This report presents harvest quality data for Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD) grown in 2025. Wheat samples were submitted to the Canadian Grain Commission’s Harvest Sample Program by producers. Quality data are compiled from the results of analytical tests performed in the Grain Research Laboratory.
Canada Western Amber Durum wheat
CWAD is the second most widely grown class of wheat in Western Canada. It is used in a wide variety of products, including long and short dried pasta, fresh pasta, sheeted pasta, couscous and baked bread. CWAD wheat has superior milling quality, producing high semolina yield with low ash content and speck count. It also has the high yellow pigment content necessary to produce end-products with a bright-yellow colour. The high protein content and strong gluten properties of CWAD wheat ensure superior cooking quality of pasta and good performance in durum bread.
Summary of CWAD quality in 2025
The quality of CWAD wheat in 2025 was good, with 44% and 83% of the crop in the top 2 and 3 grades, respectively. Severe midge damage, darkened kernels and mildew were the main downgrading factors. The 2025 CWAD crop had larger and more uniform kernels, higher test weight, higher total milling yield and higher semolina yield than in 2024. The mean protein content of wheat was very high (14.7%), slightly above ten-year average of 14.4%. The crop was generally safe and sound, with 90% of CWAD samples having DON levels less than 1.0 ppm and 71% of samples having FN values greater than 300 seconds. CDC Defy and Transcend were the top 2 CWAD varieties grown in 2025, followed by AAC Stronghold, CDC Precision, and AAC Grainland.
Figure 1 Top CWAD varieties grown in western Canada from 2021 to 2025.
Graph data
% of total
Variety
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Transcend
35
32
29
22
18
CDC Defy
0
2
8
17
18
AAC Stronghold
7
8
9
11
14
AAC Grainland
1
4
6
7
7
CDC Precision
16
16
14
9
7
Brigade
8
8
6
4
4
Figure 2 Grade distribution and grading factors for CWAD in 2025 (based on 814 samples).
Graph data
% of samples
Parameter
No. 1
No. 2
No. 3
≤ No. 4
Grade Distribution
22
22
39
17
Severe midge damage (SEVMDGE)
0
10
13
0
Mildew (MIL)
0
7
7
0
Severly sprouted (SEVSPTD)
0
4
9
0
Hard vitreous kernels (HVK)
0
3
3
0
Fusarium damage (FUS DMG)
0
0
10
0
Figure 3 Mean protein content (13.5% mb, %) in CWAD from 2016 to 2025.
Graph data
Protein
Year
%
2016
12.7
2017
13.6
2018
14.3
2019
14.0
2020
13.8
2021
15.7
2022
14.6
2023
14.9
2024
15.2
2025
14.7
Milling and functional quality
The 2025 CWAD crop showed excellent milling performance and superior pasta processing quality. The hard vitreous kernel (HVK) content was excellent for all grades (over or close to 90%). All aggregates had high test weight and very high weight per thousand kernels (above 43 g). Total milling yield and semolina yield in the 2025 aggregates were higher than in 2024 for each grade. This was largely due to improvement in kernel size and uniformity. The No. 1 CWAD and No. 2 CWAD aggregates had FN values greater than 350 seconds and the No. 3 CWAD aggregate had a FN value of 281 seconds, indicating that the crop was generally sound.
The ash content in wheat was slightly lower for No. 1 CWAD and significantly lower for No. 2 CWAD and No. 3 CWAD, compared to the 2024 crop. All grades produced semolina that was lower in ash than the 2024 crop, but with a higher speck count due to the presence of severe midge damaged and darkened kernels in very small percentages. The total yellow pigment content was very high at 10.0 ppm for all grade aggregates. Rheological test results, including gluten index and Alveograms, demonstrated strong and balanced gluten properties. In 2025, all grades of CWAD produced pasta with excellent bright yellow color, high firmness and superior cooking quality.
Four crop regions in western Canada were designated for Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD) wheat based on similar environmental characteristics. The direction of grain movement, political boundaries and production (seeded area) were also considered when the regions were designated. Areas with low production were grouped with areas with high production to ensure that each region will provide a sufficient number of samples for analysis.
Figure 5 Distribution of test weight (kg/hL) in CWAD wheat from 2021 to 2025.
