You are here: / Sustainability
thumbnail
,

Special Climate and Sustainability Committee Launched on Earth Day

As the world celebrated Earth Day, the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) launched a new Special Climate and Sustainability Committee. The committee’s purpose is to review wheat sustainability issues and guide the development of climate policies on behalf of U.S. wheat farmers.

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) salutes our colleagues at NAWG for making climate and sustainability a formal priority. This will be a great chance to recognize the already strong commitment by U.S. farm families to economic and environmental sustainability – and help ensure farmers have a voice in climate initiatives.

For a Positive Impact

Portrait of Dave Milligan quoted in the Earth Day story

Dave Milligan, NAWG President

“Wheat growers are having a positive impact on the environment and have increased resource-efficient practices in land, water and energy use,” said NAWG President and Cass City, Mich., wheat farmer Dave Milligan.

U.S. wheat farmers work every day to contribute to a sustainable future in agriculture. It is reflected in agronomic practices, research and development, and transportation methods, making the United States a sustainable source of wheat for export. Sustainability is also about innovation — reducing inputs while producing better wheat varieties to increase yield potential and provide consistently high-quality wheat to customers around the world.

USW joined the U.S. Sustainability Alliance in 2015 to better communicate the importance of sustainability to U.S. wheat farmers, including developing a fact sheet on wheat sustainability.

Engagement on Climate

To show a responsible farmer

Justin Knopf, Gypsum, Kan.

Milligan said Congress and USDA are currently considering ways to include a wide range of interests in the climate discussion. The Special Climate and Sustainability Committee will provide recommendations on policy options and NAWG’s engagement in climate discussions. Committee members are current and past NAWG board members, including Kansas farmer Justin Knopf and Wyoming farmer Derek Jackson as co-chairs of the committee.

“As we celebrate Earth Day, NAWG is excited to take initiative by engaging in climate policy discussions and focusing on practices that benefit the environment, wheat producers and the general public,” Milligan said.

Read other stories in this series:

Precision Agriculture Improves Environmental Stewardship While Increasing Yields
U.S. Farmers Always Think About Economic and Environmental Sustainability
Technology, Innovative Farming Practices Advance Wheat Farm Sustainability
Minnesota Farmer Spread the News with His Conservation Practices
U.S. Farmers Embrace Conversation Practices
Farmers Look to New Technologies to Foster Precision Agriculture
Cargill CEO Highlights Farmers Role in Pandemic and Promoting Sustainability

/by
thumbnail

Precision Agriculture Improves Environmental Stewardship While Increasing Yields

U.S. wheat farmers know that improving economic and environmental stewardship is increasingly important to the world’s buyers and wheat food processors. While the following information focuses on the benefits of precision agriculture for other crops, farmers are using the same, high-precision equipment to produce U.S. wheat.

Reprinted with permission from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), in partnership with the American Soybean Association, CropLife America, and National Corn Growers Association, released a study quantifying how widely available precision agriculture technology improves environmental stewardship while providing economic return for farmers.

Precision agriculture leverages technologies to enhance sustainability through more efficient use of critical inputs, such as land, water, fuel, fertilizer, and pesticides. Farmers who use precision agriculture equipment use less to grow more.

The Environmental Benefits of Precision Agriculture study highlights how policies and technological advancements can help farmers increase these outcomes.

“We are living in a new age of agriculture, and today’s precision technology on equipment can have an enormous positive impact on farmers and the environment,” said Curt Blades, Senior Vice President of Agriculture at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. “One of our goals at AEM is to encourage the adoption of these technologies by more farmers, so they can all reap the benefits as we continue to focus on sustainability.”

Showing adoption rates of precision agriculture to improve environmental stewardship

Precision agriculture technologies have contributed significantly to the increases in yields for the major crops grown in North America. Source: Association of Equipment Manufacturers and USDA NASS, Purdue Precision Ag Dealership Survey, Context Analysis and Expert Input.

Environmental Benefits

The study explores five key environmental stewardship benefits achieved through precision agriculture technology adoption, including:

  • Yield benefit through increased efficiency
  • Fertilizer reduction by more precise placement
  • Pesticide reduction by more accurate application
  • Fuel savings due to less overlap and better monitoring
  • Water savings through more accurate sensing of needs 

Part of Climate Answer

“The reductions in greenhouse gases this study illustrates shows modern agriculture is part of the climate solution,” said Kellie Bray, CropLife America (CLA) Chief of Staff. “Fuel savings alone due to precision ag tools is the yearly equivalent of taking nearly 200,000 cars off the road, all while preventing an area equal to 4.5 Yellowstone National Parks from being added to production because of yield increases.”

