Tag Archives: falling numbers

From the Capital Press The partial federal government shutdown could delay the hiring of a USDA researcher to lead the investigation into starch problems in wheat, an industry representative says. Before the shutdown, the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Pullman, Wash., was on track to post the job announcement in January, said Mary Palmer Sullivan, vice president of the Washington ... Read More »

By Alex McGregor The Hagberg-Perten (H-P) test that grades wheat by measuring the effects of the alpha-amylase (AA) enzyme was developed a long time ago. Its original purpose was not to measure grain quality, but to help bakers wanting to know how much AA to add when making loaves of bread.  Back then Dwight Eisenhower was president, Hawaii and Alaska ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Washington grain elevators say they’re finding success blending wheat to make sure it meets the industry standard for the falling numbers test. HighLine Grain Growers is blending some carryover crop from 2017 to achieve the industry standard falling number score of 300, CEO Paul Katovich said. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From the Capital Press Roughly half of falling number tests in the Spokane office of the state grain inspection program so far have been below the industry standard of 300, says Scott Steinbacher, Eastern Washington regional manager. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From the Capital Press USDA research plant molecular geneticist Camille Steber says she is cautiously optimistic about the prospects of falling number in this year’s Pacific Northwest wheat crop. Steber is testing wheat samples for susceptibility to the starch damage problem. Falling number is a test that measures wheat quality. Low falling number is caused when the enzyme alpha amylase ... Read More »

For more than a year, the Washington Association of Wheat Growers has been working with a group of Pacific Northwest industry stakeholders and members of the region’s federal delegation to increase falling numbers research funding through an appropriations request. That request, $1 million to the Agricultural Research Service, was included in the Omnibus appropriations bill passed last week by Congress ... Read More »

From Washington State University  “Falling numbers” refers to a test for increased alpha amylase activity, an enzyme, which when present, can significantly reduce grain quality. The lower the number, the higher the enzyme activity, and thus the lower the quality. 1. What is the falling number test? What exactly does it measure and why is this important to the buyers ... Read More »