First Look: Larger Hard Red Winter Wheat Crop Offers More Consistent Quality
Continuous varietal improvement and improved growing conditions following a multiple year drought helped Central and Southern Plains farmers produce a more familiar, well-balanced hard red winter (HRW) wheat crop for 2024. A wider range of conditions in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) HRW crop encouraged higher yields with lower, but highly functional, protein levels. Both supplies […]
First Look: Another High-Quality Soft Red Winter Wheat Crop
In its first detailed report on U.S. wheat quality in 2024, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is pleased to report that farmers growing soft red winter (SRW) wheat weathered some challenging conditions to produce another high-quality crop for domestic and overseas customers. The 2024 SRW crop benefitted from excellent winter moisture followed by mid-season drought and […]
Positive Findings During Hard Red Spring and Durum Wheat Tour Produces Optimism in North Dakota
After three days of analyzing, counting and calculating, participants came to a common conclusion: North Dakota wheat farmers may have produced their best crop in decades. That was the general feeling as the Wheat Quality Council’s 2024 Hard Red Spring and Durum Wheat Tour wrapped up on July 25. More than 40 millers, bakers, grain […]
USW Helps Customers Understand the Value of U.S. Wheat Inspection Procedures
The U.S. farm families who produce the wheat and the industry that supplies it are committed to keeping and open and transparent market. There are many reasons why our overseas customers know they can depend on our supply chain’s integrity, the quality of U.S. wheat and our unmatched reliability as a supplier. A crucial example […]
USW Work in Bangladesh Designed to Develop Market for HRS and Other Wheat Classes
U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is continuing an effort to build demand for U.S. wheat in Bangladesh, where flour mills have recently expressed interest in importing more wheat with stronger gluten for a variety of end products enjoyed by the country’s 171 million consumers. This month, USW Assistant Regional Director Joe Bippert and Dr. Shahidul Islam, […]
2024 Wheat Tour Sees Higher Yield Potential Amid Variable Conditions
Even with variable crop conditions, the 2024 Wheat Quality Council (WQC) Hard Winter Wheat Tour has estimated a total weighted average yield of 46.5 bushels per acre (bu/a) across its annual tour routes in Kansas with swings into southern Nebraska and northern Oklahoma. The tour yield estimate is up significantly from its 2023 estimate of […]
U.S. Wheat Industry Focuses on Continuous Wheat Quality Improvement
Wheat quality improvement is at the heart of the U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) mission to enhance the value of U.S. wheat for overseas customers and profitability for U.S. wheat producers. Improved quality makes U.S. wheat more competitive in global markets and, in turn, increased demand benefits producers at home. USW cooperates with stakeholders across the […]
Using SRC Testing to Improve Wheat Quality
Editor’s Note: The following excerpts appear with permission from an article by Michelle Smith was published in “World Grain” on March 11, 2024. Because the quality and attributes of flour can vary by season and variety, it’s important for bakers to understand what works best in their products. One tool that can help them determine […]
Farmer-Backed Heartland Plant Innovations Helps Unlock Wheat’s Genetic Potential
Six sets of seven chromosomes make the wheat genome five times larger than the human genome. This complexity makes wheat breeding even more difficult, but technology like double haploid breeding has helped public and private researchers unlock potential agronomic, quality and even nutritional traits. Key to this work is a farmer-backed, for-profit plant services company […]
Farmers, Industry Leaders Travel the Globe to Share Crop Quality Information
A month-long effort that had U.S. wheat farmers and industry experts presenting the 2023 Crop Quality Report to customers in more than two dozen countries is winding down with a collective sense of accomplishment. It is believed at least one attendance record was set this year. The annual series of U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) Crop […]