Diminishing Low Protein Premiums Add Value to Soft White Export Supplies
By Stephanie Bryant-Erdmann, USW Market Analyst Four consecutive years of drought, which shrunk soft white (SW) production and increased average protein levels, had the market rationing demand through low protein premiums. Now, after two years of more normal weather patterns, low protein premiums are quickly disappearing providing an excellent buying opportunity for U.S. wheat customers. […]
Premiums for Protein on the Rise
By Stephanie Bryant-Erdmann, USW Market Analyst Much needed rain across the U.S. Northern Plains this week gave emerging hard red spring (HRS) and durum crops a drink, but the rain was bookended by hot, windy conditions and likely did little to alleviate drought conditions. Total rainfall for the region ran 60 to 75 percent below […]
Freeze, Snow Effects Likely Cut into World’s High Quality Wheat Supply
It is still too early to project specific effects on wheat yields for marketing year 2017/18 from the late-season cold and snow event in Kansas and parts of Colorado, Texas and Nebraska. However, those close to the situation suggest the freeze and snow only add fuel to an already established trend. “The big story with […]
Wheat Tour Finds Lower Yield Potential; Snow and Freeze Losses Still Uncertain
By Stephanie Bryant-Erdmann, USW Market Analyst This week I joined the annual Wheat Quality Council (WQC) “Hard Red Wheat Tour” for an early survey of the new crop. Each year, participants gather in Manhattan, KS, and spend the next two and a half days in small team, randomly stopping at 14, 15 or more fields […]
First Reports on HRW Damage from Late Season Snow and Freeze Events: “Just Terrible.”
By Steve Mercer, USW Vice President of Communications Kansas Wheat CEO Justin Gilpin is not a fellow who is prone to hyperbole. So, when @jp_gilp “Tweets” to the world that “we lost the Western Kansas wheat crop,” people notice. Blizzard conditions and up to 18 inches (45.8 cm) of heavy, wet snow came down hard […]
Wheat Quality Improvement Team Travels to Asia to Discuss Quality Control
By Steve Wirsching, USW Vice President and Director, West Coast Office The USW Wheat Quality Improvement Team (WQIT) connects wheat breeders who develop new varieties with overseas customers to discuss which quality characteristics end users value the most. This is essential to the breeding process because for farmers about half of their wheat is exported […]
Wheat Quality Improvement Team to Hear Customer Preferences in Asia
By Steve Wirsching, USW Vice President and Director, West Coast Office This week and next, USW is conducting a top-level Wheat Quality Improvement Team (WQIT) of U.S. wheat breeders taking face-to-face meetings with Asian milling and baking quality control managers to discuss end-use quality and functionality. The breeders will hear first-hand what quality characteristics customers […]
Dave Green Replaces Ben Handcock at Wheat Quality Council
Dave Green, a familiar face to many who have participated in the Wheat Quality Council (WQC) Hard Red Winter Wheat Tour and Hard Spring Wheat Tour over the years, took the reins of the organization from the incomparable Ben Handcock at the conclusion of the WQC annual meeting this week in Kansas City, MO. Everyone […]
Premiums Rise as Supplies of High Protein Wheat Fall
By Stephanie Bryant-Erdmann, USW Market Analyst As the Dec. 9 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimate (WASDE) confirms, global wheat supplies are at a record high this year. USDA increased its estimate for 2016/17 global wheat production to 751 million metric tons (MMT), up 2 percent from 2015/16 and 6 percent above the 5-year average. […]
Wheat Breeders Traveling to Asia to Listen and Share with Milling and Baking Customers
Each year the United States exports, on average, 25 to 35 million metric tons (MMT) of wheat, which accounts for roughly 50 percent of the annual crop. This makes the voice of overseas customers important to wheat research. To demonstrate that importance, four wheat breeders will travel with U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) to Asia, April […]