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Sharing Stories About U.S. Farm Families and Delicious Food

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is pleased to help share the positive stories about how U.S. farmers, ranchers and fisheries are producing excellent quality, delicious food for the world in highly sustainable ways.

In fact, U.S. wheat farm families are featured in several video stories created by USDA and U.S. trade associations as part of a “DelicioUS!” promotion on YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Common Themes, Shared Values

These high-quality videos illustrate the reality of U.S. agriculture using an approach that shows the diversity and uniqueness of agriculture and cultures in each region of the country. At the same time, the stories capture common themes shared by the multi-generational family operations including their commitment to sustainability, innovation, producing delicious food, and community.

These are values shared by the U.S. wheat farmers USW represents in overseas markets.

Scenes from the Volk family farm in North Dakota and Peters family operation in Oklahoma are included in the “Midwest” program that features the people, crops and food grown in the heartland of the United States.

The images of “amber waves of grain” from Padget Ranches in Oregon and the Bailey family farm in Washington open the video about food production in the “West.”

Sustainable Source of Wheat for the World

U.S. wheat farmers work every day to contribute to a sustainable future in agriculture. Sustainability is reflected in agronomic practices, research and development, and transportation methods, all of which contribute to making the United States a sustainable source of wheat for export. They are proud to represent U.S. agriculture and help share delicious food with other families across the planet.

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Update – Looking Ahead to Winter Wheat Planted Area Estimates

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will publish its first official estimate of U.S. winter wheat planted area for the 2023/24 crop on Jan. 12, 2023. Along with U.S. wheat importing customers, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) will be watching trade estimates before the report is issued and make some comparisons to NASS estimates in 2022.

USDA’s Economic Research Service has noted that “the general downward trend in U.S. wheat plantings over the last two decades is attributable to lower relative returns for wheat, changes in Government programs that give farmers more planting flexibility, and increased competition in global wheat markets.”

The past three marketing years, however, have seen a slight change in that trend.

At planting time in 2022, the relatively high farm gate prices for hard red winter (HRW), soft red winter (SRW) and white winter wheat (including winter soft white and hard white) provided some incentive to plant more winter wheat. Looking ahead, the pre-report predictions to date for total winter wheat planted area of between 34 million acres (MA) and 36 MA are both higher than the final 2022 crop NASS estimate of 33.27 MA. A survey of traders by Bloomberg posted Jan. 9 estimated total winter wheat planted area at 34.5 MA.

More Planted Acres Expected

Wheat analyst Jeffery McPike with WASEDA Commodities and McWheat Trading Inc., recently pegged that group’s initial 2023 planted area forecast at 35.7 MA that, if realized, would be a 7.3% increase over NASS’s final 2022 estimate. The high end of estimates in Bloomberg’s survey is 36.2 MA.

The group’s forecast of 24.8 MA for HRW planted area is 7% more than the final NASS 2022 estimate based mainly on expected gains in the Central and Southern Plains. The Bloomberg trader survey estimate averaged 23.9 MA.

McPike said the group is bullish on SRW planted area with a forecast of 7.22 MA, which is 11% more than NASS’ final 2022 estimate. For example, an Arkansas Extension official recently reported that “good prices and a relatively dry fall likely encouraged farmers to plant more winter wheat for a 2023 harvest. Early estimates are that winter wheat acres in Arkansas will be up 25% to 30% from last year.” Traders surveyed by Bloomberg estimate the average at 6.9 MA.

The group sees only a slight uptick in white winter wheat planted area to 3.65 MA. The Bloomberg trader estimate average was 3.7 MA. The January 2022 NASS estimate for winter white planted area was 3.56 MA.

Bar chart depicting USDA's estimates of U.S. wheat planted area from 2013 through 2022, by wheat class.

Change in Direction. Compared to the general downward trend in U.S. wheat planted area, higher wheat prices for farmers have provided an incentive to plant more wheat the past three marketing years. Planted area for the three winter wheat classes (HRW, SRW and white winter) are all up since 2019/20. Note that “White” wheat on this chart includes spring-planted soft white wheat.

