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Trade Visit to Demonstrate U.S. Wheat Competitive Advantages to Venezuelan Millers

ARLINGTON, Virginia — Quality control and purchasing managers from three Venezuelan flour mills will visit North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Ohio July 31 to Aug. 6, 2016, to learn more about the value of working with the U.S. wheat supply chain. With funding from USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is sponsoring this trade team in cooperation with the North Dakota Wheat Commission, Nebraska Wheat Board, Kansas Wheat Commission and Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program.

Chad Weigand, USW Assistant Regional Director for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, said U.S. wheat exports to Venezuela are not as strong as they once were, in part because increased government intervention and limited access to U.S. dollars have forced millers there to make cost a primary buying decision.

Venezuela imports durum, high protein spring wheat and soft red winter wheat. However, current market conditions there have given Mexican durum a competitive advantage. Canadian western red spring wheat has only recently come up in price to near parity with U.S. hard red spring (HRS) wheat, but the high U.S. dollar value continues to favor Canadian origin export prices. For the vibrant cookie and snack market in Venezuela, soft red winter grown in eastern Canada continues to compete with U.S. soft red winter (SRW).

Participants on this team represent some of the largest mills in Venezuela, but they do not have significant knowledge of U.S. wheat quality, its marketing system or federal inspection services.

“With key decision makers like these, we have to demonstrate why performance and value is worth more, but it is very difficult for our staff to conduct activities in Venezuela,” said Weigand. “By coordinating with our state wheat commissions, however, we can bring these customers to the United States to see our production and export system at work. That first-hand experience will help increase their confidence in U.S. wheat.”

Weigand, who is based in USW’s regional office in Mexico City, is leading the team, which includes Jenny Villasuso, Purchasing Manager for MONACA, the second largest milling group in Venezuela. Laura Paz is Purchasing and Quality Manager for Pastas Capri in Caracas, one of Venezuela’s largest pasta producers. Violeta Rosales is Purchasing Manager for Molinos Hidalgo, which operates a mill in Catia La Mar.

USW is the industry’s market development organization working in more than 100 countries. Its mission is to “develop, maintain, and expand international markets to enhance the profitability of U.S. wheat producers and their customers.” USW activities are made possible through producer checkoff dollars managed by 19 state wheat commissions and cost-share funding provided by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. USW maintains 17 offices strategically located around the world to help wheat buyers, millers, bakers, wheat food processors and government officials understand the quality, value and reliability of all six classes of U.S. wheat.

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Nondiscrimination and Alternate Means of Communications
U.S. Wheat Associates prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital or family status, age, disability, political beliefs or sexual orientation. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact U.S. Wheat Associates at 202-463-0999 (TDD/TTY – 800-877-8339, or from outside the U.S.- 605-331-4923). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to Vice President of Finance, U.S. Wheat Associates, 3103 10th Street, North, Arlington, VA 22201, or call 202-463-0999. U.S. Wheat Associates is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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Colombian Wheat Buyers Taking a Closer Look at the U.S. Wheat Marketing System

ARLINGTON, Virginia — A large purchasing decision demands serious consideration, and for wheat buyers from Colombia, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is adding value to that process by bringing them to the United States. Five executives from Colombia will visit North Dakota, Montana and Louisiana July 24 to 30, 2016, to gain a better understanding of the U.S. wheat industry and renew their familiarity with the advantages of the U.S wheat marketing system.

“This team represents the major flour, cookie and pasta groups in Colombia. They are experienced buyers and account for 40 percent of the country’s wheat imports in 2015,” said USW Assistant Regional Director Osvaldo Seco, who is leading the team. “They are directly responsible for evaluating and importing wheat for their organizations, and this trip will put them directly in contact with traders and better inform their purchasing decisions.”

With funding from USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, USW collaborated with the North Dakota Wheat Commission (NDWC) and the Montana Wheat & Barley Committee (MWBC) to organize and host this trade team.

Colombia was the top destination for U.S. wheat in South America in marketing year 2015/16 (June to May), importing over 670,000 metric tons (MT) from four of the six U.S. wheat classes. The United States has typically supplied more than half of Colombia’s 1.4 million metric tons (MMT) of annual wheat imports, in what is considered a competitive market. USW staff in its South American Region office in Santiago, Chile, has a history of providing technical performance information with Colombian millers and buyers to improve product quality using U.S. wheat.

