Springtime Refresher: How USW Keeps U.S. Wheat Producers, Customers Informed
Early spring – before the harvest of winter wheat and the planting of spring wheat – is a perfect time to highlight tools U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) provides to inform U.S. wheat farmers and their customers around the world.
It’s also a good time to remind readers of this blog how to access those USW tools.
USW Price Report
USW gathers information from market sources to compile timely reports on prices and export sales of U.S. wheat. The USW Price Report, which is sent to subscribers each Friday, also includes updates on market conditions and input from people involved in each step of the wheat trading process.
Monitoring the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBOT) and Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX) wheat futures is only part of the process.
“A huge component is talking with the grain trade, farmers and other industry representatives to get a firsthand account of what is going on in the market and how it is impacting wheat prices,” explained USW Market Analysis Tyllor Ledford, who is responsible for the USW Price Report. “By reaching out to each segment of the trade process, I try to get as balanced view as I can of what is going on in the wheat marketplace and really understand what is driving movements.”
Click HERE to sign up to receive USW’s Price Report.
Whether it’s harvest season, planting season – or the brief windows of time in between – USW provides several products and platforms to keep wheat farmers and customers informed. All you need to do is sign up.
USW Commercial Sales Report
While the USW Price Report includes an update on commercial sales of U.S. wheat, more detailed information is available in the USW Commercial Sales Report, published each Thursday on the USW website and also compiled by Ledford.
Using data sourced from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Weekly Export Sales Report, the Commercial Sales Report contains wheat export sales-to-date by country and class for the current marketing year compared to the previous marketing year on the same date. The report also includes a 10-year commercial sales history by class and country.
USW Supply and Demand Report
USW’s Supply and Demand Report is published monthly on the USW website. Based on USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE), it includes U.S. wheat supply and demand summaries by class, as well as market factors and country- and region-specific export history.
Harvest Reports
Beginning in May and running through mid-October, USW and partner organizations compile updates on crop quality, harvest progress and crop conditions for hard red winter (HRW), soft red winter (SRW), hard red spring (HRS), soft white (SW) and durum wheat.
Each week, the USW Harvest Report is emailed to those who have signed up to receive it.
“The weekly harvest report is an example of how we keep everyone in the industry regularly updated on the wheat crop and current market conditions,” said USW Vice President of Programs Erica Oakley, who handles compilation of the Harvest Report. “We gather information about each class and each state that is in the process of harvest. It’s a very helpful way to monitor production throughout the harvest season.”
Click HERE to sign up to receive USW’s Harvest Report.
Wheat Letter
If you are reading this, you likely already subscribe to USW’s Wheat Letter, a blog and news source that focuses on issues facing U.S. wheat farmers – trade policy, crop quality and other pertinent wheat industry news.
The blog is updated regularly throughout the week, with a newsletter-style collection of those blog posts emailed to subscribers every other Thursday.
Click HERE to sign up to receive USW’s Wheat Letter. You can also pass this link along to someone who would be interested in subscribing.
Articles of Interest
Early each morning, USW Director of Programs Catherine Miller compiles Articles of Interest, a daily news report by conducting web searches to identify industry-related news articles. The goal is to help keep everyone updated on issues and events that may affect the U.S. wheat industry.
“It’s a news brief that highlights a variety of topics, including trade policy issues, supply and demand situations, wheat research and breeding crop conditions and news that involves the people who work in the industry,” said Miller. “We see it as a food way to start the day with the latest news and serves as a platform to share important stories an articles from all over the world.”
To be considered for the USW Articles of Interest mailing list, email [email protected].
Social Media
The newest platform in USW’s social media offerings is the USW YouTube Channel, which holds a growing number of USW-produced videos featuring USW staff, activities and partners.
USW is also has its own Facebook page, Twitter Account and Linked-In profile, each used to share information and quickly and efficiently.
