Sustainability is a growing theme in global food production, including wheat. Consumers what to know not only that their food is nutritious and safe but that the supply chain is environmentally, economically, and socially viable. We explore some of these consequences relative to winter wheat.

It has been well documented that in the Northern Great Plains of Canada and the USA, many upland-nesting waterfowl experience improved nest survival when they choose to nest in fall-sown cereals, including winter wheat. Other breeding birds also have been documented nesting in winter wheat fields and likely benefit from low disturbance during the nesting period. Thus, for many breeding birds, winter cereals may serve a similar value to perennial grasslands such as seeded pasture and hay.

Winter crops typically have a higher yield potential than spring-sown crops and this remains true for winter wheat in Prairie Canada. According to long-term Statistics Canada data, winter wheat yields 23% more than spring wheat. This yield advantage helps fulfill the sustainability goal of increasing production per unit of land under crop production. Increased yield potential also helps increase the quantity of production per unit of input, including fertilizer, crop protection products and labour. Winter crops also provide ecological defense against many common pests including fusarium head blight, orange blossom wheat midge and grassy weeds. Further, diversifying the portfolio of crops in rotation also provides decreased climatic risk associated with wet/dry spring and/or fall conditions. From an economic perspective, winter wheat consistently provides competitive, if not superior, returns to spring-sown wheat.

Winter wheat presents an opportunity in countries where consumers include sustainability metrics in their purchasing decisions. In focus-group research conducted in Western Canada, bread consumers indicated that they would pay a premium for products with the environmental attributes of winter wheat. Increased productivity per cultivated acre also helps winter wheat fulfill the growing demand for food worldwide.

In summary, replacing spring-sown cereals with winter cereals on the Northern Great Plains of Canada and the USA could make meaningful contributions toward the overall environmental, economic and social sustainability of crop production in this region.