The team will start its visit in Fargo, ND, to hear from a variety of North Dakota State University durum and spring wheat researchers on breeding and quality programs, pasta production techniques and pricing strategy. They will also meet with staff and growers from the NDWC and Northern Crops Institute, as well as visit a grain elevator and Todd Ellison’s farm in Mapleton, ND. In Great Falls, MT, the MWBC with host the team on tours of the State Grain Lab, Pasta Montana, General Mill, Columbia Grain and Arganbright farm in Carter, MT. The final leg of the trip will be to New Orleans, LA, where the team will visit the Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) field office, and both a Bunge and Cargill grain elevator.

USW Marketing Specialist Stephanie Bryant-Erdmann will join the team in New Orleans.

“Colombia is a top destination for U.S. soft red winter and hard red winter, and this team is very representative of the Colombian industry. The agenda for this team is top-notch from the speakers and tours in North Dakota and Montana to the export terminal tours in New Orleans,” said Bryant-Erdmann. “This team will see U.S. wheat from farm to port, and I am excited to be able to accompany them.”

USW is the industry’s market development organization working in more than 100 countries. Its mission is to “develop, maintain, and expand international markets to enhance the profitability of U.S. wheat producers and their customers.” USW activities are made possible through producer checkoff dollars managed by 19 state wheat commissions and cost-share funding provided by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).

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Nondiscrimination and Alternate Means of Communications
U.S. Wheat Associates prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital or family status, age, disability, political beliefs or sexual orientation. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact U.S. Wheat Associates at 202-463-0999 (TDD/TTY – 800-877-8339, or from outside the United States – +1-605-331-4923). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to Vice President of Finance, U.S. Wheat Associates, 3103 10th Street, North, Arlington, VA 22201, or call 202-463-0999. U.S. Wheat Associates is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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African Flour Millers to Assess U.S. Wheat Quality and Trade Opportunities

ARLINGTON, Virginia — Reliable ingredient sourcing and supply are key to any market functioning successfully. For 15 years, Nigerian millers have traveled to the United States to take stock of their primary supply of HRW wheat. This year, two milling executives from South Africa and Ghana are joining five Nigerians on a team that will travel to Texas, Kansas, North Dakota and Minnesota June 12 to 24, 2016, to assess trade opportunities and U.S. wheat quality.

“The milling industries in these countries rely on an uninterrupted supply of quality wheat,” said Gerald Theus, USW regional assistant director for Sub-Saharan Africa in the regional Cape Town, South Africa office. “In competitive markets where we face new challenges, there is nothing more valuable than connecting these participants directly with the farmers and other members of the supply chain.”

USW collaborated with the Texas Wheat Board, Kansas Wheat Commission, North Dakota Wheat Commission and Minnesota Research and Promotion Council to organize and host this trade team. Theus and James Ogunyemi, USW technical consultant for the Lagos, Nigeria, office, will lead the team.

In marketing year 2015/16 (June to May), Nigeria was once again one of the largest buyers of all U.S. wheat classes and is the dominant buyer in USW’s Sub-Saharan Africa region having imported more than 1 million metric tons (MMT) of hard red winter (HRW). The market development activities USW followed there provides a foundation for other nearby countries including Ghana. South Africa is a steady if not large wheat importer but with good potential.

“This team represents major milling groups in each of their respective countries,” said Theus. “Mills throughout Africa appreciate the high milling quality characteristics of U.S. wheat and its superior baking aspects.”

Bringing these buyers to see U.S. wheat quality and to discuss ways to keep their importing costs down is a very important activity during a time of very aggressive competition. Throughout the tour, the team will meet with various grain merchandisers and state wheat commissions, and visit farmers in each state to see the progress of the 2016/17 wheat crop. In Texas, the team will visit the Port of Corpus Christi and in Kansas, their stops include the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center, USDA’s Center for Grain and Animal Health Research and IGP Institute. During their travel to North Dakota and Minnesota, the team will meet with wheat breeders and tour the Alton Grain Terminal, Duluth Seaway Port Authority and CHS Export Terminal.

USW is the industry’s market development organization working in more than 100 countries. Its mission is to “develop, maintain, and expand international markets to enhance the profitability of U.S. wheat producers and their customers.” USW activities are made possible through producer checkoff dollars managed by 19 state wheat commissions and cost-share funding provided by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. USW maintains 17 offices strategically located around the world to help wheat buyers, millers, bakers, wheat food processors and government officials understand the quality, value and reliability of all six classes of U.S. wheat.

