A busy U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) trade team season begins with the arrival of Japanese flour milling executives on April 26. It ends in mid-September, when the Taiwan Agricultural Trade Goodwill Mission makes its biennial visit to Washington, D.C. to focus on trade and trade relationships.

Throughout the summer, buyers and milling staff from South America, Ecuador, South Korea, the Philippines, Chile and Southeast Asia will come to the U.S. to learn about the wheat supply chain and meet farmers who provide high-quality U.S. wheat.

In all, nine different teams will visit at least a dozen states this year. Included is a team of South American flour millers that will take what is best described as a wide-angle snapshot of the U.S. wheat industry by visiting farms and facilities in Ohio, Kansas, and Washington State.

Helping Farmers Help Their Customers

USW’s trade team effort serves many purposes. The most important purpose is bringing together the people who produce wheat and the people who purchase wheat.

“The goal when organizing trade teams each year is to provide a special opportunity for face-to-face meetings and interactions between farmers and wheat buyers from around the world who want to see how the U.S. supply chain works,” said USW Director of Programs Catherine Miller, who, along with USW’s West Coast Office, works with USW’s overseas offices and state wheat commissions to identify opportunities and put together informative itineraries for each team. “Giving trade teams a full picture is the plan, starting with farmers who produce high-quality wheat. Along with production, a key part of the effort is giving teams a look at how USW and our partners are constantly improving production practices. We also show them how wheat moves from field to export facility. Our state wheat associations and our partners in the U.S. wheat industry play an important role in helping make the trade team season a success.”

All Six Classes of U.S. Wheat

USW invests funding from USDA Foreign Agricultural Service export market development programs to bring several trade teams of overseas customers and stakeholders to the U.S.

Visiting wheat-producing states connects customers with farmers as well as state wheat commissions and industry partners that co-sponsor local visits. The goal is the same for USW and partners: to promote the reliability, quality, and value of all six U.S. wheat classes to customers around the world.

A Full Schedule

Senior executive members of the Japan Flour Millers Association will visit Washington, D.C., Idaho, and Oregon. That trade team visit will include meetings at USW headquarters in Arlington, Va., and at USDA.

In Idaho, the team will visit the farm of USW Chairman Clark Hamilton.

“Having customers come a very long way to meet us and to see our production practices and our farms is very important,” Hamilton, who has hosted teams in the past, including one made up of South American millers in 2022. “It really means a lot to see the interest they have in our operations and are in our crops. But there is also a personal aspect. We get to know each other and that is extremely rewarding. For sure, it’s business, and there is a lot of business to discuss. But we also form relationships that we all value.”

In Oregon, the Japanese team will meet with staff at USW’s West Coast Office in Portland, as well as the Oregon Wheat Commission. It will also meet with exporters and the Wheat Marketing Center.

Welcoming the Taiwanese

USW is one of several U.S. agriculture cooperators helping host the team making up the Taiwan Agricultural Trade Goodwill Mission. The Mission is organized by the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), which states its goal as “strengthening agricultural relationships between Taiwan and the United States, and focusing on building relationships between Taiwanese industry members and U.S. suppliers.”

During Taiwan’s last agricultural trade goodwill mission to the U.S., in September 2022, officials signed letters of intent with USW and other U.S. agricultural industry associations to purchase wheat, soybean and corn.

USW will help organize a reception for the Taiwan Agricultural Trade Goodwill Mission in Washington, D.C.

Dates and Places

Below is the schedule for USW’s trade teams in 2025 (the schedule is subject to change, and additional teams may be added to the schedule):

April 26-May 3: Japan Flour Milling Executives – Washington, D.C., Idaho, Oregon

June 9-14: South American Milling Association Team – Ohio, Kansas, Washington

July 6-13: Ecuadorian Trade Mission – Idaho, Oklahoma, North Dakota

July 6-13: Japanese Mid-Level Management Team – Washington, Montana, Oregon

July 21-30: Korean Wheat Crop Survey Team – Washington, Montana, Oregon

July 30 – Aug. 2: Philippines Trade Team – Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon

August: Chilean Technical Mission – Oregon, Montana, Nebraska

Aug. 3-13: South Asia Regional Trade Team – Montana, Washington, Idaho, Oregon

Sept. 13-27: Taiwan Agricultural Trade Goodwill Mission – Washington, D.C., South Dakota, Idaho, Montana