The Canadian Grain Commission has announced pending deregistration of five wheat and flax varieties.
Two flax varieties, CDC Mons and CDC Normandy, will be deregistered effective August 1, 2013. They will then only be eligible for the grade Flaxseed, 3 Canada Western/Canada Eastern.
The Canada Western Soft White varieties Snowhite 475 and Snowhite 476 will be deregistered effective April 28, 2011.
Garnet, a Canada Western Red Spring variety, will be deregistered effective August 1, 2013.
After deregistration these wheat varieties may still be grown but are eligible for the lowest grade in their categories, Canada Western Feed.
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Though rarely grown today, the deregistration of Garnet marks the official end of a long history of the variety. In the late 1920s, it became popular because of yield and early maturity, but there was controversy over whether it was equal in quality to Marquis, the standard of the time. Growers, with support from Agriculture Minister W.R. Motherwell, pressured the Board of Grain Commissioners to licence the variety as equal to Marquis. That was opposed by millers, concerned about its quality, including its yellow flour. Eventually a separate grade schedule was established for Garnet but more recently it has been eligible only for the 3 CWRS or Canada Feed grades.
Click here for full essay on the controversy by Jim Blanchard of the Manitoba Historical Society.