And Watch Harvested Area and Production Estimates

NASS will adjust its winter wheat planted area forecast throughout 2023. And, as McPike pointed out, the currently unknown harvested area, along with production estimates, will be  major price determinants. For example, compare the final 2022 NASS estimate of HRW planted area of 33.89 MA to final harvested area of 24.05 MA.

“After the NASS figure is published and gets digested, the market will likely quickly move to winterkill issues (again) in the U.S., Europe, and the Black Sea regions,” McPike said, “and harvested area discussions, along with the many macro issues that continue to roil the markets.”

The annual NASS Winter Wheat Seedings report will be published here: https://usda.library.cornell.edu/concern/publications/z890rt24s,

An additional source of information is the USDA Economic Research Service December 2022 Wheat Outlook published at https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/cz30ps64c/hh63v4630/zc77v192n/WHS-22l.pdf.

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Wheat Industry News

News and Information from Around the U.S. Wheat Industry

Speaking of Wheat

“U.S. Wheat Technical Services is an extremely important part of our outreach and service to customers around the world. We got a first-hand look at the importance of the technical details by milling most of the six classes of wheat that the U.S. produces and that is used domestically and on the international scene. For state wheat commissioners, it’s invaluable to understand the details, as well as the competitive world we are in.” – Bill Flory, USW Board of Directors, Winchester, Idaho, after participating in the IGP-KSU Flour Milling for State Wheat Commissioners and Staff Short Course. Read and watch more here.

Roy Chung

Roy Chung

Congratulations to Roy Chung

Our colleague and influential South Asia Bakery Consultant Roy Chung marked 45 years with U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) Jan. 1, 2023. Roy was introduced to USW legacy organization Western Wheat Associates (WWA) in 1986 serving as an assistant and interpreter for a product demonstration in his father’s bakery in Malaysia. He accepted a position with WWA after earning an engineering degree. Capital Press reporter Matthew Weaver profiled Roy in 2018, reprinted here with permission. Roy also described his early career in a 2021 Planet Money podcast titled “The Wheat Whisperer.” The U.S. wheat farmers we represent and his colleagues past and present send Roy congratulations and thanks for his long and dynamic service!

Portrait of Terry Herman, USW Chief Technology Officer

Terry Herman

Terry Herman Marks 30 Years with USW

Congratulations to our colleague, Chief Technology Officer Terry Herman who celebrated 30 years with USW on Jan. 4, 2023. A Virginia native, Terry has played a key role in developing the data bases USW uses to collaborate with USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service export market development programs, maintaining our digital systems and most recently migrating crucial data to “the cloud.” Thanks for all your work over the years, Terry!

 

Q&A with PNW Wheat Commission Leaders

In the latest issue of Capital Press, reporter Matthew Weaver shares his roundtable interview with Casey Chumrau, CEO, Washington Wheat Commission; Amanda Hoey, CEO of Oregon Wheat; and Britany Hurst Marchant, Executive Director of Idaho Wheat Commission, all pictured in the Capital Press photo at the top of this page. USW is proud to be partners in promoting U.S. wheat exports with these Pacific Northwest leaders. Read the article here.

Latest USDA Wheat Outlook Examines Rail Transportation Issues

The December 2022 Wheat Outlook from the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) explains USDA’s changes in the official projections for U.S. and world wheat supply and use in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 marketing years that were released in the December 9 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report. A special article, “Rail Transportation Challenges Among Major Factors Weighing on U.S. Wheat Exports,” is included. Read the report here.

K-State Research: Heat, Drought, Wind Hurting Wheat Yields

The compounding influence of adverse dry, hot and windy climate patterns slashed wheat yield 4% in Kansas and five other Great Plains states over the past 40 years, Kansas State University researchers reported in the scientific journal Nature Communications. Xiaomao Lin, professor of agricultural climatology, said the study was the first to quantify a connection between change in the nation’s climate and wheat production. The simultaneous combination of low relative humidity with high temperatures and strong winds were shown to be a negative climate risk in terms of yields. Read more here.