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Nondiscrimination and Alternate Means of Communications
U.S. Wheat Associates prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital or family status, age, disability, political beliefs or sexual orientation. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact U.S. Wheat Associates at 202-463-0999 (TDD/TTY – 800-877-8339, or from outside the U.S.- 605-331-4923). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to Vice President of Finance, U.S. Wheat Associates, 3103 10th Street, North, Arlington, VA 22201, or call 202-463-0999. U.S. Wheat Associates is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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Philippine Business Reporters to Get First Hand Look at U.S. Wheat Supply Chain

ARLINGTON, Virginia — For more than 54 years, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) has provided trusted information about supply, quality and functionality of U.S. wheat and useful technical service to millers and the broader wheat foods industry in the Republic of the Philippines. This work, supported by farmers and export market development program funding administered by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), has created a strong preference for U.S. wheat in this Southeast Asian nation.

To help sustain that preference, USW has invited four influential Philippine journalists to the United States June 9 to 18, 2016, to learn more about U.S. wheat quality improvement, production and marketing. Ric Pinca, executive director of the Philippine Milling Association and Joe Sowers, USW assistant vice president and regional director for South Asia, who is based in Manila, will lead the team on visits to the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and Washington, DC.

“The Philippines is still a developing country so food can be a very sensitive issue,” Sowers said. “Cost and outside influences get attention, sometimes in ways that do not reflect the real situation, and Filipinos have questions about why so much U.S. wheat is imported. We want to show these influential reporters that our production and marketing systems are transparent and benefit the wheat food industry and consumers in the Philippines.”

In the PNW June 8 to 14, the reporters will follow the path U.S. wheat takes from the breeders’ field trials to a bulk vessel bound for an overseas port. USW’s West Coast Office in Portland, OR, in cooperation with the Oregon Wheat Commission, the Washington Grain Commission and the Idaho Wheat Commission will demonstrate how U.S. wheat quality and functionality is maintained from breeding and production through transportation. The reporters will also watch Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) officials independently certify that U.S. wheat meets buyer specifications before it is loaded for export.

In Washington, DC, June 15 to 17, USW headquarters staff will review the world and U.S. wheat supply and demand situation and how U.S. prices are determined. The reporters will meet with representatives from the domestic and export grain trade as well as USDA officials to discuss how the activities of several agencies benefit buyers. Policy developments, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership, are also on the agenda. Finally, the team will learn more about the U.S. milling and wheat foods industries and discuss such common issues as wheat food safety and nutrition before departing for the Philippines on June 18.

USW is the industry’s market development organization working in more than 100 countries. Its mission is to “develop, maintain, and expand international markets to enhance the profitability of U.S. wheat producers and their customers.” USW maintains 17 offices strategically located around the world to help wheat buyers, millers, bakers, wheat food processors and government officials understand the quality, value and reliability of all six classes of U.S. wheat. Its activities are made possible through producer checkoff dollars contributed by 18 state wheat commissions and cost-share funding from USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.

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Nondiscrimination and Alternate Means of Communications
U.S. Wheat Associates prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital or family status, age, disability, political beliefs or sexual orientation. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact U.S. Wheat Associates at 202-463-0999 (TDD/TTY – 800-877-8339, or from outside the U.S.- 605-331-4923). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to Vice President of Finance, U.S. Wheat Associates, 3103 10th Street, North, Arlington, VA 22201, or call 202-463-0999. U.S. Wheat Associates is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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Japanese Executive Millers Return for Annual U.S. Wheat Tour

ARLINGTON, Virginia — On the heels of a momentous event celebrating 60 years with a U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) office in Japan, a team of four senior executives from Japan’s leading milling companies will travel to the United States to continue building upon that legacy. As a part of USW’s market development activities, the trip includes stops in Oregon and Washington, DC from April 28 to May 4, 2016.

“Japan is a loyal U.S. wheat customer because our relationship is built on mutual trust and our commitment to the best interests of our end-use customers,” said USW Vice President and West Coast Office Director Steve Wirsching. “But as with every relationship, it is important to keep the lines of communications open and to demonstrate full transparency in our practices. This trade team visit is essential to that mission.”

USW collaborated with the Oregon Wheat Commission to organize and host this trade team.

