| NAWG Completes Successful Commodity Classic, Elects New Officer Team Last week NAWG held its annual meeting as part of Commodity Classic, a trade show featuring NAWG, the National Corn Growers Association, the American Soybean Association, the National Sorghum Producers, and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. As part of Commodity Classic, NAWG held its own board meeting. The conference included meetings of the Research & Technology Committee, the Environment and Renewable Resources Committee, and the Domestic and Trade Policy Committee. The Committees held their annual policy resolution review. NAWG’s bylaws require resolutions to be reviewed every three years; if resolutions are not proactively renewed by the board, they are automatically set to sunset. Additionally, the Committees debated Farm Bill priorities which were ultimately adopted by the full board of directors. Summaries of the Committee meetings are below. In addition to the trade show and NAWG’s own conference, NAWG held a reception to recognize the 2016 winners of the National Wheat Yield Contest as well as a reception to honor outgoing President Gordon Stoner and an auction to raise funds for NAWG’s WheatPAC. For information about the 2017 National Wheat Yield Contest, visit https://yieldcontest.wheatfoundation.org. During NAWG’s board meeting the directors also elected a new officer team. Kansas farmer David Schemm was elected President; Oklahoma farmer Jimmie Musick was elected Vice President; Texas farmer Ben Scholz was elected Treasurer; Michigan farmer David Milligan was elected Secretary; and Montana farmer Gordon Stoner was elected Past President. Domestic and Trade Policy Committee Environment and Renewable Resources Committee Research and Technology Committee Also, the Committee was updated on the status of the National Wheat Yield Contest and award ceremony for the 2016 national winners. The contest basically remains the same as the first year, with the rules committee reviewing the potential to add a quality testing component into the contest. After industry partner updates, the Committee reviewed all its technology policy resolutions previously approved that were nearing “sunset” status. These resolutions were either renewed or amended if still relevant, or left to expire if no longer appropriate. Noteworthy was the addition of two NEW policy resolutions approved to support research aimed at improving quality assessment around wheat starch or Falling Number (FN). The Pacific Northwest (PNW) wheat industry has suffered from repeated wide-spread financial losses due to weather-induced problems resulting in poor end-use quality as measured by low FN. The FN test detects starch degradation due to alpha-amylase enzyme activity and perhaps other unknown factors in wheat flour. Low FN indicates the presence of too much alpha-amylase enzyme in the flour, leading to problems with poor quality baked goods. The Committee approved resolutions to support genetic research to reduce the risk of FN as well as a resolution to develop a more consistent, reliable test method. President Schemm Hits the Hill House Agriculture Committee Keeps Full Schedule On Thursday, the Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit held a hearing to review USDA’s rural development and energy programs. And next Wednesday, the full Committee will hold a hearing to discuss the possible opportunities for rural America that could result from potential tax reform. Visit the House Agriculture Committee’s website for more information.
Source: National Association of Wheat Growers |