Researchers Identify Significant Diversity in U.S. Wheat

A team of researchers that studied the biodiversity of “the U.S. wheat crop over the past century” has reported results in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Stating that there is a concern “that modern cropping systems lead to an erosion in crop genetic diversity,” the researchers in fact found that “contrary to commonly held perceptions on the negative impact of modern cropping systems on crop genetic diversity, our results demonstrated a win-win outcome where the widespread uptake of scientifically selected varieties increased both crop production and crop diversity.” Read more here.

Subscribe to USW Reports

USW publishes various reports and content available to subscribe to, including a bi-weekly newsletter highlighting recent Wheat Letter blog posts and wheat industry news, the weekly Price Report, and the weekly Harvest Report (available May to October). Subscribe here.

Follow USW Online

Visit our Facebook page for the latest updates, photos, and discussions of what is going on in the world of wheat. Also, find breaking news on Twitter, video stories on Vimeo, and more on LinkedIn.

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Farmers, Partnerships Credited on 10th Anniversary of Kansas Wheat Innovation Center

The 10-year anniversary of the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center (KWIC) was not celebrated as a typical milestone event. Farmers and partners who’ve invested time, effort and dollars into the research facility described the occasion more as a “using one eye to look back.”

While keeping the other eye firmly on the future.

Kansas wheat farmer Ron Suppes, a Past Chair of U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and current Chairman of the Kansas Wheat Commission Research Foundation, addresses those gathered to celenrate the 10th anniversary of the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center

Kansas wheat farmer Ron Suppes, a Past Chair of U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and current Chairman of the Kansas Wheat Commission Research Foundation, addresses those gathered to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center.

“This place is here because a lot of people believed in supporting and growing the wheat industry, and they believed in the future of what we do,” Kansas wheat farmer Ron Suppes, a Past Chair of U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and current Chairman of the Kansas Wheat Commission Research Foundation, said during a Dec. 15 gathering to mark the anniversary.

“Some of those who had this vision are no longer with us, but they were among those who looked forward to developing new wheat varieties for farmers. As for the farmers, we have been willing to invest in sustainable and regenerative practices because we recognize the value of wheat research. Our customers rely on us to produce the best quality wheat in the world, and the work being done here has and will help us to do that.”

Suppes, one of several speakers who addressed the successes and ongoing work at the KWIC, also acknowledged that Fields Forward, a project of the Kansas Wheat Commission Research Foundation, reached its $4 million campaign goal to research sustainability in the U.S. wheat industry.

The KWIC was built by the Kansas Wheat Commission on land owned by Kansas State University, which granted the Commission a 50-year lease on the property. Construction began in October 2011 and the facility was completed in November 2012. Along with being home of the world-renowned Wheat Genetics Resource Center (WGRC), the 48,000 square foot KWIC facility includes research laboratories, greenhouses and office space that houses the Kansas Wheat Commission, the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, the Kansas Wheat Alliance and a host of research and partner organizations.

Gary Millershaski, a member of the USW Board of Directors and Chairman of the Kansas Wheat Commission, said wheat farmers appreciate the partners that led to creation of the KWIC.

“This facility was built by farmers through the wheat checkoff,” Millershaski said. “But there are a lot of groups, such as the International Grains Program, that play a very important part in what we do and what is done on the research front.”

Kansas Wheat CEO Justin Gilpin, far left, leads a tour of the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center.

Kansas Wheat CEO Justin Gilpin, far left, leads a tour of the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center.

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Video: USW Board Member Bill Flory Shares His Experience at the IGP-KSU Flour Milling Course

Bill Flory compared it to sliding his feet into someone else’s shoes. It’s a well-worn analogy but one that perfectly describes his experience during the recent flour milling course presented by the International Grains Program (IGP) Institute and Kansas State University (KSU).

“Getting a first-hand look at how wheat from my farm is milled to meet the needs and demands of customers is incredibly valuable,” Flory, a wheat farmer from Winchester, Idaho, and member of the U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) Board of Directors, said. “You analyze things from our customers’ points of view. The technical aspect of milling is something we as farmers — even those of us active with our state associations – rarely get to see. The knowledge we gained in the course can be shared with other farmers. And the things we learned will come in handy when we host trade teams from other countries or when we visit international markets to meet our customers.”

