Wheat Industry News

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

Speaking of Wheat. “We know what the [world] population is expected to grow to, and … they are …  going to eat more so we need to improve our grain yield by 1.4% to 1.7% annually. And currently in the Great Plains, the breadbasket of America, we are at 0.9%. So, if you do not have a plan to raise grain yield by 1.4% to 1.7% annually, you have a plan to fail. And failure cannot be an option.” – Dr. Stephen Baenziger, Professor Emeritus of Agronomy, University of Nebraska-Lincoln describing an important reason why hybrid wheat should be developed and commercialized in an article, “At Last, A Future for Hybrid Wheat” by Josh Sosland in World-Grain.com.

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) Co-sponsors Wheat Quality Initiative. A research project just underway aims to prove properly managed wheat of specific varieties can simultaneously be high yielding, high quality and be highly profitable for the grower. The project will unfold over the next three years under the auspices of the Wheat Action Plan, created collaboratively by the National Association of Wheat Growers, the National Wheat Foundation and key partners from several segments of the wheat industry including USW, which has contributed funding and quality analysis concepts. Read more about the project from Sosland Publishing.

Spring Wheat Prices. DTN Lead Analyst Todd Hultman on July 6 wrote that September Minneapolis (hard red spring) wheat prices turned more volatile the past three months, but continue to challenge their highs, while crops have USDA’s lowest good-to-excellent rating since 1988, (see DTN ProphetX chart below). Meanwhile, Kansas City (hard red winter) and Chicago (soft red winter) futures prices are down considerably from May 7 highs of $7.45 and $7.67 per bushel respectively.

Israeli Scientists Test Lost Wheat Varieties. Under a project called “Land of Wheat,” scientists and other researchers in Israel are collaborating with a commercial mill to produce flour and bread from ancient wheat lines discovered and preserved from archives and plant gene banks in Israel and then produce breads. Reviving such heirloom grains as cultural touchstones is the goal. Read more in an article about the project.

Harvest Reports Available. Every Friday through the U.S. harvest season (May to October), U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and its partner organizations compile a Harvest Report. It includes updates on crop quality, harvest progress and crop conditions for hard red winter, soft red winter, hard red spring, soft white and durum wheat. Read the latest report on the USW website.

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

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