Study Highlights

As precision agriculture equipment and technologies are more widely adopted it will lead to significant increases in yields and further input savings: Significant increases in yields and further input savings can be reached as precision agriculture technologies become more widely adopted:

  • Productivity has increased an estimated 4% and has the potential to further increase 6% with broader adoption.
  • Precision agriculture has improved fertilizer placement efficiency by an estimated 7% and has the potential to further improve an additional 14%.
  • Herbicide use has been reduced by an estimated 9% and has the potential to further decrease 15% at full adoption.
  • Fossil fuel use has decreased an estimated 6% with the potential to further decrease 16%.
  • Water use has decreased an estimated 4% because of current precision agriculture adoption with the potential to further decrease 21% at full adoption.

Overcoming Barriers

“Soybean growers know from experience that precision agriculture contributes to both short-term and, importantly, long-term yield, environmental, and economic benefits, and this study helps quantify that progress,” says Kevin Scott, South Dakota soy grower and American Soybean Association (ASA) president. “But if we want to get to full adoption of the technology—and realize the immense industry-wide gains in yield and input savings—we still have a lot of work ahead of us.”

AEM, ASA, CLA, and NCGA are working together to advance technologies and practices that will bring the potential the study highlights to fruition:

  • Promote policies that incentivize innovations in agricultural production
  • Improve the infrastructure that makes precision agriculture possible, including wireless broadband over croplands and rangelands
  • Grow farm income so producers have capital to invest in their operations
  • Increase consumer communication about the environmental benefits of precision agriculture

Header photo copyright: Let’s Grow Together.

Read other stories in this series:

Special Climate and Sustainability Committee Launched on Earth Day
U.S. Farmers Always Think About Economic and Environmental Sustainability
Technology, Innovative Farming Practices Advance Wheat Farm Sustainability
Minnesota Farmer Spread the News with His Conservation Practices
U.S. Farmers Embrace Conversation Practices
Farmers Look to New Technologies to Foster Precision Agriculture
Cargill CEO Highlights Farmers Role in Pandemic and Promoting Sustainability

/by
thumbnail

The Cat Reminds Padget Family to Build on the Past

The Cat is still purring after 67 years. Well, more like chugging along.

This Cat is a Caterpillar model D6 9U tractor with crawler treads, purchased new in 1954 by Bernard Martin for his north-central Oregon farm. As the only tractor on the farm at the time, the Cat was powerful yet small and lightweight, making it ideal for working on the farm’s very steep slopes.

Mr. Martin’s future son-in-law, Dale Padget, first drove the Cat in 1956.

“He was 18 years old and worked for Grandpa Martin as the ‘Cat Skinner,’ pulling the combine during harvest and doing field operations,” said Darren Padget, who is Dale’s son and the current Chairman of U.S. Wheat Associates (USW). “He was dating my Mom, Deanna, and eventually they inherited the farm our family now operates … and the Cat.”

Keeping it Running

The family operated crawler tractors like the Cat until the 1970s when manufacturers developed modern, articulated tractors that had, as Padget put it, the umph to handle the hills.

“After that, Dad installed a dozer blade on the Cat and it has been our bulldozer ever since,” he recalled. “I overhauled the engine* and put in a new undercarriage when I was in college. A few years later, we overhauled the transmission. We also use it to run a feed chopping machine when we make hay for our beef cattle.”

Photo of the Cat

The 1954 Cat D6 9U is still in use at Padget Ranches in Grass Valley, Ore., as a bulldozer to reshape the land as needed.

Back in the Field

Dale Padget will be 83 in June this year and has retired from most field work. His “tractor time” is down in part because the family farm now uses reduced tillage practices that help improve and protect their soil, in which they grow seed wheat, grass and other small grain crops.

But recently, Darren and his son Logan decided they should put Grandpa Dale, and the Cat, to work in the field one more time.

“On my Facebook page, we like to show folks how farming has changed over the years,” Darren explained. “And we wanted to record my Dad working with the tractor he has driven for so much of his life.”

Darren and Logan were planting some grass into a field designated for the USDA Conservation Reserve Program or CRP** (another tool they use to help protect soil and environmental health). They hitched the Cat to seed drills purchased in the 1970s and Dale went back to work.