The IGP-KSU course conducted on the KSU campus in mid-December was considered a “deep dive” into flour milling. It was constructed specifically for producers who sit on the boards of state wheat organizations, as well as people who work for those organizations. Representatives from Idaho, Kansas, Oklahoma and Oregon engaged in the course led by Shawn Thiele, IGP Institute associate director and flour milling and grain processing curriculum manager.

Here is a short video featuring Flory’s take-aways from the three-day course:

 

 

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agricultural field of winter wheat under the snow

Wheat Industry News

Recent news and highlights from around the U.S. wheat industry.

Speaking of Wheat

“As far as wheat goes, Russian prices are at a very serious discount. I was personally hoping that the story about Russia’s wheat shipments now being identified as Ukrainian wheat would have caused a strengthening of ally and non-ally sentiments to avoid Russian wheat. I guess getting food bought is more important than politics. However, the decline in wheat has been so dramatic that it has found economic value domestically. We have heard of feedlots out west purchasing #2 hard red wheat for feed. That tells you that the wheat market relative to corn and other feed grains has found value.” – Bill Biedermann, Hedging strategist, AgMarket.Net, writing in Farm Futures.

2022 U.S. Holiday Office Schedule

In recognition of Christmas and New Year’s, the U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) Headquarters and West Coast Offices will be closed: Friday afternoon, Dec. 23; Monday, Dec. 26; Friday afternoon Dec. 30; and Jan. 2, 2023. The USW Wheat Letter email update will resume its bi-weekly schedule on Jan. 5, 2023. The USW Price Report will not be published Dec. 30; the report will resume its weekly schedule on Jan. 6, 2023.

Crossbreeding for Drought Tolerance

Crop Trust’s “wild relatives project” has developed a new drought-tolerant variety of durum wheat. The new wheat named “Jabal,” which means “mountain” in Arabic, was developed by farmers and crop scientists by crossing a commercial durum wheat with a wild relative from an arid region of Syria. The wild relatives project uses genetically diverse crop varieties to help develop more resilient and adaptive varieties of wheat, barley, rice, and potato that can withstand erratic and extreme weather conditions caused by climate change. Read more in The Guardian.

Satellite Imaging Quantifies Ukraine’s Wheat Harvest

U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth-observing satellites are deciphering some of the broad impacts of human conflict on the built and natural environment. On Dec. 2, NASA reported that satellite-based production numbers for the 2022 winter wheat crop in Ukraine suggest farmers had a largely successful harvest. The NASA Harvest team calculated a 26.6 million metric ton (MMT) wheat harvest in 2022, much higher than expected in leading forecasts. However, analysis showed that 5.8 MMT of wheat was harvested from areas that were not under Ukrainian control, likely benefiting Russian grain interests. Read more about the technology and outcome here.

Understanding USDA’s Export Sale Reporting Program

“Timely reporting and publishing of agricultural export sales data is key to effectively functioning markets. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is required by law to publicly release summary sales data obtained from U.S. exporters of many agricultural commodities” including U.S. wheat. Each week, U.S. exporters are required to report to USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) any sales transaction entered into with a buyer outside the United States. FAS publishes a weekly summary of export sales activity every Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET, unless a change is announced, and provides the data USW uses to publish its Commercial Sales Report. Read more about the program here.

Wheat Foods Council “Kernels” Magazine

“What do wheat farmers do after the harvest?” That’s a question answered by several friends of USW in the Winter 2022 issue of Kernels, published by the Wheat Foods Council. Three past and current USW farmer directors from Minnesota, Kansas and North Dakota talk about the work that goes on to maintain equipment, market wheat and plan the next season’s crops while finding a bit more time to spend with family and friends. The Wheat Foods Council, like USW, is directed by farmers and funded by state wheat commission member organizations. It is an industry-wide partnership dedicated to increasing domestic wheat foods consumption through nutrition information, research, education and promotional programs.

