USW Shares Trade Opportunities with a Post-Brexit United Kingdom
By Ben Conner, USW Vice President of Policy Last week, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) submitted comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on negotiating objectives for a potential trade agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom (UK). The UK has been part of the European Union (EU) since before the creation […]
2019 Trade Policy Outlook
By Ben Conner, USW Vice President of Policy If there is anything we learned from 2018, it is that the trade policy landscape is unpredictable. While many upcoming or ongoing issues are known, there are a range of possible outcomes within each, some of which could drastically alter the trade landscape in the future. Let […]
Farm Bill Renews Export Market Development Partnership with the Federal Government
U.S. farmers consistently produce enough wheat to meet domestic demand and still have about half of their crop available to overseas customers year. They support U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) with a portion of 17 state checkoff programs to build and maintain overseas demand. In turn that support qualifies USW to apply for program funding appropriated […]
To Ag or Not to Ag*
By Ben Conner, USW Vice President of Policy. To Ag. That is obviously the answer. The question is if the trade negotiations between the United States and the European Union should include agriculture at all. We already covered that in August after the two governments agreed to begin negotiations. This week, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) […]
Administration Help Needed to Protect U.S. Wheat Exports to Japan
Following is a transcript of oral testimony by U.S. Wheat Associates President Vince Peterson at a public hearing held Dec. 10, 2018, by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on potential trade negotiations with Japan. “Thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of U.S. wheat farmers about trade negotiations with Japan.“Our mission is to […]
Diverse Group of U.S. Farmers Visit Cuban Farms, Discuss Future Relationships
U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is very pleased to see that the grass roots effort to build a lasting, open trading relationship between Cuba is still going strong. Delegates from the U.S. wheat, soybean, corn, poultry, potato, rice, sorghum and barley industries recently traveled to Cuba to meet with Cuban government officials and farmers. Kansas wheat […]
Twenty-Three Pages You Just Cannot Miss
By Ben Conner, USW Vice President of Policy Longtime readers of “Wheat Letter” know that there is a certain time of year when the “Wheat Letter” must be opened. When its content must be consumed with abandon. When one must read an article so important that – despite all the other wonderful “Wheat Letter” […]
Bring the Farm Bill Home
The long run up to the United States midterm election is over and (most) of the votes have been counted. There will be new members of Congress sworn in next January, some that may serve on the committees that focus on agricultural policy. Before then, however, the current Congress has an opportunity to pass the […]
Annual World Food Prize Event Focuses on Nutrition Challenges and Food Production Growth
By Elizabeth Westendorf, USW Assistant Director of Policy In its 2018 Global Agricultural Productivity (GAP) Index, the Global Harvest Initiative has reported that food production growth is not keeping up with the rising population pressures. The past four years, the index has reported a similar trend, and that gap is widening. This is one reason […]
A Wild Trade Ride
By Ben Conner, USW Vice President of Policy U.S. trade policy has been going through a wild ride recently. The current U.S. administration believes that the existing trade architecture is outdated or constricting, and new forms of leverage are needed to achieve its goals. Meanwhile, they have correctly pointed out that some countries seem to […]