Dale Padget with the Cat tractor

Dale Padget, 82, is ready to run the Cat tractor he first ran in 1956 to plant a grass cover crop on the family farm.

Dramatic Changes

On another day they captured images of the dramatic shift from the functional implements of the past to today’s far more efficient equipment with digital and GPS systems.

Comparing old and new farm equipment

Much has changed since Dale Padget first operated the Cat in 1956. Today, his son Darren and grandson Logan use precision farming tools that make them better stewards by protecting soil while ensuring fertilizer and crop protection products are used only where needed and in precise amounts.

In the photo at the top of this page, the Cat pulls its implement past the original Martin family homestead, built in the early 1900s.

“I think it is important to remember how far one family has come,” Padget said. “and how much has changed since Dad started driving the Cat. He will be back out there tomorrow as our ‘dozer guy,’ and Logan and I will keep building on the work he did, and the Martin family before him, all the way back to 1910.”

*The 1954 Cat D6 9U in fact has two engines: a small, two-cylinder gasoline engine, called the “pony motor,” is fired up to start the big diesel engine.

** CRP is a land conservation program administered by USDA’s Farm Service Administration. In exchange for a yearly rental payment, farmers enrolled in the program agree to remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and plant species that will improve environmental health and quality.

/by
thumbnail

U.S. Farmers Always Think About Economic and Environmental Sustainability

U.S. wheat farmers know that improving economic and environmental sustainability is increasingly important to the world’s buyers and wheat food processors.

The commitment each person makes on the journey to those customers is what makes U.S. wheat unmatched in both quality and reliability. Farmers especially feel a responsibility to preserve this legacy, to act as stewards of the land, and promote new practices that improve economic and environmental sustainability.

Reflection First

“Sometimes we need to reflect on what we have done, visit with experts regarding farming practices, and continually try to improve,” said Scott Huso who with his wife Elizabeth and an experienced team of employees operate Ridgeline Farm near Aneta, N.D. “We are not trying to improve our farm for us, but for the next generations to come.”

To show the productive quality of soil

Productive Soil. Using implements that allow Aneta, N.D., farmer Scott Huso to do a little tillage as possible, leaving crop residue on the field and planting cover crops keeps the soil on the Huso family’s Ridgeline Farm very productive to grow more and better wheat and other crops for people around the world. Photo from a Ridgeline Farm video.

The Responsible Way

“Members of my community, members of my family will be consuming this crop, as well as families around the United States and families across the globe,” said Kansas farmer Justin Knopf.

“When I make a decision to use a particular product, whether it be to fertilize the crop, to give it the fertility, the nutrition that it needs to grow and produce nutritious grain and good grain quality,” he said, “I always weigh those trade-offs with the end in mind and in a responsible way that consumers can be confident that we’ve done our due diligence.”

To show a responsible farmer

Sharing His Story. Kansas farmer Justin Knopf has invested in soil health through cover crops, no-till farming and crop rotation. “What I do impacts consumers, so it is important to share the bigger story of what is happening on our farm,” he said.

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is sharing a new video production called “Sustainability: Sustaining the Legacy” that features U.S. wheat farmers like Scott Huso and Justin Knopf explaining how they go about improving economic and environmental sustainability practices on their farms with end-use qualities and future farm families in mind.

A Better Future

These individual actions contribute to the whole in a big way – a future with better quality wheat and better land management, leading to better food products for people across the world.

Read other stories in this series:

Special Climate and Sustainability Committee Launched on Earth Day
Precision Agriculture Improves Environmental Stewardship While Increasing Yields
Technology, Innovative Farming Practices Advance Wheat Farm Sustainability
Minnesota Farmer Spread the News with His Conservation Practices
U.S. Farmers Embrace Conversation Practices
Farmers Look to New Technologies to Foster Precision Agriculture
Cargill CEO Highlights Farmers Role in Pandemic and Promoting Sustainability

/by
Wheat harvest photo
, ,

Global Food Security Depends on Building and Protecting Entire Food Ecosystem

On Feb. 24, 2021, Thomas Duffy, the Director of the Office of Agricultural Policy at the U.S. Department of State, joined the U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) Joint Wheat Breeding Innovation Committee meeting to discuss global agriculture. The Office of Agricultural Policy promotes global food security, ensures a level playing field in agricultural trade, and advocates for agricultural biotechnology. 

