Canada Wheat Exports to China Rising
World-Grain – 03/01/2019
Canadian wheat exports to China for the August through December period in the 2018-19 grain marketing year were 74% ahead of the three-year average for that period, according to a Feb. 28 Global Agricultural Information Network report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA said total Canadian wheat exports during that period were 1.5 million tonnes, or 22% higher than the same period in 2017-18, bolstered by the record-high exports to China of 600,000 tonnes. “For the first four months of 2018-19, Indonesia, China and Japan were the three largest export destinations for Canadian wheat,” the USDA said. The USDA noted that Chinese imports of U.S. wheat during that period were nil. The United States and China are engaged in a trade war that started last July.
U.S. Trade Policy Still Up in the Air, Expert Says
Capital Press – 03/05/2019
U.S. trade policies remain in a state of flux with the Trump administration, and billions of dollars hang in the balance for agriculture. “U.S. ag is at a crossroads,” Dominique van der Mensbrugghe, director of the Center for Global Trade Analysis at Purdue University, said Monday during the audiocast of the Farm Foundation’s forum on trade. Since the end of World War II, U.S. administrations have been pursuing lower-tariff trade. But the Trump administration has reversed those long-standing policies, he said. “The steel and aluminum tariffs were the first salvo,” he said. The U.S. also withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which was signed by 11 other countries. “This will certainly have an impact on market access for U.S. farmers,” he said. U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs are still in place, and the U.S. has threatened China with more tariffs. And while there’s no immediate concern about ratification of the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, it is not yet a done deal, he said.
U.S. China Deal Promises Big Win for Ag, but Needs Reinforcement
Agri-Pulse – 03/06/2019
China may agree to buy more U.S. agriculture commodities and lift onerous trade barriers in the ongoing talks, but unless negotiators can agree on an effective way to make sure the Chinese live up to their promises, any final deal would be worthless. The U.S. has been stung too many times by China and other countries not living up to promises, Trump administration officials and U.S. lawmakers say. “I think that whatever we agree to as a matter of substance, enforcement is very important because we have been snookered by the Chinese in past agreements that they don’t really live up to,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said Tuesday. “
NAWG Leader Sees More Spring Wheat, Better Trade Relations Ahead
FarmWeekNow – 03/06/2019
Farmers likely will plant more spring wheat this year, if better weather arrives anywhere near the official start of the season (March 20), according to a farmer-leader. Jimmie Musick, president of the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG), discussed his outlook for wheat and key association priorities at Commodity Classic in Orlando, Florida. “I think we’ll possibly see an increase in acreage for spring wheat,” Musick, an Oklahoma farmer, told FarmWeek. “We raise wheat and other crops with cattle. There’s nothing better than wheat pasture for cattle.” If realized, a boost in spring wheat plantings would offset a reduction in winter wheat seedings. Farmers last fall planted just 31.3 million acres of winter wheat, the second-fewest on record, as weather issues shortened the season.
Wheat Quality Council Adds Limagrain Cereal Seeds’ Rebel as a New Quality Standard
SeedQuest – 03/05/2019
The Wheat Quality Council has added LCS Rebel to its list of hard red spring quality checks — varieties that set the bar for end-use quality across the country. LCS Rebel was named a western quality check for 2019, joining existing check Glenn and new eastern check Linkert. Wheat Quality Council reports are the gold standard benchmarks for end-use quality nationwide. The Council conducts rigorous tests on wheat varieties, comparing a wide range of kernel, milling and bread baking metrics against check varieties. LCS Rebel is now one of the quality checks for that process, a standard for all western wheats measured. “The Wheat Quality Council has been looking for hard red spring check varieties to join Glenn for 5 to 7 years,” says Hayley Butler, Limagrain Cereal Seeds Quality Manager. “But nothing has been up to par — until now.”
Source: U.S. Wheat Associates