Producers from across the southwest and beyond crammed into the Living Sky Casino's Event Centre Thursday to gain valuable knowledge about durum wheat.
Over 230 people attended the fourth bi-annual Durum Summit in Swift Current to learn from nearly 20 durum experts who provided farmer, market, research and agronomy, customer, and transportation perspectives.
Robert Chapman, the chair of the Durum Summit, said about half of western Canada's durum grows within a 200-kilometre radius of Swift Current - making the largest city in southwestern Saskatchewan a prime spot for the event.
"The density of durum grown, close to Swift Current, is very high," he said. "I like to think of it as southern Saskatchewan's special crop because it is one of the smaller classes of wheat, yet we're significant in what gets exported from western Canada. Durum production in southwestern Saskatchewan, many folks do with pride."
According to Chapman, durum meetings started in Swift Current in the late 1990s and each event has always been sold out with producers hoping to acquire the latest innovations in the industry.
"Every meeting you tend to go to, the durum price forecast is always embedded in the wheat forecast," he said. "What you find neat about this one is it's the other way around. This is a durum forecast and we mention wheat... This day is all about durum, looking forward, thinking forward, trying to arm the industry and growers alike with the best information that's available and giving everybody a skim along the top of what's being done out there from research products to customer use to changing traits in varieties."
Durum wheat can be found in dry/fresh pasta, Mediterranean bread, cookies, pudding, cake, porridge, and couscous.
"If you buy a box of pasta or penne... made from 100 per cent durum semolina," he said. "The irony of it is, is the different brands. Look at the box, see where it's made. You'll find always on pasta, you will have a clear piece on your pasta box or package because people look visually at the product. You're looking for the yellow pigment, that yellow colour and you're also looking for specking on that pasta. You want a nice bright pasta."
Rachid Chamcham from Morocco travelled the furthest for the event to provide a customer's perspective on Canadian durum wheat. Some attendees came from the southern United States, southern Alberta, and southeastern Saskatchewan.
"It's humbling because we're an industry panel that puts it all together, so it's essentially a group of volunteers that all work in the industry and we add this to what we do," he said. "It is our desire to see a meeting put on like this. There's no point in doing it if you're not supported by the people that come. It's one of those symbiotic relationships that you need the people in the crowd and you need good speakers to get them there. You need both parties to be equally as engaged."
The unique soil conditions locally, desert-like at times, provide a natural habitat for durum to flourish.