 

Thomas Duffy, then Chargé d'Affaires, U.S. Mission to the UN Agencies in Rome, giving remarks at the Launch of the 2018 Global Report on Food Crises addressing global food security.

Thomas Duffy, then Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Mission to the UN Agencies in Rome, giving remarks at the Launch of the 2018 Global Report on Food Crises.  Credit: ©FAO/Alessandra Benedetti Copyright: FAO.

We Need Science-Based Policies

“With climate change at the center of the U.S. foreign policy, we believe that innovations that support resource-efficient and climate-smart agriculture can promote resilience and sustainable food production globally,” Duffy said.  Some of the areas which hold the greatest promise, according to Duffy, include biotechnology twinned with “Big Data” and advances in artificial intelligence. As users of these innovations, farmers play an essential role in adopting and embracing new technologies to sequester carbon to mitigate climate change further and protect their investments.

 

Still, global access to and acceptance of agricultural biotechnology is a long way from reality. On a positive note, drought-tolerant and herbicide-tolerant GE (genetically engineered) wheat has been approved for the first time in Argentina. This advancement could have huge implications for global wheat markets if successful. USW and NAWG positions on biotechnology are available online.  

 Duffy stressed the need for global engagement, saying, “It’s important for us to leverage international forums and agreements to continue to advance science-based policies globally.”

We All Have a Role

International organizations play a critical role in setting worldwide standards and policies that underpin global trade in food and agriculture and responding to global challenges, such as feeding a growing population. As the Biden Administration has made clear, “The United States is committed to the international organizations that shape our world.” 

 

U.S. farmers traveled to East Africa to learn about global food security and food aid programs.

U.S. wheat, sorghum and rice growers observed East African food aid programs in 2019.

Duffy said, “We are all proud of the work done by the World Food Programme – headed by David Beasley who, while an international civil servant, is an American citizen. WFP was the recipient of the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize and I am proud to note our steadily increasing support for WFP over the last several years. We believe American leadership in and support for international organizations is crucial, and we will continue to maintain or re-establish leadership roles in order to champion advancements in food and agriculture and represent U.S. farmers, ranchers, innovators, and workers.”

  

“In communities that rely largely on agriculture for their food and income, gender inequality translates into a large gender gap in agricultural productivity, for which countries pay a high price,” Duffy continued. Previous macro-level studies by UN Women have calculated potential gross gains of $100 USD million in Malawi, $105 million in Tanzania, and $67 million in Uganda per year from closing the agricultural productivity gap between men and women.

 

Given the challenges facing global food security and agriculture, it is more important than ever that the agriculture sector performs to its full capacity, which includes enabling women as leaders at all levels in the industry, leading to more efficient, inclusive and sustainable results. 

Safeguarding the Entire System

Finally, global access to food must be protected in the face of pandemic trade restrictions, increasing levels of poverty, international conflict, and the impacts of climate change. The United Nations SOFI report warns that the global rate of hunger has continued to rise despite the goal of zero hunger by 2030, and COVID-19 may increase the number of food insecure by up to 130 million people. 

 

The United States government, Duffy stated, is working to ensure the upcoming 2021 UN Food Systems Summit addresses global food security challenges through science-based solutions for sustainability in food production methods, supply chains, and regulatory policies. 

 

Duffy concluded by saying, “To achieve true and lasting food security, we need to build and safeguard the entire food ecosystem – the land and water, the local economies, the supply chain, the farmers, and the communities that depend on one another to thrive.” 

/by
thumbnail
,

Technology, Innovative Farming Practices Advance Wheat Farm Sustainability

Across the United States, farmers produce more and better quality wheat using innovative farming practices including fewer natural resources, including land. According to an American Farm Bureau Federation report, in 2018, farmers needed about 8 million fewer acres (3.24 million hectares) to produce the same amount of wheat as in 1990.

The Biden Administration is currently establishing clear policy goals to fight climate change and reward conservation. It is more important than ever to share the success stories of how U.S. wheat farmers employ sustainable, innovative farming practices to protect their land and positively impact the environment.

U.S. wheat farmers are more economical and sustainable today by implementing agronomic practices and investing in technologies, research and development. Technology plays an essential role in making U.S. agriculture sustainable. When wheat breeders use advanced techniques and technologies to produce high-yielding, high-quality wheat varieties, it contributes to preserving the land’s natural resources through water and soil nutrient conservation that work in harmony with local conditions.

