Producing the Story of the Reliable System that Transports Wheat from the U.S. Plains to Customers Around the World
Farmers at Heart of the Story
The wheat was still green and had only recently headed when a film crew showed up on Derek Sawyer’s Kansas farm this spring. Weeks later, in summer, the same crew set cameras up on the edge of a golden Nebraska wheat field to capture harvest by Kent Lorens.
Though their 2024 crops were at very different stages, both farmers shared similar sentiments: “What we do here is only a part of the story.”
That story – how a reliable system of trucks, trains and ships moves U.S. wheat from farm field to grain elevator to shipping port and finally on to customers around the world – is being told by U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) in a new video project now in production.
Kent Lorens and his family work together to harvest the 2024 wheat crop in Stratton, Nebraska. Lorens is one of the farmers who helps USW tell the story of how a reliable system of trucks, trains and ships moves U.S. wheat from farm field to grain elevator to shipping port – and finally on to customers around the world.
From Field to Gulf to Customer
Specifically, the story follows wheat grown in the Plains states and exported through the Texas Gulf. It highlights the fact that, no matter where they are located around the globe, customers count on the U.S. as the world’s most reliable supplier of high-quality wheat. In one segment of the project, a top international buyer of U.S. wheat appears in his company’s flour mill to emphasize the importance of sourcing the class of U.S. wheat that is needed – when it is needed. Appearing on their respective farms, Sawyer and Lorens discuss the care they take to sustainably grow high-quality wheat and explain how they value their customers. And how they also value the supply chain that delivers their wheat.
A USW film crew spent a spring day on the farm of Derek Sawyer in McPherson, Kansas to learn how his family works to grow a high-quality wheat crop each year. Sawyer also explained how U.S. farmers value their customers, as well as the supply chain that delivers their wheat.
Many Factions Working Together
Local grain elevators across the Plains and the rail system that connects them to export facilities is also highlighted.
To capture the final chapter of the story, USW was in Houston in early September to oversee filming at an export elevator. While 110-car unit trains filled with wheat from the Plains unloaded on one end of the facility, two large bulk carrier ships were being loaded in an adjacent shipping canal. When filled with U.S. with hard red winter (HRW) wheat, those ships were headed for Africa and South America.
In early September, USW traveled to Houston to film the unloading of trains filled with wheat from the Plains states and the subsequent loading of bulk carrier ships that deliver high-quality U.S. wheat to customers around the world.
USW Plays Important Role
As an important part of its trade service support, USW works directly with overseas buyers to answer questions and resolve issues in purchasing, shipping, or using U.S. wheat. USW does this through regional and country offices, trade delegations to the United States, regular crop and market condition updates, quality surveys and other activities. The organization looks forward to sharing this video story of U.S. wheat reliability and quality that provides such excellent value to the world’s wheat buyers.
