Italy’s Pasta Rule Has Wheat Used in Spaghetti Piling Up in Canada
Bloomberg – 11/1/2018
On Gerrid Gust’s farm in Saskatchewan, favorable weather this year brought a bumper crop of high-protein durum wheat, the best in the past few years. The grain used to make spaghetti isn’t fetching the usual premium price, though. It’s stuck in storage because of restrictions on pasta by Italy, the world’s top consumer, and popular diets that avoid carbohydrates. “We’ve got lots of high-quality durum in the bins,” around 80,000 bushels, Gust, 42, said in a telephone interview. The 3,000 acres he plants in Davidson, Saskatchewan, may be idle next year if the market doesn’t improve. “There’s no use trying to grow more of something the world doesn’t need,” he said.
EU Wheat Slips On Lack of Demand and Fall in Chicago
Reuters – 11/5/2018
European wheat eased slightly on Monday due to a lack of new export demand and a fall on U.S. markets but prices remained above the psychologically important 200 euro mark. A stronger euro also hampered the grain’s competitiveness on world markets, weighing on prices. Benchmark December milling wheat on Paris-based Euronext unofficially closed down 0.25 percent at 200.25 euros a tonne.
Wheat Prices Hold Above Harvest Lows
Successful Farming – 11/2/2018
Wheat markets were slightly higher for the week, spending a lot of time testing harvest lows before finally catching a bid. After last week’s late rally on news that the U.S. captured some of the Egyptian business, there wasn’t much follow-through to the upside this week. Russia wasn’t having any of the U.S. taking its business, so it quickly lowered FOB offers to bump us out of the competition. Russia’s government also raised wheat production estimate on an increase in spring wheat yields; they raised export estimates as well to between 30-33 MMT, much higher than the 25 MMT the trade had dialed in. U.S. futures slid, testing harvest lows yet another time until a sharp rally in soybeans pulled corn and wheat higher.
Trade, Farm Bill Take Front and Center at 2018 Wheat Groups Fall Conference
Agrimarketing – 11/5/2018
The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) and U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) concluded their joint annual Fall Conference this week in Tampa, FL. More than 100 wheat growers from across the United States met in policy committees to discuss a wide variety of priorities including the farm bill, trade, the National Wheat Yield Contest, and the 2018 midterm elections. “This past week wheat growers from across the United States came together to communicate about the policy issues that are impacting their operations and work with one another to find solutions to common problems,” stated NAWG President and Oklahoma wheat grower Jimmie Musick. “The 2018 Fall Conference couldn’t come at a better time as Congress works to pass the 2018 farm bill during lame duck, and mid-term elections may bring in a wave of Democrat legislators which will significantly alter the congressional agenda.”
Chinese Scientists Develop Nanocomposite to Prevent Wheat Disease
Technology Times – 11/6/2018
Powdery wheat mildew is a worldwide crop disease. It is common in many wheat producing areas in China and can cause significant yield loss. Conventional control methods of the disease include spraying pesticides and breeding disease-resistant varieties. However, the use of chemical pesticides may cause pollution and new wheat varieties are susceptible to loss of resistance after a period of application.
Source: U.S. Wheat Associates