Graph data
Test weight range (kg/hL)
Test weight range
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
< 73
0.2
0.8
3.8
3.8
0.1
73-75
2.2
1.5
4.7
4.7
0.6
75-78
19.5
8.2
25.6
25.3
10.3
78-79
13.3
7.1
7.9
7.9
9.3
79-80
23.3
14.6
17.2
17.3
17.2
80-82
32.1
29.5
24.3
24.3
32.5
82-84
8.7
32.4
14.3
14.4
25.7
≥ 84
0.6
5.9
2.3
2.3
4.2
Grading factor data
Producer samples submitted to the Harvest Sample Program were graded using the current grading factor tolerances found in the Official Grain Grading Guide. The table below lists the grading factors that led to downgrading in this year’s wheat samples and the percentage of samples that were downgraded for each grading factor. A sample can be downgraded if it does not meet the tolerances for 1 or more grading factors.
Grading factors and the percentage of samples downgraded for CWAD wheat samples from all provinces
Samples
No. 1 CWAD
No. 2 CWAD
No. 3 CWAD
No. 4 CWAD
No. 5 CWAD
Number of samples
178
182
316
63
77
% of total
21.8
22.3
38.7
7.7
9.4
Grading factor
No. 1 CWAD
No. 2 CWAD
No. 3 CWAD
No. 4 CWAD
No. 5 CWAD
Atificial stain (ART STND)
0.0
0.5
0.0
0.0
0.0
Broken (BKN)
0.0
3.8
1.9
4.8
9.1
Ergot (ERG)
0.0
0.5
12.3
0.0
63.6
Frost (FR)
0.0
2.7
4.4
7.9
5.2
Fusarium damage (FUS DMG)
0.0
0.5
24.7
0.0
3.9
Grass green kernels (GRASS GR)
0.0
1.6
0.0
0.0
0.0
Hard vitreous kernels (HVK)
0.0
12.6
7.9
22.2
0.0
Heated (HTD)
0.0
0.0
0.3
0.0
0.0
Midge damage (MDGE)
0.0
6.0
0.0
0.0
1.3
Mildew (MIL)
0.0
31.9
18.7
4.8
0.0
Matter other than cereal grains (MOTCG)
0.0
2.2
2.5
0.0
2.6
Severe midge damage (SEVMDGE)
0.0
44.5
32.6
31.7
9.1
Severely sprouted kernels (SEVSPTD)
0.0
16.5
23.4
6.3
0.0
Shrunken kernels (SHR)
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
3.9
Smudge (SM)
0.0
11.0
6.0
1.6
0.0
Stones (STNS)
0.0
0.0
0.3
0.0
0.0
Total shrunken and broken (TSHRBKN)
0.0
0.5
0.0
0.0
0.0
Total sprouted (TSPTD)
0.0
3.8
10.4
15.9
7.8
Test weight (TWT)
0.6
9.9
4.4
3.2
0.0
Wheat of other classes (WOOC)
0.0
2.7
3.2
12.7
0.0
Deoxynivalenol (DON) data
Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a mycotoxin that can be found in grain infected with Fusarium head blight. DON is not an official grading factor listed in the Canada Grain Regulations or the Official Grain Grading Guide. The Canadian Grain Commission uses the visual assessment of Fusarium damaged kernels as a proxy for DON.
Although DON isn’t an official grading factor, it may be included as a contract specification in grain transactions. The Canadian Grain Commission provides DON results to producers who participate in the Harvest Sample Program.
Percentage of CWAD wheat samples by DON content (ppm)
Graph data
DON content (ppm) for CWAD wheat samples
DON (ppm)
%
< 0.3
49.8
0.3 to 1.0
39.8
> 1.0
10.43
Percentage of CWAD wheat samples by DON content (ppm)
DON (ppm)
Number of samples
% of total
Below limit (< 0.3)
435
49.83
0.3 to 1.0
347
39.75
1.1 to 2.0
52
5.96
2.1 to 3.0
28
3.21
3.1 to 4.0
4
0.46
4.1 to 5.0
4
0.46
5.1 to 6.0
1
0.11
Above limit (> 6.0)
2
0.23
All samples
873
100
Falling Number (FN) data
Falling Number (FN) results are an indicator of sprout damage in wheat. FN is not an official grading factor listed in the Canada Grain Regulations or the Official Grain Grading Guide. The Canadian Grain Commission uses the visual assessment of sprouted and severely sprouted kernels as a proxy for FN.
Although FN isn’t an official grading factor, it may be included as a contract specification in grain transactions. The Canadian Grain Commission provides FN results to producers who participate in the Harvest Sample Program.
Percentage of CWAD wheat samples by FN results (seconds) in 2025
Graph data
Percentage of CWAD wheat samples by FN results (seconds)
FN (seconds)
% of samples
> 351
59.3
301 to 350
12.1
251 to 300
14.1
< 250
14.4
FN results (seconds) for CWAD wheat samples in 2025
