U.S. Wheat Farmers Traveling to Spain, Portugal and Morocco to Meet with Customers
Customer service is defined as the process of ensuring customer satisfaction with a product or service. When it comes to international trade relationships, customer service is expanded to include managing relationships and being able to ensure a reliable, quality supply. Twice every year, U.S. Associates (USW) sends U.S. wheat farmer leaders overseas to help cultivate […]
U.S. Wheat Farmers See Opportunity for Growth in Southeast Asia Markets
By Catherine Miller, USW Programs and Planning Coordinator Every year, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) invites farmers (selected by state wheat commissions) to participate in a “Board Team” trip overseas to follow their wheat and learn from customers about the quality characteristics needed in those markets. In February the first USW Board Team of 2019 traveled […]
U.S. Wheat Farmers Reaching Out to South Asian Customers this Month
Diplomacy is defined as the profession, activity or skill of managing international relations, typically by a country’s representatives abroad and, secondarily, the art of dealing with people in a sensitive and effective way. While the local representatives of U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) are well versed in the art of diplomacy, twice every year USW sends […]
Latin American Holiday Traditions Help Inform Wheat Breeders
By Steve Wirsching, USW Vice President and Director, West Coast Office In Latin America, the holidays are filled with special wheat food traditions. Mexicans celebrate the visit of the Three Kings to the Christ child with Rosca de Reyes (Kings Cake Wreath), a ring-shaped sweet bread. In Peru, wheat consumption increases with Panettone bread sales. This […]
Wheat Growers See Challenges and Promise in African Markets
By Steve Mercer, USW Vice President of Communications Things have changed in Nigeria’s flour milling industry. Members of a U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) Board Team meeting with millers in Lagos recently learned more about how the West African nation’s economy and consumer preferences are forcing mills to reduce costs and produce a wider range […]
Wheat Leaders Will Share Good Will with Nigerian, South African Customers
When he joined USDA in 2017 as the first Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, Ted McKinney said he anticipated investing significant time overseas building trust, opening doors for farmers and processors [and] removing trade barriers. “Half the battle of winning the game is showing up,” he said. U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) completely agrees […]
Promoting Wheat Around the World
As U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) President Vince Peterson often says, at any given hour of the day there is someone, somewhere, talking about the quality, reliability and value of U.S. wheat. Wheat Letter wants to share some of the ways USW was working in June and July to promote all six classes of U.S. wheat in an […]
USW Board Team Strengthens Relationships with Customers in China and Taiwan
By Stephanie Bryant-Erdmann, USW Market Analyst Every year USW sends board teams overseas to give leading U.S. wheat farmers the opportunity to learn from customers about the wheat quality characteristics their markets prioritize, and to strengthen the relationship between wheat farmers and their customers. One of those teams returned from a trip to Asian countries […]
Overseas Customers Benefit from Continued Education
Each year, USW sponsors overseas customers to travel to the United States as members of a trade delegation or to attend a short course, with more than 100 customers participating each year. In 2017, USW sponsored a total of 72 participants from Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe to attend seven short courses and four […]
Visiting Farmers Learn Quality is Very Important to Latin American Customers
By Shawn Campbell, USW Deputy Director, West Coast Office Wheat harvest is the culmination of a year’s worth of hard work and prayers. As the big day approaches, farmers contemplate many questions. What is the yield going to be? Is the quality going to be good enough to avoid discounts? Will the price go up […]