November Precipitation Rapidly Improves U.S. Winter Wheat Condition
Wheat farm families across the United States are sharpening their pencils to figure out how to deal with the on-going challenges of high input costs and low crop prices. Fortunately, 2025 winter wheat crop conditions do not create another concern for many of them following a remarkable turnaround in November. Writing in Progressive Farmer Dec. […]
Producing the Story of the Reliable System that Transports Wheat from the U.S. Plains to Customers Around the World
Farmers at Heart of the Story The wheat was still green and had only recently headed when a film crew showed up on Derek Sawyer’s Kansas farm this spring. Weeks later, in summer, the same crew set cameras up on the edge of a golden Nebraska wheat field to capture harvest by Kent Lorens. Though […]
Farmer-Backed Heartland Plant Innovations Helps Unlock Wheat’s Genetic Potential
Six sets of seven chromosomes make the wheat genome five times larger than the human genome. This complexity makes wheat breeding even more difficult, but technology like double haploid breeding has helped public and private researchers unlock potential agronomic, quality and even nutritional traits. Key to this work is a farmer-backed, for-profit plant services company […]
Early Optimism Blooms for 2024 U.S. Winter Wheat Production
Drought in major U.S. wheat-growing regions over the past few years is well-documented. The persistent dry conditions acutely impacted U.S. wheat yield and increased abandonment, with 2023/24 production coming in 6% below the pre-drought five-year average. Now, entering the second half of the marketing year, the focus has shifted to the 2024 harvest and its […]
Hard White Wheat Production is Up Significantly in 2023 With Good Functionality
A much larger 2023 U.S. hard white (HW) wheat crop also shows acceptable quality performance in milling, dough properties and finished products like pan breads, Asian noodles, and steamed breads. The Pacific Northwest (PNW), California and Southern Plains composites all show acceptable to excellent bread baking potential according to respective protein contents. Performance in Asian […]
Washington Farmer’s Job Titles Are Many; Add ‘Sustainable Producer’ to the List
A business card to describe the jobs Art Schultheis fills in a typical year would be too big for any pocket. “I drive a tractor and harvest with a combine – all the things people think a farmer does,” explained Schultheis, a fifth-generation farmer from Colton, Washington. “But behind the scenes I’m also a mechanic, […]
African Trade Team Explores U.S. Wheat Supply Chain, Meets Farmers in Kansas, North Dakota and Minnesota
Pictured above at the Port of Duluth in Minnesota: Chad Wiegand, USW Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa; Vigneswaran Sinnathurai, Vice President of Milling at Olam; Alok Khator, Vice President and Regional Manufacturing Head at Olam; Savan Sunil Shah, Director at United Millers LTD; Coreen Berdahl, Vice President of Operations at Minnesota Wheat. Buyers from two […]
Kansas Wheat Industry Looks at 2023 Hard White Wheat Production and Quality
This article on the hard white (HW) wheat crop in Kansas was sponsored by the Kansas Wheat Commission, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, Kansas Grain and Feed Association and the Kansas Cooperative Council. Hard white (HW) winter wheat varieties continue to be popular among some western Kansas farmers for their high yields, disease resistance and […]
Perspectives From the Field on 2023 Drought
The impact of drought in the Central and Southern U.S. Plains is the dominant topic of conversation about the 2023/24 hard red winter (HRW) crop. Industry participants agree there will be a lot of HRW fields abandoned before harvest from Texas to South Dakota. Rain expected this week is a hopeful sign but likely comes […]
2022 Hard White Wheat Crop Offers Quality Performance in Milling, Baking
The 2022 hard white (HW) samples show good quality performance in milling, dough properties and finished products, including pan breads, Asian noodles and steamed breads. The Pacific Northwest (PNW), California and Southern Plains composites all show acceptable to excellent bread baking potential according to their respective protein contents. For Asian noodle applications, using 60% extraction […]