U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) President and CEO Mike Spier joined the annual meeting of the Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association in early September. The day included updates, insights and connection opportunities. Spier provided strategic insight to Ohio leaders during a planning session. He then discussed how USW is positioning U.S. soft red winter (SRW) grown in Ohio as a win-win option for international customers to the full set of meeting attendees.

“It was really good to go to Ohio and join their meeting,” Spier said. “To be there in person and talk with their officers, board members and growers was an excellent opportunity to share USW’s perspective on the global marketplace for wheat, including how we are promoting the good milling and baking performance of SRW to international customers.”

A Panel on Policy and Performance

During the annual meeting, Spier joined a panel of dynamic grain industry leaders. The panel included Ryan LeGrand, CEO of the U.S. Grains and Bioproducts Council, and Neil Caskey, CEO of the National Corn Growers Association. The three leaders discussed pressing issues that directly impact farmers, such as federal trade policy, ongoing trade negotiations and the complexities of global market competition. Spier provided a clear vision for how U.S. wheat maintains its competitive edge by consistently demonstrating high quality and reliable supplies of SRW wheat.

For SRW wheat farmers in the audience, Spier did have good news to share on export sales. After hitting the second-lowest production record in 2019/2020, SRW production has been on the rise, driven in part by the advantages of double-cropping with soybeans.

As production has improved over the last five years, so have SRW wheat exports. About 22% of the U.S. SRW crop is exports each year, averaging 2.99 million metric tons (MMT) (110 million bushels) over the last five years. In the 2024/2025 marketing year, exports were 88% higher than the lows in 2020/2021.

This momentum has continued into the current marketing year, with commercial sales running 8% ahead of the five-year average and export shipments up 20% from the five-year average. Overall, the United States has sold nearly 1.77 MMT (65.0 million bushels) of U.S. SRW wheat as of August 28.

Seeing Success in SRW Market Development

USW’s strategic efforts to build customer relationships and promote SRW wheat have been successful. Spier shared how buyers are responding to trade servicing, technical assistance and other market promotion work.

The USW offices in Mexico City and Santiago, with support from the USDA, has been instrumental in securing sales across Latin America and the Caribbean. In the 2024/2025 marketing year, almost 90% of SRW wheat exports went to this region.

Mexican imports of SRW have increased substantially over the last 10 years. Today, Mexico is the largest buyer of SRW, importing 1.34 MMT (49.4 million bushels) in the 2024/2025 marketing year. In Colombia, the third-largest buyer of SRW, USW sent a key customer to a technical course in Thailand. Following the training, the company invested in a new solvent retention capacity (SRC) system to improve their flour blends, a move that has helped commercial sales to Colombia rise 23% year-over-year. Spier also detailed similar activities in Panama, Trinidad and Tobago and Nigeria that resulted in direct sales.

Continued Focus on SRW Quality

Spier’s visit to Ohio was more than a speaking engagement. It was an affirmation of USW’s commitment to its state wheat commission members. By connecting with growers in person and highlighting the tangible success of SRW market development work, he demonstrated how USW’s strategic work directly benefits the Ohio farmers who plant and harvest the crop each year.

Looking forward, USW is quickly wrapping up the analysis of the 2025 SRW wheat harvest. The upcoming 2025 U.S. Wheat Crop Quality Report will provide in-depth analysis on the latest harvest. The report will include a detailed breakdown of grade factors, kernel characteristics, and milling and baking performance. This will be followed by a series of USW Crop Quality Seminars. In these seminars, experts, including wheat commission staff from states like Ohio, will present data to customers around the world. This approach ensures transparent and timely information sharing that empowers buyers and strengthens the U.S. wheat supply chain from the field to the flour mill.