Wheat Industry News
News and Information from Around the U.S. Wheat Industry
Speaking of Wheat
“The Women in Triticum (WIT) awards are a fantastic way to recognize and support emerging leaders in our community. The impressive cohort of past and present WIT recipients are actively contributing to global efforts to improve crop production and food security.” – Alison Bentley, Director, Global Wheat Program, at CIMMYT.
New Generation of Women Changing Wheat Science
Over the past 12 years, the Jeanie Borlaug Laube Women in Triticum (WIT) Early Career Award has supported 66 early-career women scientists as they build a stronger, more inclusive community of wheat scholars fighting hunger worldwide. CYIMMT announced that the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI) has honored six early-career scientists from Morocco, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Italy, Pakistan and China in 2022. Read more here.
Drought, Thin Wheat Stands a Concern
Crop progress for winter wheat in critical production areas might have inched up a bit from December through January but a long and lingering drought continues to threaten production in Texas, Oklahoma, western Kansas and southeast Colorado. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension economist Mark Welch in a recent report noted the latest USDA Crop Progress report shows at the beginning of January, Kansas wheat in combined good and excellent categories was rated at 19%, down from 22% at the beginning of December. For Colorado wheat, 54% was rated good and excellent on January 1, up from 30% in late November. Read more here.
Changing Wheat Flowers to Increase Yields
Like maize and rice, wheat has been the subject of CRISPR-based yield improvements in the past year. The anatomy of flowers in grain crops has long been understood to be an important determinant of individual plant yield. By editing a gene associated with the development of flowers, researchers were able to markedly improve overall yield of in wheat plants in experimental field trials without any reductions of other important properties. Read more in Innovative Genomics.
Congratulations to Michigan Wheat Farmer Dave Milligan
For each of the past 19 years, Michigan Farmer magazine has bestowed the prestigious Master Farmer award on three people who have demonstrated how to farm more effectively, efficiently, environmentally and economically. This year’s honorees include Dave Milligan of Cass City, Mich., who has been a farmer leader with the National Association of Wheat Growers. Also honored were Joe Bryant, Shepard, Mich., and Louis Wierenga Jr. of Hastings, Mich. Read more here.
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