDS IN 2008 FOR ALL CLASSES OF WHEAT

OTTAWA, Ontario – The Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board, today announced the full removal of kernel visual distinguishability (KVD) as a variety registration screening criterion for all classes of Western Canadian wheat as of August 1, 2008.

"Canadian farmers need access to the best crop science and varieties to be successful and the Government of Canada is working to give producers every advantage," said Minister Ritz. "Moving beyond KVD will allow Canadian farmers to harness the potential of new crop varieties tailored to livestock nutrition and biofuel production."

"This Government is committed to working with farmers, handlers, and processors to maintain the highest level of quality assurance and competitiveness."

The Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) announced in June 2006 that KVD would end for the minor classes of wheat by August 1, 2008. Today’s announcement extends the removal of KVD in 2008 to all classes of Western Canadian wheat, including Canada Western Red Spring and Canada Western Amber Durum.

Removing the KVD requirements for wheat registration and segregation will allow for the development and registration of new high-yielding varieties of wheat suitable for other uses such as feed and biofuels, without requiring that they look different than milling wheats. Canada's variety registration system will continue to include stringent quality, agronomic and disease-resistance requirements to uphold Canada's reputation for quality wheat.

The CGC is working collaboratively with industry and producers to ensure continued quality assurance in a post-KVD environment. To assist in this process, government and industry are working together to develop technologies to assist in rapidly identifying varieties of wheat.

BACKGROUNDER

The Kernel Visual Distinguishability (KVD) system enables rapid and low-cost segregation of wheat into classes, based on quality types, because the visual appearance of the kernel is indicative of intrinsic processing quality. Canada is the only wheat-producing country that uses KVD as a segregation tool.

Removing KVD as a requirement for variety registration for all classes of wheat will benefit grain farmers, giving them more choice in the variety of wheat that they grow. In recent years, the limitations of KVD have become increasingly apparent as new varieties of wheat have been rejected because they look like an existing variety in another class. This has hindered the development and registration of wheat varieties with improved quality characteristics for traditional uses, or different quality characteristics for various new end-uses, such as ethanol and feed production. The removal of KVD will allow expansion of the range of Canadian wheat products, potentially opening new markets for Canada's wheat.

KVD is a government policy and does not require legislation to change. Implementation will begin by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) removing the variety registration requirement for KVD. The CFIA will also be working to amend the Seeds Regulations to remove KVD from seed import requirements.

Removing all KVD requirements as of August 1, 2008 will encourage the industry to act quickly to put in place systems in Canada to ensure continued buyer confidence in grain quality.

The Canadian Grain Commission is working collaboratively with industry and producers to ensure continued quality assurance in a post-KVD environment. Components of that future system, including the authority to require that declarations be made in grain transactions, are part of legislative amendments tabled in the House of Commons on December 13, 2007.