Export Opportunities Exist for Hard White Wheat
Kansas Wheat – 9/26/2018
Kansas wheat farmers have a unique opportunity to export wheat into African and Asian markets. Unfortunately for Australian wheat farmers, their crop has been plagued by drought and freeze. They won’t be able to meet the export demand for the white wheat they grow. This gives Kansas wheat farmers the chance to meet this international demand. Planting decisions made now will affect the supply that is available over the next year, while Australia’s exports lag. Jay Armstrong, a Kansas wheat farmer who serves on the Kansas Wheat Commission and recently returned from a trade mission to Nigeria and South Africa, says wheat buyers in Sub-Saharan Africa are looking to the U.S. to help fill this void. The 2018 Sub-Saharan Africa Board Team trip was sponsored by U.S. Wheat Associates, the U.S. wheat industry’s export market development organization.
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Deadline Weekend Likely to Pass with Little Farm Bill, NAFTA Progress
Southeast AgNet – 9/27/2018
The farm bill and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) seem certain not to meet the weekend deadline, leaving more uncertain times for agriculture. Negotiators were trying to reach an agreement on the farm bill this week, but the clock is all but out of time as the current bill expires Sunday. Monday means critical trade programs will not have funding, including the Market Access Program and the Foreign Market Development program, seen as key units of USDA given the current trade climate. Leaders of the farm bill conference committee met Wednesday and are not ready to offer an extension on the current farm bill.
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Kansas Representative Exploring Ways to Trade With Cuba
Ag Net West – 9/27/2018
A U.S. representative is seeking ways to open markets with Cuba. Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas, spoke with Cuba’s President earlier this week. The two discussed trade opportunities between Cuba and the U.S., a priority over the last few years for U.S. agriculture and more-so given the current trade climate.
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U.S., Japan to Negotiate Trade Agreement
DTN The Progressive Farmer – 9/27/2018
The United States and Japan announced Wednesday they will open negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement between the world’s first- and third-largest economies. It’s a significant shift by Tokyo which has been a strong advocate of a multi-nation trans-Pacific trade pact that President Donald Trump withdrew from soon after taking office. The move won Japan relief from the immediate threat of punitive tariffs on its auto exports to the U.S. Trump made the announcement after meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. He said that Japan had been unwilling in the past to enter into such talks, but now is and such a deal “will be something very exciting.”
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Washington Wheat Harvest Pt 1
AgInfo.Net – 9/27/2018 (audio story)
The wheat that covers so much of the farm land in Eastern Washington year after year appears to have earned the “golden waves of grain” moniker this year. Washington Grain Commission’s Scott Yates says this year’s crop has growers smiling … “For the most part, this was really an ideal harvest. We had just tremendous seasonal conditions from the time of planting last fall, all the way through the winter, and into the spring, it was just very positive conditions.”
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Source: U.S. Wheat Associates