The Oregon Wheat Growers League (OWGL) established the first overseas U.S. wheat export office in Tokyo in 1956 and in that same year, the first team of Japanese millers visited the United States to learn observe U.S. wheat production, quality and marketing. Over the years, bringing trade teams to the United States has become a tradition and for well over a decade, this particular activity has become an annual trip for Japanese executive millers. Often the team extends its traditional trip to the Pacific Northwest to include a visit to Washington, DC.

During its visit to Oregon, the team will follow the wheat through the supply chain from farm to shipment, demonstrating at the each step the U.S. wheat industry’s commitment to quality and efficiency. Their time will include meetings and tours with the Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) and Louis Dreyfus export terminal. Once in Washington, DC, the team will shift its focus to trade policy and get an overview of the U.S. and global wheat market situation. They will also discuss modern farm management systems, dietary trends and views on competitive markets.

“Japan is an essential market for U.S. producers, purchasing 3.2 million metric tons (MMT) of wheat annually, making it the single largest buyer of U.S. wheat in the world. Japanese consumers demand high quality and expect a consistent and reliable supply of wheat food products,” said Wirsching. “At the 60 year anniversary event, the head of the Japanese Millers Association explained that U.S. wheat accounts for six percent of the daily caloric intake of the average Japanese consumer. That is a vivid illustration of the success of this partnership and how much is required from our farmers and wheat supply system.”

USW is the industry’s market development organization working in more than 100 countries. Its mission is to “develop, maintain, and expand international markets to enhance the profitability of U.S. wheat producers and their customers.” USW activities are made possible through producer checkoff dollars managed by 19 state wheat commissions and cost-share funding provided by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. USW maintains 17 offices strategically located around the world to help wheat buyers, millers, bakers, wheat food processors and government officials understand the quality, value and reliability of all six classes of U.S. wheat.

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Nondiscrimination and Alternate Means of Communications
U.S. Wheat Associates prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital or family status, age, disability, political beliefs or sexual orientation. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact U.S. Wheat Associates at 202-463-0999 (TDD/TTY – 800-877-8339, or from outside the U.S.- 605-331-4923). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to Vice President of Finance, U.S. Wheat Associates, 3103 10th Street, North, Arlington, VA 22201, or call 202-463-0999. U.S. Wheat Associates is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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Texas, Oklahoma and Arizona Wheat Farmers Travel to Morocco, Italy and Israel on USW Board Team

ARLINGTON, Virginia — Every year, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) sponsors opportunities for farmer directors on the USW board or state wheat commission staff to travel to overseas markets for U.S. wheat. The intense, regional “board team” visits help participants observe the day-to-day work of USW’s overseas offices and connect them to their customers and industry stakeholders.

“Board teams help build personal connections between our overseas customers and U.S. wheat farmers,” says USW Vice President of Overseas Operations Vince Peterson. “U.S. wheat is the world’s most reliable source of high quality wheat, and part of that reputation comes from the people who grow it. We consistently hear how much the customer appreciates getting to know the farmer.”

This year, USW Program Manager Erica Oakley will lead a North Africa and European Board Team to Morocco, Italy and Israel in early March. The team includes Michael Edgar, a Desert Durum® farmer and merchandiser from Yuma, AZ, and a current USW director representing the Arizona Grain Research and Promotion Council; Ken Davis, a wheat farmer from Grandview, TX, and a current USW director representing the Texas Wheat Producers Board; and Michael Peters, a wheat farmer from Okarche, OK, and the secretary/treasurer of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission.

The team will first meet at the USW Headquarters Office in Arlington, VA, and with USDA Foreign Agricultural Service officials as orientation before traveling overseas. Over three days in Morocco, the team will meet with government contacts, tour a couscous plant and two durum mills, and meet with the Moroccan Miller’s Federation and the Moroccan Importers Federation. The team will then travel to Italy, accompanied by Regional Director Ian Flagg and Marketing Specialist Rutger Koekoek from the USW Rotterdam Office on tours of multiple pasta plants and semolina mills. In Israel, on the last leg of the trip, the team and Koekoek will visit the Port of Haifa, two mills and a bakery.

Both teams will post regular travel updates and photographs, and will report later this year to the USW Board of Directors. Follow their progress on the USW Facebook page at www.facebook/uswheat and on Twitter at @uswheatassoc.

