Wheat Industry News
Recent news and highlights from around the U.S. wheat industry.
Speaking of Wheat
“We agree that trade, along with domestic production, plays a vital role in improving global food security in all its dimensions and enhancing nutrition. We commit to take concrete steps to facilitate trade and improve the functioning and long-term resilience of global markets for food and agriculture, including cereals, fertilizers, and other agriculture production inputs. Particular consideration will be given to the specific needs and circumstances of developing country Members, especially those of least-developed and net food-importing developing countries. We underscore the need for agri-food trade to flow, and reaffirm the importance of not imposing export prohibitions or restrictions in a manner inconsistent with relevant WTO provisions.”
– From the Draft Ministerial Declaration on the Emergency Response to Food Insecurity adopted by the World Trade Organization at the 12th Ministerial Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, June 16, 2022.
Prices Weakening
U.S. wheat futures prices were down significantly last week, and the decline has continued this week. Soft red winter (SRW) futures closed down 36 cents at $10.34/bu, and early on June 23, the September price was about $9.75/bu. Hard red winter (HRW) futures closed last week down 57 cents at $11.05/bu, with the September contract at $10.22/bu early on June 23. Hard red spring (HRS) futures ended last week down 52 cents at $11.69/bu, and on June 23, the September price was $10.88/bu.
Focus on Drought
On Tuesday, the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources held a hearing to discuss the persistent drought and the western water crisis. On June 1, the administration’s Drought Resilience Interagency Working Group released a report outlining actions taken over the previous year to improve drought resilience. Research could help the industry adapt to drought conditions. Washington State University was awarded a Seeding Solutions grant from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research to identify genes in spring wheat that would allow it to be more heat and drought resilient. Brazil has begun field testing Bioceres’ HB4 wheat, a drought-resistant, genetically modified wheat variety.
Focus on Ukraine
During a meeting with U.N. ambassadors and officials at the U.S. Mission to the U.N., U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the USDA and The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine are entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enhance coordination between the U.S. and Ukrainian agriculture and food sectors and build a strategic partnership to address food security. Through the MOU, USDA announced that the United States and Ukraine will “exchange of information and expertise regarding crop production, emerging technologies, climate-smart practices, food security, and supply chain issues to boost productivity and enhance both agricultural sectors.” Read more here.
2022 Hard Spring Wheat and Durum Tour
The annual Wheat Quality Council spring wheat tour is scheduled for July 25 to 28, 2022. The tour will provide the first production estimate for the 2022 U.S. hard red spring and durum crops. Tour information and registration are posted here. Customers can follow the tour in real-time by following #wheattour22 on Twitter and keep up to date on the entire U.S. wheat harvest with the weekly USW Harvest Report.
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