Clip from a story in the Winter 2022 issue of Kernels magazine published by the Wheat Foods Council.

Subscribe to USW Reports. 

USW publishes various reports and content available to subscribe to, including a bi-weekly newsletter highlighting recent Wheat Letter blog posts and wheat industry news, the weekly Price Report, and the weekly Harvest Report (available May to October). Subscribe here.

Follow USW Online

Visit our Facebook page for the latest updates, photos, and discussions of what is going on in the world of wheat. Also, find breaking news on Twitter, video stories on Vimeo, and more on LinkedIn.

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Taking a ‘Brief But Deep’ Dive into Flour Milling at KSU

Some have a basic understanding of the flour milling process. Some have absolutely no idea how wheat from a farm ends up as flour destined for a baker’s oven.

Regardless of their experience, farmers and State Wheat Commission staffers who gathered in Manhattan, Kansas, this week share a common destiny.

“Everybody is going to learn something,” said Shawn Thiele, who led the three-day flour milling course presented by the IGP Institute and Kansas State University (KSU). “From those who have experience with wheat and flour to those who’ve never stepped foot in a flour mill, the course is designed as a thorough look at the action of turning wheat into flour – step-by-step and step-by-step.”

Here is a short video from the first day of the three-day course:

Conducted at IGP and on the KSU campus, the Dec. 13 to 15 training – considered a “deep dive” into flour milling – is a condensed short course specifically built for producers who sit on the boards of state wheat organizations, as well as people who work for those organizations. Representatives from Idaho, Kansas, Oklahoma and Oregon were involved in the course. U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) staffers Peter Laudeman and Ralph Loos also took part.

“It is kind of amazing when you come to know what you didn’t know,” Martin Kerschen, a wheat farmer, a Kansas Wheat Commissioner and one of the students in the IGP-KSU flour milling class, said. “It’s clear how important details are when taking our wheat and turning it into something bakeries and consumers on the other side of the world really want and appreciate.”

In a flour milling lab at Kansas State University, USW's Mark Fowler and Kansas Farmer Martin Kerschen discuss the variety of flour products resulting from the milling process.

In a flour milling lab at Kansas State University, USW’s Mark Fowler and Kansas Farmer Martin Kerschen discuss the variety of flour products resulting from the milling process.

Hands-On Learning

The course included classroom trainings on wheat quality, global competition facing U.S. farmers, wheat cleaning and conditioning, and an overview of the mechanics of wheat milling. Participants also milled wheat during a hands-on laboratory workshop and later toured the KSU Hal Ross Four Mill.

USW Vice President of Global Technical Services Mark Fowler, an experienced flour milling instructor, also gave a presentation on the role quality plays in the global wheat market.

“USW finds a lot of value in these IGP-KSU courses because it provides producers and others we work with in the wheat industry insight into the relationship between wheat quality and flour performance,” Fowler said. “It gives growers a new perspective on what international customers look for in quality flour.”

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Quiet WASDE Includes Falling World Wheat Stocks

USDA released its December World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report Dec. 9, 2022, that included no substantial changes for global and domestic wheat markets. Given the overall volatility in 2022, a somewhat calming report was probably a blessing in disguise for wheat buyers who should, however, keep an eye on declining global stocks and exportable supplies.

Each month, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) updates a graphic summary the WASDE report that includes global wheat market factors, major country and regional export history, and U.S. wheat supply and demand summaries by class. Readers can review the report online here. Some highlights from the December report follow.

Stocks to Fall

Based on USDA’s latest global wheat production estimate of 781 million metric tons (MMT) and total use of 790 MMT, marketing year 2022/23 will be the third in a row and the fourth in the last five years in which use has exceeded production.

The WASDE report included a 500,000 metric ton drop in estimated global ending wheat stocks to 267.3 MMT. If realized, those supplies will be the lowest since 2013/14. Of that total, an estimated 54.5 MMT will be found in “Exporter” countries, 68.4 MMT will be in “Importer” countries and 144 MMT will be in China. That means 54% of global ending stocks are locked out of world trade, an amount that is up from USDA’s estimate of about 51% in December 2021.