2016 North Africa-Europe Board Team – Participants

Kenneth R. Davis
Texas Wheat Producers Board

Ken Davis has been farming and ranching for more than 43 years in Johnson, Hill and Ellis Counties in Texas. After graduating from the Texas Christian University Ranch Management Program, Davis began KD Farms, which he owns and operates with the help of his family. Davis’ farming operation includes wheat, cattle, corn and sorghum in addition to a custom trucking business.

Davis has spent thirteen years serving as an elected board member on the statewide Texas Wheat Producers Board and Texas Wheat Producers Association. In 2006, Davis was selected to represent Texas wheat growers on the USW Board of Directors.

In addition to his service in the wheat industry, Davis serves in a leadership role on several regional and local organizations including serving as a past president of the Blackland Income Growth Program. He has also served as a director of the Federal Land Bank of Hillsboro, Texas Land Bank, First Financial Bank of Cleburne and the TCU Ranch Management Alumni Boa rd. Davis is a long-time supporter of the Texas Farm Bureau organization where he once served as the chairman of the State Young Farmer and Rancher Committee.

Michael Edgar
Arizona Grain Research and Promotion Council

Michael Edgar is a native of the Imperial Valley of Southern California. He grew up in a farming operation near El Centro that produced wheat, cotton and alfalfa and fed cattle. Edgar earned an associate’s degree in business and entered the grain business in 1979. He has engaged in all facets of the business during his career, with an emphasis on Desert Durum® wheat. These include: trading in cash and futures markets; contracting grain production for domestic and export markets; developing and servicing export markets; contracting for truck, rail and ocean transportation; management of grain variety breeding programs; and managing grain seed businesses.

Edgar has been employed by Barkley Seed, Inc. in Yuma, AZ since 1988, and has served as President since 2014. The company operates facilities in Central and Western Arizona and in the Imperial and Central Valleys of California. It produces and sells certified seed of proprietary varieties of Desert Durum wheat, hard red wheat and barley, and specializes in contracting production of identity-preserved grain for domestic and export markets.

He is a member of both the Arizona Grain Research and Promotion Council and the California Wheat Commission. He recently served as USW Chairman, and also serves on the board of directors for the Southern Seed Association, and is a past president of the Seed Trade Association of Arizona. Edgar lives in Yuma with his wife, Janice. He has three young adult children and five grandchildren.

Michael Peters
Oklahoma Wheat Commission

Michael Peters is a farmer and rancher from Okarche, OK. Peters and his father currently raise 3,500 acres of hard red winter (HRW) wheat and, during the winter, graze the wheat with stocker cattle. Peters also grows canola as a rotation crop to help clean the ground from other winter grasses. He and his sons have a small cow herd.

Peters’ educational training includes the Oklahoma Credential Director Training, CHS New Leader Forum, CHS Director Development Training, IGP Flour Milling Course, National Wheat Foundation and the WILOT Program (Wheat Industry Leaders of Tomorrow).

Peters is a member of St. John’s Luthern Church where he served as Church President and currently serves on the Board of Elders. He is President of his local co-op Board, owned by CHS, the largest co-op in the United States. Peters is a member of the Okarche Rural Fire Fighters’ Association Board and he currently serves as Secretary for the Oklahoma Wheat Commission.

Michael and his wife, Linda, have two teenage boys, Connor and Tyler.

Erica Oakley
U.S. Wheat Associates Team Lead

Erica Oakley, Programs Manager, leads responsibility for coordinating team-based activities, customer training programs and special events in the United States. Oakley is also responsible for management of U.S.-based consulting assignments, planning and managing USW Board Teams to visit overseas markets, and is involved with planning and implementing USW’s international conferences.

Before joining USW, Oakley was with Humanitas Global, where she managed programs in food and nutrition security, food sustainability, agriculture and public-private partnership development. She has also worked at AED and Futures Group, both based in Washington, DC.

A native of North Carolina, Oakley holds an undergraduate degree in international studies from Meredith College, Raleigh, NC, and an international relations master’s degree from Utrecht University in The Netherlands. Erica and her husband, Kit, live in DC with their two cats, Tigger and Hobbes.

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Nondiscrimination and Alternate Means of Communications
U.S. Wheat Associates prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital or family status, age, disability, political beliefs or sexual orientation. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact U.S. Wheat Associates at 202-463-0999 (TDD/TTY – 800-877-8339, or from outside the U.S.- 605-331-4923). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to Vice President of Finance, U.S. Wheat Associates, 3103 10th Street, North, Arlington, VA 22201, or call 202-463-0999. U.S. Wheat Associates is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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Pacific Northwest and Minnesota Wheat Farmers Travel to Japan and Korea on USW Board Team

ARLINGTON, Virginia — Every year, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) sponsors opportunities for farmer directors on the USW board or state wheat commission staff to travel to overseas markets for U.S. wheat. The intense, regional “board team” visits help participants observe the day-to-day work of USW’s overseas offices and connect them to their customers and industry stakeholders.