In their production, U.S. wheat farmers apply many aspects of the following sustainable tools and practices:

Reduced Tillage

The USDA Economic Research Service reports that reduced tillage has grown in popularity, and farmers implement the practice on nearly 70% of U.S. wheat acres. While at times a necessary tool, traditional plowing and other deep tillage can be concerning. Continuous wheat production with deep tillage contributed to the infamous U.S. “Dust Bowl” of the 1930s. The introduction of reduced-till and no-till practices has helped reduce soil erosion and increase water retention on dryland crops. This practice also reduces fuel use and promotes carbon sequestration. Read more about the sustainability of practicing no-till farming here.

Crop Rotation and Cover Crops

After harvest, most wheat farmers practice crop rotation and switch to a different crop in the same fields. However, more and more farms are planting “cover crops” after harvest. Farmers incorporate this crop into the soil before planting the next crop. Both these practices are beneficial in preserving soil health as well as conserving water. Cover crops add soil nutrients and organic matter and help prevent soil and water runoff. In one study, Desert Durum® wheat farmers who rotate to lettuce crops following their durum harvest reduced water use on average about 30%.

On his family’s Kansas farm, Justin Knopf has invested in soil health through cover crops, no-till and crop rotations.

Water Conservation

Wheat is a naturally water-efficient crop. In much of the United States, wheat is grown during cooler months and has a longer growing season – providing more opportunity for it to capture naturally occurring precipitation. Only about 10% of U.S. wheat acres are irrigated. Even when farmers irrigate their wheat, it often needs less irrigation than many other crops.

California grower Roy Motter innovative farming practices like crop rotations. rotation crop to

California grower Roy Motter uses Desert Durum® as a rotation crop to let the soil rest between vegetable crops and to help control weeds and disease. Growing durum in a rotation with lettuce reduces water use on his farm by 24% to 50%.

Precision Agriculture

Farmers use technologies such as crop yield monitors, soil maps and global positioning systems (GPS), and drones. These technologies allow farmers to apply inputs more precisely, monitor plant health and collect data on soil nutrients and other natural resources. For example, such technology enables farmers to adjust seed, fertilizer and crop protection inputs with near pinpoint accuracy, ensuring the correct rates are applied or seeded in the right location while on the go in their fields. Greater efficiency through precision agriculture practices means greater economic and environmental sustainability.

Oregon soft white wheat grower Bob Johns (right in the photo at the top of the page) and his farming partner Chris Williams (left) say technology from improved breeding to drones help them make better-informed decisions about how inputs and management affect their yields, soil and crop health, and profitability.

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) supports finding new ways to improve wheat quality and increase production with less impact on the environment. To learn more about how U.S. wheat farmers are using innovative farming practices to produce more food and fiber sustainably, visit the “Innovation and Sustainability” section of our website.

By Shelbi Knisley, USW Director of Trade Policy

Read other stories in this series:

Special Climate and Sustainability Committee Launched on Earth Day
Precision Agriculture Improves Environmental Stewardship While Increasing Yields
U.S. Farmers Always Think About Economic and Environmental Sustainability
Minnesota Farmer Spread the News with His Conservation Practices
U.S. Farmers Embrace Conversation Practices
Farmers Look to New Technologies to Foster Precision Agriculture
Cargill CEO Highlights Farmers Role in Pandemic and Promoting Sustainability

/by
thumbnail
, , , ,

Columbia Snake River System Has a Crucial Role in Moving Grain to Port

Early in 2019, I attended a presentation given by the Executive Director of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association (PNWA), Kristin Meira. In the audience were farmers eager to hear how U.S. legislators shared their interests regarding the ongoing navigability of the Columbia Snake River System. Open waterways are a crucial and efficient source for U.S. farmers to export their products to international markets.

The Columbia Snake River System is the leading gateway for wheat exports. The Columbia Rive alone barges 53% of U.S. wheat destined for export. The rivers can move more volume at once, with greater fuel efficiency, making them more effective for moving grain to market than by rail or truck. One barge can carry the same amount as 35 rail cars or 134 18-wheelers. A barge tow can carry more than one 100-unit train or 538 trucks. One barge can move a ton of wheat 647 miles per gallon while a truck can only move a ton of wheat 145 miles per gallon

A Voice for the River System

The PNWA is an active voice in promoting the benefits of keeping the river systems open for navigation. In their own words, the PNWA is a collaboration of ports, businesses, public agencies and individuals who combine their economic and political strength in support of navigation, energy, trade and economic development throughout the Pacific Northwest (PNW). The organization’s history dates back to the projects of the New Deal in 1934. The group, known then as the Inland Empire Waterways Association, petitioned President Roosevelt to fund a navigation lock along the Columbia River just east of Portland, Ore.

