The Case for Biotech Wheat “Biotechnology has the potential to help reverse the loss of wheat acres in the United States and help ensure there will be adequate supplies to feed a hungry world,” says Darrell Davis, South Dakota Wheat commissioner and member of the U.S. Wheat Association/National Association of Wheat Growers Joint Biotechnology Committee. “The wheat industry is facing a competitiveness problem,” says Davis. “Wheat acres are declining, and biotech crops that can produce a greater return on investment are taking over those acres. Unless the wheat industry can successfully change the equation and restore its competitiveness, wheat could become a minor crop.” “Farming is a business, and farmers will produce what the market rewards. If incentives from the market encourage farmers to plant less wheat and more of other crops, that’s what they will do,” says Davis. “But the issue is bigger than farmers. Since wheat provides 20 percent of the world’s calories, and the United States is the world’s leading wheat exporter, ensuring that wheat is a competitive crop in the United States should be a major priority for the milling, baking, and food businesses that rely on wheat as a primary ingredient.” According to Davis, “Biotech wheat will not be the answer for everyone. The industry is committed to choice for consumers who wish to procure non-GMO wheat/wheat products and producers who choose to meet that demand. We have seen in soybean production that both GMO and non-GMO provide consumers with choices; I see a similar thing happening in wheat production.”

www.uswheat.org The redesigned U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) website provides a wide variety of valuable business information in a format that makes it more accessible than ever to wheat buyers, the U.S. wheat industry, and media outlets. “USW customers have told us they want closer ties with U.S. producers,” USW Communications Director Steve Mercer said. “We recognize the importance of making personal connections throughout the supply chain and have been mindful of that as we constructed the new site.” The site offers a robust supply of important information about the U.S. and global wheat market. This includes weekly

U.S. wheat export basis and FOB prices with an interactive charting feature, commercial export sales results for U.S. wheat, Crop Quality reports, Harvest reports, and daily futures prices for U.S. wheat classes, corn, and soybeans. U.S. Wheat Associates is the industry’s market development organization working in more than 100 countries on behalf of America’s wheat producers. The activities of U.S. Wheat Associates are made possible by producer checkoff dollars managed by the SD Wheat Commission and 18 other state wheat commissions and through cost-share funding provided by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.

Effective Purchasing Thirty-nine grain buyers from 17 nations attended the Grain Procurement Management for Importers short course at Northern Crops Institute (NCI), Fargo, ND, to learn how to make successful purchases in the U.S. grain marketing system. “They come to NCI to learn about the purchasing tools that will help them navigate their way through the unpredictable grain and commodities markets. This course helps our customers understand the markets and how to purchase grain; so that they will be long-term customers of U.S. grains,” says Brian Sorenson,

Grain buyers from 17 nations attended NCI’s 2009 Grain Procurement Course.

NCI director. U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and U.S. Grains Council (USGC) utilize the class in their market development programs and sponsored several participants. “In Asia, and in China in particular, the type of people who are selected to come to this course often have a very basic understanding about how to use the futures market, and even with the cash market, how to monitor and analyze it,” says Matt Weimar, regional vice president, USW, Hong Kong. “We think NCI’s course is comprehensive and develops technical aspects necessary to make effective purchases.” Joe O’Brien, USGC regional director, Jordan, echoed Weimar’s support for the course. “Many buyers lack the knowledge about how to import or how to use financial instruments like options or futures in their grain purchasing. We regard this course as a chance to educate them on how to purchase U.S. commodities and how to deal with the markets.” NCI supports regional agriculture and valueadded processing by conducting technical education and services that expand and maintain domestic and international markets for northern-grown crops. Funding from the SD Wheat Commission and the State Legislature helps support NCI activities.

Increasing Consumption The Joint Biotechnology Committee looks at both foreign and domestic issues surrounding the acceptance of biotechnology.

The U.S. typically supplies 85-90 percent of the food quality wheat imported by the Philippine milling industry. In September a U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) trade team from the Philippines visited Northern Crops Institute (NCI) to learn more about U.S. wheat production, marketing, and logistics system. Wheat is not grown in the Philippines; for the past ten years, the Philippines have imported close to 3 million metric tons of wheat per year. Per capita consumption of wheat is estimated to be 24 kilograms, which is relatively low and suggests potential for growth. A specific goal for the trade team was to gain knowledge and materials that may help them address the Philippines’ consumption challenges – with particular attention to nutrition-focused materials for primary shoppers, schools, and opinion leaders. Mary Ellen Wagner, communications director for the SD Wheat Commission and a member of the Wheat Foods Council Board of Directors, outlined for the group some of the successful promotions that the Wheat Foods Council has conducted. “In October, members of the trade team met with other Philippine leaders and USW to begin the process of developing a Philippine equivalent of the Wheat Foods Council. The team val-

ues the U.S. approach to increasing consumption and wants to collaborate in addressing threats to their market,” says Shane Townsend, USW Assistant Regional Director, South Asia. “Efforts to increase their domestic consumption will result in more wheat sales for U.S. producers.”

Mary Ellen Wagner discusses domestic promotion with Mr. Florencio Sebandal, Pilmico Foods Corporation, during a USW sponsored trade team to Northern Crops Institute, Fargo, ND.