“Board teams help build personal connections between our overseas customers and U.S. wheat farmers,” says USW Vice President of Overseas Operations Vince Peterson. “U.S. wheat is the world’s most reliable source of high quality wheat, and part of that reputation comes from the people who grow it. We consistently hear how much the customer appreciates getting to know the farmer.”

This year, USW Policy Specialist Elizabeth Westendorf will lead a North Asia Board Team to Japan and Korea in early March. The team includes Darren Padget, a wheat farmer from Grass Valley, OR, and a current USW director representing the Oregon Wheat Commission; Greg LeBlanc, a wheat farmer from Crookston, MN, and a director of the Minnesota Wheat Research and Promotion Council; Clark Hamilton, a wheat farmer from Ririe, ID, and a current USW director representing the Idaho Wheat Commission; and Gary Bailey, a wheat farmer from St. John, WA and a current USW director representing the Washington Grain Commission.

The team will first meet at the USW West Coast Office and with the grain trade in Portland, OR for an orientation before traveling overseas. Over three days in Japan, the team will visit government contacts at the U.S. Embassy and Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and meet with millers, bakers and the grain trade. The second leg of the trip features three days in Korea, which includes visiting the largest fried noodle manufacturing facility in Korea, mill tours and a meeting with the Korea Flour Mills Industrial Association.

The team will post regular travel updates and photographs, and will report later this year to the USW board of directors. Follow their progress on the USW Facebook page at www.facebook/uswheat and on Twitter at @uswheatassoc.

2016 North Asia Board Team – Participants

Clark Hamilton
Idaho Wheat Commission

Clark Hamilton operates a diverse 6,000-acre family farm in Idaho’s Bonneville Countym primarily producing wheat, barley, potatoes, alfalfa and peas. He joined his father and other family members in running the operation more than thirty years ago.

Clark spent the past five years serving and representing Idaho wheat and barley farmers as an executive officer of the Idaho Grain Producers Association (IGPA). While serving in that role, he became very familiar with the local, state and national issues impacting agriculture and wheat, specifically.

Clark holds a bachelor’s degree in plant science and a minor in biology from Utah State University. He and his wife Kristi have been married for 28 years. They have four children and one grandchild.

Greg LeBlanc
Minnesota Wheat Research and Promotion Council

Greg LeBlanc, born and raised in Crookston, MN, has been farming since 1975 and harvested his 40th wheat crop last year.

He has been involved in various farm organizations, including as a member of the Minnesota Soybean Council from 2006 to 2012, where he served two years as Research Committee Chairman. LeBlanc was elected to the Minnesota Wheat Council in 2014 and serves on the Research and Budget Committees.

Greg graduated from the University of Minnesota at Crookston in the spring of 1978 with an applied science associate’s degree in crop production. Greg and his wife Marlene, who works at the Minnesota Extension Service, will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary in 2016. They have two adult children: Matthew, an Occupational Therapist, and Dominic, who farms with Greg.

Darren Padget
Oregon Wheat Commission

Darren Padget is a fourth generation farmer in Sherman County, OR, currently producing registered and certified seed on 3,400 acres annually.

Darren held positions on the Oregon Wheat Growers League board of directors and executive committee for seven years, serving as president in 2010. He chaired the Research and Technology Committee for the National Association of Wheat Growers. He has also served on the Mid-Columbia Producers board of directors, of which he was an officer for 10 years.

Serving on these boards has provided him with great insight into the wheat industry. He is very familiar with the challenges that lie ahead in research and market development.

Gary Bailey
Washington Grain Commission

Gary Bailey is a St. John, WA, wheat grower representing Whitman County, the state’s largest wheat growing county. Bailey grew up in this Palouse community and received his bachelor’s degree in business and agriculture from the University of Idaho. He worked for what is now Northwest Farm Credit Services before returning to the farm in 1989. He and his brother Mark raise winter and spring wheat and barley.

