Wheat Industry News
Recent news and highlights from around the U.S. wheat industry.
Speaking of Wheat. “It was just an excellent wheat crop. On our farm, we had the best wheat … we’ve ever had. It was a challenging harvest, between the [rain] showers, but the quality held up and our test weight stayed above 58. The genetics and farmers’ overall management of wheat is also better than in the past.”– Danny Rubin, farmer and President of the Illinois Wheat Association, describing in an article by “FarmWeek Now” how farmers in that state have harvested record yields of soft red winter wheat this year. Photo above: Illinois Wheat Field © Nordike899 | Dreamstime.com
FAS Administrator Daniel Whitley. Photo courtesy of USDA.
Congratulations to FAS Administrator Whitley. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has named Daniel Whitley as Administrator of the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, who has served as the agency’s Acting Administrator since December 2020. He is no stranger to FAS stakeholders like U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and the agricultural trade community, having served a 20-year career with the agency. USW President Vince Peterson congratulated Administrator Whitley, saying, “our worldwide staff, who so closely work with those on your side, all join me in expressing just how pleased we are to have you settled in this position.”
2020 Annual Report for the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) recently published its 2020 Annual Report for the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat. This report focuses on significant impacts made during a time of unprecedented challenges. Although they are reported for 2020, the stories reflect years of dedicated science and strong collaborative relationships with partners. Sixty-three new CGIAR-derived wheat varieties were released globally in 2020 – including six high-yielding and nutritious varieties in Nepal, a historic first. View the report online here.
School Meals: Nutrition, Health and Education for Every Child. Led by USDA, the United States is joining a global coalition focused on improving the nutrition, health, and education of vulnerable children and adolescents worldwide, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced in June. The coalition, called “School Meals: Nutrition, Health and Education for Every Child,” will officially launch at the United Nations’ Food Systems Summit in September. It is led by U.N. member states and spearheaded by Iceland, Finland, and France, with support from the U.N.’s World Food Program (WFP). WFP is already a key partner in implementing USDA international food assistance programs. Read more about this coalition.
NCI Offering Online Durum Foods Course from August 1 to 30. The course will touch on many unique traits of durum, nutritional components, baking and working with durum, as well as a basic understanding of the milling process through networked lectures and video tours. Participants can also interact with presenters during live Q & A sessions. Learn more and register by July 30 here.
U.S. Wheat Associates Publishes Commercial Sales every Thursday, documenting 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 includes a 10-year commercial sales history by class and country. Data is sourced from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Weekly Export Sales Report. 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.
Follow USW Online. Visit our Facebook page for the latest updates, photos and discussions of what is going on in the world of wheat. Also, find breaking news on Twitter, video stories on Vimeo and more on LinkedIn.