Bar chart showing the global wheat Ending Stocks to Use ratios since 13/14.

Locked in China. Global wheat stocks-to-use ratios are much lower when China’s 144 MMT of wheat stocks are removed from the equation. The down-trend is clear and has accelerated since 2019/20. The current stocks-to-use ratio of 19% without China, which does not export wheat, is the  lowest level in more than 10 years. Source: USDA, U.S. Wheat Associates.

Given the poor condition of the Argentina wheat crop, USDA lowered ending stocks there by 500,000 metric tons, but increased European and Australian ending stocks. Analysts were somewhat surprised USDA did not change its 91 MMT estimate of Russian wheat production.

While USDA did not change its U.S. ending stocks estimate of 15.54 MMT in the latest WASDE report, it is the lowest U.S. ending stocks since marketing year 2007/08. Buyers that were in the market that year will remember the stunning run up in wheat prices fueled by extremely low global stocks. At one point that year, only a few weeks of world wheat supplies were available.

Low Exportable Supplies

In a video presentation on World Wheat Supply and Demand recorded for 2022 USW Crop Quality Seminars, USW Vice President and West Coast Office Director Steve Wirsching showed that ending stocks among exporting countries have declined significantly over the past five years.

“When exporters hold so few stocks, this increases market volatility and leads to higher wheat prices,” Wirsching said. A condition made even more uncertain by Russia’s on-going incursion into Ukraine.

Data from USDA's December WASDE report show wheat stocks are down, trade is up and use is up in 2022.

Wheat’s Balance Sheet. Data from USDA reflects the trend behind higher global wheat prices: falling supplies, increased trade and record demand year-over-year.

Trade Volume to Increase

The world wheat trade estimate increased in December by 2.2 MMT to 210.9 MMT. December’s report suggests higher exports from Ukraine, Russia and the EU. While expecting Australia’s exports to reach 27.5 MMT, almost a record volume, USDA also noted that a significant portion of Australia’s exports will be for animal feed following harvest rain and lower quality in New South Wales. The world total estimated exports and imports for the year now stands at 211 MMT

USDA did not change its U.S. wheat export volume estimate of 21.1 MMT, with slightly lower soft red winter (SRW) offsetting slightly higher hard red spring (HRW) and soft white (SW) exports.

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Legislation Supports Barge Transportation and Lower Snake River Dams

A coalition of U.S. farm and food industry groups recently expressed support for a bipartisan Congressional agreement that, in part, maintains navigational access to the Lower Snake River Dams.

The Agricultural Transportation Working Group noted that the Water Resources Development Act* (WRDA) of 2022 helps protect U.S. agriculture’s dependence on comprehensive transportation system including inland waterways and ports.

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) join the working group in its strong support for the sustainability and reliability of wheat transportation by barge.

Barges Move U.S. Wheat and Other Grains

The “WRDA can impact trade because barges move about half of all grains to export elevators …,” the ATWG said in a letter to Congressional committee leadership that negotiated the 2022 WRDA. “Critical farm inputs … are transported via the inland waterways system. From the Pacific Northwest to the Mississippi River and the Gulf Coast, the importance of inland waterways and ports to the ATWG and American agriculture is definitive.”

Grain barge navigation on the Columbia Snake River System is an essential part of a logistical web that moves over half of all U.S. wheat exports to more than 20 Pacific Rim countries including some of the largest U.S. wheat buyers in the world. The Snake River moves more than 10% of all wheat that is exported from the United States. U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and its state wheat commission members strongly support the sustainability and reliability of wheat transportation by barge.

Map of the Columbia Snake River System from Pacific Northwest Waterways Association

Eight Steps Down. Lock and dam systems on the Columbia Snake River System allow barges to efficiently and safely navigate the 222-meter elevation change from Lewiston, Idaho, to export elevators as far west as Longview, Wash. Illustration from the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association.

Protect Most Fuel-Efficient Shipping

The working group also noted that the removal of barge access through the Lower Snake River dams would require 39,000 rail cars or 152,000 semi-trucks to replace the cargo volume shipped on the Snake River in 2019, according to the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association. The group added that barging is the most fuel-efficient way to ship goods and failure to maintain access to this system would dramatically increase carbon emissions.

