PRESS RELEASE: National Wheat Improvement Committee (NWIC) Holds Annual Washington Fly-In to Discuss Research Priorities for Wheat
This week a group of researchers, growers, and millers took to Capitol Hill to discuss the importance of wheat research and appropriations priorities for FY 2020. The National Wheat Improvement Committee (NWIC) is composed of 24 voting members whose mission is to communicate, educate and advocate on behalf of the scientific well-being of the U.S. wheat industry. In addition to meeting with the majority and minority staffs for the House and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittees and Agriculture Committees, the NWIC members met with most of the House and Senate Appropriations Committee Member offices, with over 60 meetings in total. Read our release here: http://bit.ly/2HKkif6.
NWF BLOG: Feeding the Economy Study Re-Issued with Updated Data
The food and agriculture sectors in the US account for roughly one-fifth of the country’s economic activity, providing more than 22 million jobs or nearly 15% employment. The study was originally launched in 2017 and commissioned by 23 food and agriculture organizations. On March 19, 2019 the Food and Agriculture Industries Economic Impact study was re-released with updated facts and an interactive webpage. It was found that the food and agriculture sectors have created 45,582,086 jobs, $2.06 trillion in wages, $913.13 in taxes, $154.4 billion in exports, and an overall economic impact of $7.06 trillion. The National Wheat Foundation recently posted a blog highlighting the piece here: http://bit.ly/2Wyp3fr.
House Ag Approps to ERS-NIFA Hearings
On March 26, 2019, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee held two hearings this week on relocation of the USDA’s Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The first hearing was on Tuesday, March 26 at 2:30pm, where members of the House were invited to testify on the programs under House Ag Approps jurisdiction. The second hearing was on Wednesday, March 27 at 11:00am, where the subcommittee held a hearing on the Trump administration’s plans to move most of ERS-NIFA’s employees out of Washington, D.C.
White House States Major Push for USMCA
As of March 26, 2019, the White House began a new offensive to gain congressional approval of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. On March 26, 2019, the Trump administration held a conference call for farm and business leaders asking them to pressure lawmakers to support the overhaul of the North American trade pact. On that same day, 23 Republican House members went to the White House to sit down with US Trade Representative Bob Lighthizer, Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and others. One White House official on the call said the administration is not ready to let go of steel and aluminum tariffs on Mexico and Canada.
NWF Accepting Entries for 2019 National Wheat Yield Contest
The National Wheat Foundation (NWF) is currently accepting grower enrollment for the 2019 National Wheat Yield Contest! The Contest is divided into two primary competition categories: winter wheat and spring wheat, and two subcategories: dryland and irrigated. The Foundation is accepting entries for Winter and Spring Wheat. The deadline for Winter Wheat entries is May 15th with an early registration deadline of April 1st. The Spring wheat entry deadline is August 1st with an early registration deadline of June 15th.
Source: National Association of Wheat Growers