Since then, the PNWA has been a leader in securing Congressional authorization for the necessary funds to build another seven locks and dams along both the Snake and Columbia River. The PNWA also works hard to maintain and improve navigability. They advocate for deepening the draft and improving the jetties that allow safe passage into the Columbia River.

Conflicting Interests

The importance of the river system is not lost on the farming community. However, balancing the interests of environmental groups is difficult. Save Our Wild Salmon, an organization with the goal of increasing PNW wild salmon and steelhead populations, advocates for the removal of dams on the Snake River and expanded spillways on the remaining dams. They also want to modernize the Columbia River Treaty with Canada. These changes would include the river’s health as an equal portion of the treaty, which currently only governs energy production and flood management.

Many groups do not place value on the beneficial role that the dams have regarding grain transportation and clean renewable energy. The four dams on the Snake River power up to 800,000 homes while producing zero carbon emissions. Instead, environmental groups focus their argument on enhancing the railroad as a replacement for barge grain transportation. This tactic would take billions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades and would not be as efficient or as environmentally friendly

A Necessary Link

The value of the Columbia Snake River System as a transport hub from farm to market is the link necessary to connect the United States to its trading partners. The river system keeps U.S. wheat competitive by moving higher volumes at more efficient prices. The wheat associations that make up the tri-state region of Idaho, Oregon and Washington all support, through their PNWA membership and resolutions,  the ongoing navigability of the rivers system. There will continue to be controversy surrounding the river system and the rich ecosystem that they sustain. The shared interest between farmers, sportsmen, environmentalists, scientists and commerce are diverse. An organization like PNWA, which has spent more than 80 years advocating for an open river system, is the key to keeping it open for decades to come.

By Michael Anderson, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) Assistant Director, West Coast Office

/by
thumbnail
,

Precision Agriculture Advances Sustainable Wheat Production

By Steve Mercer, USW Vice President of Communications

No two wheat fields in the world are alike. The fact is, there can be wide variations within a field or even a very small sections of a field.

Not that long ago, farmers had limited ability to change production strategies in ways that more directly correlated with this natural variability. Now, however, farmers in the United States and around the world have high-technology systems that allow them to instantly adjust seed, fertilizer and crop protection inputs with near pinpoint accuracy, ensuring the right rates are applied or seeded in the right location while on the go in their field.

According to information from “Let’s Grow Together,” an online information source in Washington state to help consumers better understand agriculture, “farmers collect information using crop yield monitors, soil maps and global positioning systems (GPS). The yield monitor measures the amount of wheat harvested and the GPS uses satellite signals to track the exact location where the yield measurements were taken.”

The resource notes that software creates a detailed map of high- and low-yield zones. Using enhanced GPS guidance systems, the wheat farmer can operate seeding and application equipment with as little as 2.5 centimeters (about one inch) of overlap. Such precision drastically reduces waste and the unnecessary application of fertilizer and crop protection products.

“I believe this technology makes us far more efficient,” said Janice Mattson, who with her family grows hard red winter and hard red spring wheat in Montana’s “Golden Triangle” region. “There is a financial benefit in using only what we need, but we also see environmental benefits on our own land, in our communities and for our customers.”

 

Janice Mattson sees environmental benefits from precision agriculture.

 

U.S. farmers know that seeking ways to improve the sustainability of the crop and environment is increasingly important to the world’s buyers and wheat food processors.

Jeff Newtson, who with his family grows soft white wheat in northeastern Oregon, says technology like satellite imagery of crops helps them vary the rate of fertilizer across the hilly terrain of their farm to produce more uniform wheat.

 

Jeff Newtson says precision agriculture helps his family produce a more consistent soft white wheat crop for overseas buyers.

 

“We know that our customers want high-quality food products and 90 percent of the wheat we grow is exported,” said Newtson. “They come from overseas to support our farm and our families, so we have to give them a good product in return.”