The Columbia Snake River System and other major U.S. river systems truly connect the United States to its trading partners. The river system keeps U.S. wheat competitive by moving higher volumes more efficiently. USW, its state wheat commission members, wheat associations and supply chain stakeholders in the tri-state region of Idaho, Oregon and Washington all support the Columbia Snake River System and will work to see that it continues working for wheat buyers around the world.

*The Water Resources Development Act is biennial legislation that authorizes flood control, navigation, and ecosystem restoration projects for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The final version comes after months of negotiations to reconcile Senate- and House-passed versions of the legislation.

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USW Trade Policy Team Addresses India’s Subsidies, Turkish Flour at WTO

During World Trade Organization (WTO) meetings in Geneva last week, USW’s Trade Policy team was able to dig deeper into programs in India and Turkey that have potential to affect global wheat trade and ultimately the bottom lines of U.S. farmers.

It was also able to touch base with U.S. wheat allies on trade issues with those countries.

USW Vice President of Trade Policy Dalton Henry and Director of Trade Policy Peter Laudeman had several consultations with delegations from other countries about the situation in India involving subsidies and wheat stocks.

India’s wheat and rice public stock holdings have been an ongoing concern, as the country’s subsidies programs have resulted in an oversupply of domestic wheat and rice. When India’s government releases those grain stocks into the export market, it often does so at prices below what it initially paid to purchase the wheat. Studies show the distortion of international wheat and rice trade from these policies cost U.S. wheat farmers anywhere from $500 million to $800 million per year in lost potential income.

“We had some very good conversations and although we did not receive all the answers we are looking for on India, it was encouraging to learn there is international support,” Laudeman said.

“We had support at home, too, from U.S.A. Rice, which was very helpful. It is also very important for U.S. agriculture when separate groups come together to work on issues.”

Turkey’s “flour dumping” was also a topic addressed during USW’s visit to Geneva. Turkey maintains substantial domestic support programs that encourage overproduction of flour, which the government then sells into overseas markets at less than global price levels. USW estimates the dumped flour hurts domestic milling industries around the world and subtracts anywhere from $100 million to $500 million from U.S. wheat export demand each year.

“We were previously able to submit a question to Turkey regarding the Turkish flour program through the U.S. delegation,” Laudeman explained. “Both Brazil and Australia joined us on that question, so at the WTO meeting we met with delegations from those countries and thanked them for their support. We also made it clear to other groups we met with that we would love to have more allies join us, if it makes sense for them to do so.”

Face-to-Face in Brussels

From Geneva, Henry and Laudeman traveled to Brussels for the annual meeting of the International Grain Trade Coalition (IGTC), an international organization that advocates for better trade policies and global food security.

“Many of the trade barriers that U.S. wheat producers face today aren’t tariffs, but stem from restrictions on technologies used in agriculture, which is where IGTC really shines,” Henry said. “It gives us the opportunity to work hand-in-hand with countries that would normally be our export competitors to make sure markets remain open. IGTC has working groups ranging from pesticide MRLs (maximum residue limits) to plant breeding innovations, all of which are critical to U.S. growers.”

USW's Dalton Henry and Peter Laudeman attended the annual meeting of the International Grain Trade Coalition (IGTC), an international organization that advocates for better trade policies and global food security.

USW’s Dalton Henry and Peter Laudeman attended the annual meeting of the International Grain Trade Coalition (IGTC), an international organization that advocates for better trade policies and global food security. The meeting, held in Brussels, was the first in-person annual meeting in a few years due to the COVID pandemic.

The USW team was also able to meet new staff from global trade groups and get updated on several roles that transitioned during the pandemic.

“We were able to jump in and reengage with a lot of our grower and grain trade partners from all over the world,” Laudeman said. “If there is one key takeaway it’s that the global grain trade relies heavily on face-to-face interaction when it comes to supply chain relationships. This IGTC meeting was a good way to restart the interactions.”

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