The wheat fields of Saskatchewan are a long distance from Canada's major population centres. Major seaports, where grain is loaded for export, are located on the East and West Coasts, and at inland terminals in Ontario and Quebec. Transportation costs are significant at all stages in the sale and distribution of wheat.

Total farm cash receipts exceed 3 billion dollars in Saskatchewan. Wheat alone made up nearly 45% of this amount.

Saskatchewan farmers produce approximately 13 million tonnes of wheat each year. Eleven and a half million tonnes finds its way into commercial markets, with a total gross value of about 19 million dollars.

Ninety percent of the money made from wheat comes from export sales.

Saskatchewan's Canada Western Red Spring Wheat is internationally renowned for the baking quality of its flour. Wheat flour products like bread and pasta are a staple source of nutrients for people all over the world.

Whole wheat flour is made from the whole kernel, including the nutrient-rich bran and wheat germ; white flour is made from the endosperm, which is primarily starch. The bran and wheat germ are the main source of most of the nutrients in whole wheat flour.

Bread is often called "the staff of life", because it is an essential part of the human diet. Whole wheat bread is a particularly nutritious food, and excellent source of carbohydrate, protein, B vitamins, mineral and fibre.

Whole wheat bread contains less saturated and unsaturated fat than enriched white bread, and is a wise choice for health-conscious consumers.

The grain elevator is one of the most recognised landmarks across the Prairies and the American Grain Belt. At the time of its introduction, the elevator offered a big advantage in handling grain in bulk. Previously, grain had to be bagged at the farm and loaded and unloaded several times before reaching its final destination.

The elevator is the farmers' link to both domestic and overseas markets. Early elevators stored 650 to 800 tonnes of grain and were built 11 to 16 km apart. This distance was considered reasonable for horse drawn wagons to deliver the grain from the farm. Modern elevators are much further apart but can store up to 10,200 tonnes and accommodate semi-trailer trucks with a loaded weight of 80 tonnes. Newer elevators are highly automated moving 340 tonnes of grain per hour.

The Canadian Wheat Board is the sole marketing agent for wheat grown in Canada for human consumption or destined for export. A farmer is not, for example, able to drive a truck-load of wheat to the United States and sell it to other farmers or companies.

Wheat for export is transported via rail to one of several large terminal elevators at Canadian ports where it is cleaned to export standards. There are three major grain ports: Thunder Bay,in Ontario on Lake Superior ; Prince Rupert in Northern B.C. and Vancouver,lower mainland B.C. A small amount of grain also moves through the port of Churchill on Hudson's Bay.

The costs of moving wheat from the farm to the grain elevator include purchasing and maintaining grain trucks, as well as the ever-increasing price of fuel.

Farmers transport wheat in the fall, after harvest, and at other times during the year when price and market may be more favourable.

Canada exports wheat to over 60 different countries. China, the countries of the former U.S.S.R., and Asia are large importers of Canadian wheat.

When wheat arrives at a flour mill for processing, it is inspected and graded.

The wheat is cleaned and "tempered," or soaked in water to make it easier to remove the outer bran layers.

The wheat is then conveyed to the first pair of corrugated breaker rolls, beginning the process of separating the endosperm from the bran. After the first series of grindings and siftings, the meal is coarse and granular, and called "middlings."

The middlings are further reduced, after more grinding, sifting and purifying, to produce a fine white flour. Millers may bleach the flour to improve its keeping quality. They may also enrich it with iron and B vitamins.

Conversion of flour into bread is probably the most important food process in the world. In more than half the countries in the world, bread accounts for more than 50 percent of the total food energy. Baking is one of the largest food industries. In the graphic, loaves of bread are shaped in a commercial bakery. Commercial bread-baking systems involve dough mixing, fermentation with yeast, dividing and panning the dough, followed by baking, slicing and wrapping of the loaves.

The bread making process improves the nutritional value of the original flour. The fermentation of the yeast and subsequent baking cause a number of chemical reactions to occur. The major protein gluten coagulates and the starch partially gels. The brown crust on bread is produced by a special chemical reaction called the Maillard Reaction.

Speciality breads such as "sour dough" are made by adding milk and lactic acid bacteria as well as yeast. The bacteria ferment the milk to lactic acid giving the bread a tangy taste. The volume of bread is determined by the dough's stretching qualities produced by the protein gluten which is present in high amounts in Hard Red Spring Wheat - the premium bread making wheat.

A commercial baker stacks finished loaves. Basic bread ingredients are flour, water, yeast and salt. To enhance processing, storage and flavour, a richer bread formula may include milk products, shortening, eggs, sweeteners, gluten and other chemical additives.

How many types of bread can you name? How many types does the local grocery store or bakery sell?