“We have changed and adapted and we will keep changing and adapting,” said David Clough, who grows hard red spring wheat in central North Dakota. “We are doing that to survive economically and to keep our land in good shape for future generations.”

 

David Clough says farmers will keep changing and adapting to survive economically and keep their land in good shape.

 

“First and foremost, sustainability is economical and generational, which leads to environmental sustainability,” said Mark Linnebur, a family farmer from Byers, Colo.

His family’s focus on applying high-technology and no-tillage systems as well as other practices is all about being good stewards of the land.

“We are not trying to mine the land for what we can get out of it in the near term,” he said, “because we want to pass it on to our children.”

 

Mark Linnebur says sustainability on the farm is economic and generational.

 

Caption for image at the top of this page: Precision agriculture is allowing farmers to adjust inputs to near pinpoint accuracy, enhancing sustainable wheat production. Photo copyright “Let’s Grow Together.”

/by
thumbnail
,

“Innovature” Opens Inclusive Discussion About Plant, Animal Breeding Innovation

The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) and the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) have jointly developed “Innovature,” a new resource to encourage a thoughtful dialogue around innovation in food and agriculture and the tangible benefits for our planet, our health and our food.

 

Through its Innovature.com website, social media and other activities, “Innovature” aims to foster productive conversations between key thought leaders and the public and cultivate broad partnerships that can help realize the full, positive potential of evolving breeding methods like gene editing.

 

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) supports finding new ways to improve wheat quality and increase production with less impact on the environment. New research in biotechnology and plant breeding innovations, and a deepening understanding of DNA, will help make this possible. Scientists can now make far more precise genetic changes to plants and animals to help address some of society’s most urgent challenges including climate change, sustainability, hunger and improving health and wellness.

 

USW welcomed the opportunity to have a place where wide-ranging, inclusive viewpoints about such innovations can be shared and discussed and we have collaborated on “Innovature” with the sponsoring organizations. We will continue to offer our support and recommendations moving forward.

 

The Innovature.com website features original content and news about plant and animal breeding methods and their beneficial effects. We encourage our stakeholders at home and around the world to explore and share the site and engage with “Innovature” on these social media platforms:

 

BIO and ASTA welcome story ideas and other submissions at [email protected]. To learn more about the two organizations, their missions and membership please visit bio.org and betterseed.org.

 

 

“Innovature” is a new platform for engaging in discussion about plant and animal breeding methods and their beneficial effects on our plant, food and health. It includes the website above, www.innovature.com, with original information and news, and an active social media agenda.

 

Photo Above: Copyright Oklahoma State University/Todd Johnson

/by
thumbnail
, ,

Hope and Renewal

With the 2018 U.S. winter wheat harvest complete and October right around the corner, U.S. wheat farmers are now seeding a new crop. Across the 18 states that represent 90 percent of the area planted to winter wheat last year, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) estimates that 28 percent of the 2019 crop was planted as of September 23.

 

An image of wheat planting that caught our eye came recently from John McManigal, who grows soft white wheat with his family in Wasco County, Ore. John is an excellent agricultural field photographer and, with Mt. Hood looming over this mid-Columbia region, has a remarkable landscape on which to work. The photo he shared with U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) that we have posted here and his words tell an inspiring story of hope and renewal.

 

Seeding in Dust, Wasco County, Oregon,

Photo © John McManigal, Used with Permission

 

“The Substation Fire started Tuesday, July 17, on US 197 near The Dalles, Ore., about 3:30 p.m. By evening it had raced east across Wasco County, jumped the Deschutes River and started up into Sherman County. The next day brought more wind. The fire gathered itself again and started another run to the east. By the end of the day on Wednesday, Mid-Columbia Producers figured roughly 2 million bushels of wheat went up in smoke.”

 

“That is my son Brad in the photograph seeding on Rich Kortge Farms, only about five miles east of where the Substation Fire started. This field had been left fallow last season but the vegetative cover was lost to the fire. The field in the background to the left of the fence was standing wheat that went up in flames on the afternoon of July 17.”

 

“It has not rained in months here and the seeding conditions look a little bleak.”

 

“But you know farmers. Maybe next year…”

/by

Think Farm Export Programs Don’t Matter? Think Again.

GET THE REST OF THE STORY

DTN Wheat Detail
DTN Corn Detail

2008-2013 U.S. Wheat Associates. All Rights Reserved
Privacy Policy | Non-Discrimination Statement