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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
“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 […]
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 […]
Innovation in the Breadbasket of the World
By Jennifer Latzke, High Plains Journal, May 22, 2018, Excerpts Reprinted with Permission Editor’s Note: This article covers innovative ways wheat farmer organizations and public universities in several Plains states are investing to produce more wheat with improvements for farmers and end users in ways that are most sustainable. The reports from the U.S. Department […]
Hoping the Good News on EU Re-registration of Glyphosate is Not Meaningless
By Ben Conner, USW Director of Policy Many European farmers breathed a sigh of relief this week as the European Commission chose to extend registration of the broad-spectrum herbicide glyphosate for five years. But farmers in Europe and elsewhere around the world are justifiably worried about the challenges represented by the European Union’s pesticide policy. […]
The International Treaties Upholding Science-Based Wheat Trade
By Elizabeth Westendorf, Assistant Director of Policy It’s no secret that the U.S. wheat industry and its customers rely heavily on international trade rules to keep markets open and wheat moving. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the prime example of this, particularly in its limits on tariffs and subsidies that have done so much […]
Profiling U.S. Wheat Sustainability: Justin Knopf, Hard Red Winter Wheat Farmer
By Elizabeth Westendorf, USW Assistant Director of Policy Justin Knopf’s family has been farming land in central Kansas for five generations — starting with their original homestead in the 1860s. Now, Knopf farms 4,000 acres with his father and brother, growing HRW wheat, alfalfa, grain sorghum, soybeans and corn. “I feel like I have been […]
Profiling U.S. Wheat Sustainability: Bob Johns, Soft White Wheat Farmer
By Emily McGarry, USW Policy Intern Bob Johns farms in northeast Oregon, and he would tell you that he’s been farming since the day he was born. Johns’ 5,000-acre farm has been in the family since 1873, but he is ready to retire soon. Since there is no family to take over, he is handing […]
