ANCONA Never since the memory of a thresher has durum wheat been so beautiful and good in the Marche. Abundant yields – there are areas where yields exceed 60 quintals per hectare – which will lead to an estimated harvest of 4.5 million quintals. Which leaves behind the terrible 2023 year where 2.8 million were produced with an average yield that barely exceeded 31 quintals. But what makes the 2024 Marche durum wheat exceptional is its quality. It has a specific weight between 82 and 88, by law it must exceed at least 76, and a protein value between 12.5 and 13.5%. A year of exceptional growth which is hoped to be golden at the time of market prices.
Between the hectares owned in San Marcello and those threshed as a contractor with the “Terra nostra” company, Lorenzo Mosci has worked 700 hectares. «The value of this grain – he confirms – is evident to the eye and can be felt by the nose». As an expert taster for the Loreto association “Flavor Cultivation of Taste”, he explains that it is visually glassy and golden yellow, has an intense, enveloping and pleasant cereal smell that will give color and aromas to the pasta. This year, he continues, “half of the work is due to the favorable season, the other is the result of intelligent sowing and the professionalism of those who cultivate.”
The treatments
This is demonstrated by the yields in hand: «Those who have been able to use the right treatments at the right time have yields that largely exceed 60 quintals per hectare; those who, to save money, have not done prophylaxis or have used less effective products or mixes conceived at the moment, have an abundant yield but lower than the others, around 40 quintals». Differences that are also evident to the agronomist and professor at the Garibaldi Agricultural Institute of Macerata Paolo Trobbiani. «This year, the durum wheat from the Marche region – he observes – has a textbook yellow index, among the parameters appreciated by the pasta industry». The color that will give the heart of the pasta a bright yellow. «Quality is transversal to all growers but the quantities have varied according to the agronomic practices adopted. Then, the good weather that has allowed it to ripen. Professionalism and sustainable cultivation, the right sowing and good weather make the Marche region a protagonist in the market today and it is hoped that its wheat will find the right recognition on the market».
For Andrea Pettinari, president of Confagricoltura Macerata, the abundance of the harvest is due to the professionalism of the farmers. “Our members represent 60-65% of the total durum wheat harvest. Farmers who have invested in means, technology and training, learning from the dark years to better manage crops while respecting the environment and offsetting the problems of climate change.”
Damage from wild boars
A threshing in the name of optimism, overshadowed according to Coldiretti Marche by the excess number of wild boars, greedy for cereals, responsible for 75% of the damage in the countryside. A third of the total crops damaged, according to data from the Marche Region. Then, extreme events such as the hail that caused damage in the Macerata and Fermo areas. Risk covered by insurance policies. Almost 7% of the hectares of regional SAU. With 446 “covered” companies, wheat, after wine, is the most protected crop.
