Mexico’s Impact on U.S. Wheat Industry
Montana Ag Network – 06/06/2019
Many Montana farmers raise quality wheat and barley and that’s why it’s in demand by international millers and bakers. A growing market for Montana wheat and barley is Mexico. This week, leaders from both countries met in Cancun for a special Mexico Wheat Trade Conference hosted by the U.S. Wheat Associates. Chris Kolstad is the U.S. Wheat Associate’s chairman from Ledger, Montana and explains why Mexico is important to U.S. farmers like him. “Mexico has been a good friend of ours for a lot of years,” said Kolstad. “They’re our southern border friend and one of our top five importers of U.S. wheat around the world. So they’re a very important market for us.” Francisco Salas is a wheat buyer for Harinas in Chihuahua, Mexico and he appreciates the longstanding relationship with the U.S. wheat industry. “We have a long history of using U.S. wheat in the northern part of Mexico because we are really close,” said Salas. “A lot of the procurement of wheat we do, it’s from the railroad coming from Kansas to the El Paso on down into Chihuahua, which is not far away. So, we have a long history of getting wheat. From Kansas, northern Oklahoma and Texas and it’s a relationship we cherish a lot. We’ve been doing business for a long time before and we’re looking forward to upholding that for years to come.”
USW Talks Wheat in Cancun
Washington Ag Network– 06/07/2019
The American wheat industry is in the spotlight this week in Cancun, Mexico as the U.S. Wheat Associates hosts its Mexican Wheat Trade Conference. U.S. Wheat chairman Chris Kolstad, said Mexico continues to be a priority. “Mexico has been a good friend of ours, for a lot of years, and they are our southern border friend and they are one of our top five importers of U.S. wheat, so a very important market for us.”Kolstad said there’s good reason why checkoff dollars that the other farmers invest are used to grow important export markets like Mexico. “Well the export markets are very important to the United States. We grow approximately 50 million metric tons a year of wheat, and over half of that has to be exported and with over 95% of the world’s consumers living outside of our borders we have to get to these other countries and sell our wheat. If we only sell to our domestic markets, the prices are going to just go down, down, down, and we don’t need that.”
Genetically Engineered Wheat Found in Unplanted Washington Field
Bloomberg – 06/08/2019
Wheat plants genetically engineered to resist the Monsanto herbicide Roundup have been detected in a Washington state field, although there’s no evidence to suggest the grain has entered the food supply, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said the discovery was made in an unplanted field, but didn’t identify where in the state it was found, USDA said late Friday. The agency said it’s working with state regulators and industry groups to investigate the source of the wheat, which resists glyphosate, known commercially as Roundup Asian and European buyers have in the past halted purchases from entire regions when modified strains of unapproved wheat were discovered The U.S. has for many years embraced GE crops such as soybeans and cotton, but no such wheat varieties have been approved for sale or commercial production in the U.S “We cannot speculate or comment about any potential market reactions until we learn more from APHIS and have a chance to discuss the situation in more detail with overseas customers,” U.S. Wheat Associates and the National Association of Wheat Growers said in a statement.
US, Mexico Reach Deal to Avoid Monday Tariffs
Agri-Pulse – 06/07/2019
The United States and Mexico have reached a deal to avoid a 5% tariff on Mexican goods that was set to go into effect on Monday. President Donald Trump announced the news Friday night on his Twitter account. He said Mexico and the U.S. reached “a signed agreement,” and the threatened tariffs against Mexico “are hereby indefinitely suspended.” “Mexico, in turn, has agreed to take strong measures to stem the tide of Migration through Mexico, and to our Southern Border,” Trump said, noting further details would be released by the State Department.The tariff threat began last week, when the White House announced plans to slap a 5% tariff on imports from Mexico unless the country took satisfactory action to address illegal immigration into the United States. The tariffs were scheduled to increase an additional 5% at the beginning of every month until reaching 25% in October. Mexico and the Trump administration were locked in negotiations this week to avoid the tariffs. A Mexican delegation traveled to Washington for meetings with administration officials, including talks with Vice President Mike Pence.
Researchers Strive to Develop Stripe Rust Resistant Wheat
Kansas Wheat – 06/07/2019
As most farmers and many non-farmers know, stripe rust is nobody’s friend. Seeing this dangerous disease on your crop can be devastating to a farmer’s yield. The good news is, there are researchers trying to resolve this issue for you. In Manhattan, Kansas, research specialists at USDA are striving to create a wheat variety that’s resistant to stripe rust…Mary Guttieri, USDA Research Geneticist, says, “Being able to grow wheat 365 days a year is a huge benefit to wheat research.” The renovated building provides space to benefit all aspects of receiving, growing, processing, characterizing, treating, storing and shipping seeds to cooperating wheat breeding programs. Being able to do all of these projects under one roof is a huge benefit for the wheat research team. Guttieri is doing extensive research on wheat, and a top priority is creating a wheat that will be stripe rust resistant. Doing her research in Building 7 has given her opportunities she never thought possible. With strong support from her administration, both in Manhattan and in the Plains Area, Guttieri is making breakthroughs. She can replicate the exact conditions farmers see in the field with the technology available in the research unit. Guttieri has partnered with the Kansas State University research team to collaborate. She sees Building 7 as a shared resource for research.
Source: U.S. Wheat Associates