Gary previously served on the Board of Directors for St. John Grain Growers, now Whitgro, and also served on the Local Advisory Committee for the Colfax branch of Northwest Farm Credit Services. He currently sits on Washington State University’s Land Legacy Committee, and the Board of Directors for St. John TelCo. His wife Linda is Associate Director of Development in the College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Resource Sciences at Washington State University in Pullman. The couple has three sons.

Elizabeth Westendorf
U.S. Wheat Associates Team Lead

Elizabeth Westendorf, Policy Specialist, assists in implementing USW’s biotechnology and food aid efforts and provides support on trade policy issues impacting exports, including issues in China, Canada, Mexico, the European Union and Morocco.

Elizabeth graduated from Georgetown University’s Undergraduate School of Foreign Service in 2014, where she studied International Political Economy and wrote her thesis on acceptance of agricultural biotechnology in Africa. She studied abroad for a year at the London School of Economics. During her studies, she interned at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and was a World Food Prize Wallace Carver Fellow with USDA’s Economic Research Service, where she helped analyze the economic impacts of sub-therapeutic antibiotics in livestock.

Prior to joining USW, Elizabeth worked at Winrock International on a sustainable agriculture project, focusing on developing project evaluations and communications. She was born in Iowa and now lives in Arlington, VA.

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Nondiscrimination and Alternate Means of Communications
U.S. Wheat Associates prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital or family status, age, disability, political beliefs or sexual orientation. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact U.S. Wheat Associates at 202-463-0999 (TDD/TTY – 800-877-8339, or from outside the U.S.- 605-331-4923). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to Vice President of Finance, U.S. Wheat Associates, 3103 10th Street, North, Arlington, VA 22201, or call 202-463-0999. U.S. Wheat Associates is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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Japanese Millers Trade Team Visit Will Help Support Future Market Share

ARLINGTON, Virginia — In 2016, the U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) will mark 60 years with a marketing office in Japan, so it comes as no surprise that in marketing year 2014/15, Japan was the single largest buyer of wheat from the United States. In the same year, Japan was also the biggest market for U.S. hard red spring (HRS) and soft white (SW) wheat. To learn more about the high quality wheat to which their customers have become accustomed over the past 60 years, a team of mid-level managers from Japanese flour mills will visit Oregon, Idaho and Montana Sept. 20 to 26, 2015.

Millers on this team are executives from milling companies representing Japan’s National Cooperative of Millers. The first trade team from this group of millers visited the United States in 2014. USW collaborated with the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee, Oregon Wheat Commission and Idaho Wheat Commission to organize and host this year’s visit.

“These mid-level managers will eventually ascend to senior management positions and hopefully take with them an understanding that the United States produces the highest quality wheat for Japan,” said Steve Wirsching, USW vice president and director of the West Coast Office in Portland, OR. “This trade team visit creates an opportunity for us to increase their positive view of U.S. wheat and ensure we can continue to compete in Japan in the future.”

This trade team will bring individuals involved in milling, quality control and marketing to the United States to learn more about the effective wheat export supply chain and give them the opportunity to discuss logistical and quality assurance systems with the people who manage the U.S. wheat supply chain.

The milling managers will begin their trip in Portland, hosted by the USW West Coast Office, where they will be briefed by the Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) and Wheat Marketing Center. While in Oregon, the team will also tour the Columbia Grains export terminal and visit OMIC USA. Continuing their trip in Boise, ID, the team will meet with Scoular Grain and the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, and will tour the Swan Falls Dam and lock system on the Snake River. To complete their tour of the Pacific Northwest, the team will travel to Montana to tour shuttle train loading facilities operated by Gavilon Grain in Chester and United Grain in Moccasin. Other stops include the Central Ag Research Center near Moccasin and Myllymaki Farms outside of Livingston . Throughout their trip the team will have the opportunity to hear from each of the sponsoring state wheat commissions.

USW is the industry’s market development organization working in more than 100 countries. Its mission is to “develop, maintain, and expand international markets to enhance the profitability of U.S. wheat producers and their customers.” The activities of USW are made possible by producer checkoff dollars managed by 18 state wheat commissions and through cost-share funding provided by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. For more information, visit www.uswheat.org or contact your state wheat commission.

