Local producers integrating winter wheat Ecolabel program

By Justin Seward - Lethbridge Herald on February 2, 2023.

Submitted photo Magrath's Coyote Pancake Mix is joining forces with a national Ecolabel program that provides critical habitat for ducks, bird and various other wildlife.

It is nearly 100 years later, but Magrath’s Coyote Pancake Mix is making history again by joining forces with a national Ecolabel program that provides critical habitat for ducks, bird and various other wildlife.

The partnership is between Coyote Pancake Mix (originally introduced in 1923), local winter wheat growers and Cereals Canada.

The Habitat-Friendly Winter Wheat Ecolabel Program has been established to help consumers identify environmentally-friendly products that support nesting habitats for Canadian wildlife in the prairies.

Ducks Unlimited Canada research has shown ducks nesting in winter wheat are 24 times more successful than those nesting in spring-planted cereal crops.

The three varieties of Coyote Pancake and Waffle Mix’s ingredients include high-quality whole-wheat flour that is milled from spring and winter wheat that is grown by Rockport and area farmers.

Magrath farmer, Garry Stanford, lives near Rockport Flour Mill where Coyote Pancake Mix is made, and has grown winter wheat for over a decade due for the many benefits it brings to his operation.

“I’ve been growing winter wheat for sustainability pretty well all my farming career,” said Stanford.

“And then I started working with Ducks Unlimited to learn more about that and help people understand the sustainability of growing winter wheat and nesting grounds for wildlife and birds.”

Stanford feels this program is important because in southern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan a lot of winter wheat is grown and they are trying to find new markets for the crop for those producers that live in the area with drier ground zone soil.

“To work with some local millers, which would be Coyote Pancake Mix, it’s a good fit for us to look for more markets and we want to show urban people that we’re trying to do farming as sustainably as we can,” said Stanford. “It’s a good news story for us to be farming sustainably and working with users.”

The Ecolab program is in its infancy stage.

“We’re looking for more end users to work with us,” he said. “And then also we’ll work with the farmers to understand that winter wheat does have good markets for it and it’s a very sustainable crop grown (in) winter wheat. So that’s how it works in together with groups like Ducks Unlimited.”

Jake Wipf, Coyote Pancake Mix production manager, thinks the program is a purposeful way to preserve a variety of water birds in Magrath’s wetlands and lakes.

“Rockport Flour Mills cares deeply about the environment and the impact our operations have on it, said Wipf. “We are pleased to share that we have been audited and met the requirements for Habitat-Friendly Winter Wheat certification. All three Coyote Pancake and Waffle Mixes are made with flour containing at least 30 per cent habitat-friendly winter wheat.”

Ducks Unlimited saw a combination of winter wheat’s habitat conservation and the farming benefits it offers is what intrigued them about it the most.

“Partnerships like the Habitat-Friendly Winter Wheat Ecolabel program are important steps in linking consumers concerned about the environment with food and farmers using credible science-based measures,” said Paul Thoroughgood, national sustainability manager for Ducks Unlimited Canada. “Coyote Pancake Mix is already making an impact on the landscape. We encourage other companies to get on board and see how sustainable sourcing can benefit the farmers they work with, their business, and Canada’s environment.”

Leif Carlson, director of market intelligence and trade policy at Cereals Canada remarked, “It’s exciting to see Coyote Pancake Mix and the Ecolabel on Canadian store shelves.”

“The Habitat-Friendly Winter Wheat program communicates agriculture’s positive contributions to the environment and gives families a choice that they can feel good about,” he added. “We hope the leadership shown by our program partners encourages other Canadian brands to use winter wheat in their products and carry the Ecolabel.”

To discover more about the Habitat-Friendly Winter Wheat Ecolabel Program, visit habitatwheat.ca.

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