Because of its longer growing period, it tends to give higher yields per hectare. Spring Wheat is usually sown in March and harvested in September. This makes Spring wheat varieties more suitable for bread flours. In Ireland, the bulk of the wheat grown is normally Winter wheat, with the balance grown in the Spring. Roughly 65,000 hectares of wheat are grown each year.
Wheat is a tiny egg shaped seed.
The Bran is the outer part and is high in fibre. The Endosperm is the food reserve. It is composed mostly of starch but also has protein and B Vitamins. The Germ is the most nutritious part of the grain - it is normally separated from the rest of the grain during milling and is sold as Wheatgerm. Each wheat grain has a deep crease running from top to bottom.