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U.S. Wheat Associates prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital or family status, age, disability, political beliefs or sexual orientation. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact U.S. Wheat Associates at 202-463-0999 (TDD/TTY – 800-877-8339, or from outside the U.S.- 605-331-4923). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to Vice President of Finance, U.S. Wheat Associates, 3103 10th Street, North, Arlington, VA 22201, or call 202-463-0999. U.S. Wheat Associates is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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Photo Release: Taiwanese and U.S. Industry Sign Letters of Intent

ARLINGTON, Virginia —  A Taiwanese delegation visited Washington, D.C., this week to meet with officials and U.S. grain industry leaders and take part in a signing ceremony at the U.S. Capitol, held Wednesday.

Signing letters of intent on behalf of the U.S. grain industry were Chip Councell, U.S. Grains Council vice chairman; Alan Tracy, U.S. Wheat Associates president; and Wade Cowan, American Soybean Association president representing the U.S. Soybean Export Council.

The letters committed Taiwanese buyers to purchase approximately $3.03 billion worth of U.S. corn and co-products, wheat and soybeans by 2017.

The delegation will follow their Washington visit with a week of touring the U.S. grain production region, including much of the U.S. Midwest and West.

More about the event is at https://bit.ly/1KiEgmF and https://bit.ly/1WSXmcT.

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Nondiscrimination and Alternate Means of Communications
U.S. Wheat Associates prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital or family status, age, disability, political beliefs or sexual orientation. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact U.S. Wheat Associates at 202-463-0999 (TDD/TTY – 800-877-8339, or from outside the U.S.- 605-331-4923). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to Vice President of Finance, U.S. Wheat Associates, 3103 10th Street, North, Arlington, VA 22201, or call 202-463-0999. U.S. Wheat Associates is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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Taiwan Goodwill Mission Returns to the United States and Will Sign Letters of Intent for Wheat Purchases

ARLINGTON, Virginia — As part of a biennial Agricultural Trade Goodwill Mission to the United States to purchase grains and other agricultural products for the people of Taiwan, the Taiwan Flour Millers Association (TFMA) will be in Washington, DC, Sept. 16, 2015, to sign a letter of intent to purchase U.S. wheat in marketing years 2015/16 and 2016/17.

TFMA imports wheat on behalf of all 20 Taiwanese flour mills and has been a loyal customer of U.S. wheat producers for many years. U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) President Alan Tracy and current TFMA Executive Director Shin-Yao Lin, chief executive officer of Top Food Flour Mill in Taipei, Taiwan, will co-sign the letter.

Delegates from TFMA will start their visit to the United States as honored guests of the Idaho Wheat Commission at the Lewiston Roundup Rodeo Sept. 12. The entire mission’s visit to Washington, DC, includes a welcome reception at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a reception Sept. 15, 2015, with the signing ceremony the next day at the U.S. Capitol. Taiwan industry representatives will also sign letters of intent with U.S. Grains Council and the American Soybean Association. The entire delegation will also call on members of the U.S. Congress and policy makers in the executive branch.

After completing formal activities in Washington, DC, the flour millers continue their part of the mission Sept. 17 with visits to Kansas, Montana and Washington to meet with state wheat commission and government representatives before returning to Taiwan Sept. 23

Tracy said the U.S. wheat industry always looks forward to this event and appreciates the long history of mutually beneficial trade relations with the Taiwan milling and wheat foods industry.

“U.S. wheat farmers have maintained a trade office in Taipei since 1966,” Tracy said. “We are proud of that and also quite proud that USW Country Director Ron Lu has been a faithful part of that service for more than 33 years. We want to thank our customers at TFMA for importing significantly more U.S. wheat than the 1.7 million metric tons in the agreement signed in 2013.”

USW is the industry’s market development organization working in more than 100 countries. Its mission is to “develop, maintain, and expand international markets to enhance the profitability of U.S. wheat producers and their customers.” USW activities are made possible through producer checkoff dollars managed by 18 state wheat commissions and cost-share funding provided by FAS. USW maintains 17 offices strategically located around the world to help wheat buyers, millers, bakers, wheat food processors and government officials understand the quality, value and reliability of all six classes of U.S. wheat.

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Nondiscrimination and Alternate Means of Communications
U.S. Wheat Associates prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital or family status, age, disability, political beliefs or sexual orientation. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact U.S. Wheat Associates at 202-463-0999 (TDD/TTY – 800-877-8339, or from outside the U.S.- 605-331-4923). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to Vice President of Finance, U.S. Wheat Associates, 3103 10th Street, North, Arlington, VA 22201, or call 202-463-0999. U.S. Wheat Associates is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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