Group Sees PH Becoming Among Top Importers of Wheat in 10 Years
Business Inquirer – 07/12/2019
The Philippines is among the top five countries that are expected to comprise a quarter of the world’s wheat imports over the next 10 years as bread and feed consumption are both going up, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said. In its latest agricultural report, OECD forecasted that the Philippines, along with Egypt, Indonesia, Algeria, and Brazil, would account for a combined share of about 25 to 27 percent of the global supply for wheat beginning this year until 2028. As of last year, the country is the sixth importer of wheat worldwide after Bangladesh. This reinforces the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) projection for the Philippines earlier this year, wherein it reported that the country’s wheat exports may reach its highest record yet of 7 million metric tons (MT) amid growing consumption Of that figure, about 3 million MT would be used for flour while the remaining 4 million MT is expected to fill the country’s growing demand for feed – this as the Department of Agriculture aggressively pushes for the growth of the livestock and poultry sectors.
Wheat Designed to Use Water More Efficiently
The Western Producer – 07/11/2019
A new wheat that can better survive drought conditions has been developed by scientists. Researchers at the University of Sheffield’s Institute for Sustainable Food in the United Kingdom discovered that fewer microscopic pores called stomata on the leaves allowed plants to make better use of water. The research was then used to develop a new drought-hardy bread wheat. Compared to conventional wheat, the engineered wheat used less water while maintaining photosynthesis and yield. Like most plants, wheat uses stomata to regulate its intake of carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, as well as the release of water vapour. When water is plentiful, stomatal openings help plants to regulate temperature by evaporative cooling, which is similar to sweating. In drought conditions, wheat plants normally close their stomata to slow down water loss, and wheat with fewer stomata has been found to better conserve water and can use that water to cool itself. During the study, published in the Journal of Experimental Botany, scientists tested the new wheat in conditions similar to what might be expected under climate change prediction models, with higher levels of carbon dioxide and less water. The researchers said agriculture accounts for about 85 percent of the world’s fresh-water use. On average, it takes more than 1,800 litres of water to produce one kilogram of wheat.
Wheat Acres Down, Yields Good, Though
The Mercury- 07/10/2019
If harvest has a theme, this year’s theme is “wet.” Harvest should wrap up sometime this week in Dickinson County, said Larry Brake, manager of the Abilene Mid Kansas Co-op. Farmers in the north part of the county, around Talmage, may be a little later because of recent rains. They should be able to get back into the fields soon, he said. Overall, harvest is doing better than expected. “Wheat acres are down, but yields are surprisingly good,” Brake said. Most are in the 60 and 70 bushels per acre range, he said, but one came in at 88 bushels. Tony Whitehair, Dickinson County Extension Service agriculture agent, said he knows of yields as low as in the 40s and as high as in the 80s. It’s been a challenging year for wheat farmers with so much rain and flooding. Some fields were planted late in the autumn with heavy rains in October. The last week of June Abilene registered 4 inches of rain, Brake said, then rain again over the July 4 holiday weekend. That was on top of heavy rains in mid-May that flooded fields. Wheat rust came through in May and then some head scab, Whitehair said, but neither was as bad as expected. “If it’s not one thing, it’s another,” he said. Brake said some fields have had hail damage as well as flooding. “It’s been a struggle to come through some of the fields,” Brake said, with the wet weather, but there’s no rain in the forecast for the next week.
Winter Wheat Harvest Advances But Still Behind Average Pace
Baking Business – 07/11/2019
The winter wheat harvest continued to advance but remained well behind the average progress for the date. The U.S. Department of Agriculture in its weekly Crop Progress report indicated the winter wheat harvest was 47% completed by July 7, compared with 30% a week earlier and 61% as the five-year average for the date. Combining expanded in subsequent days but faced additional rain delays across parts of the hard winter wheat belt. The hard red winter wheat harvest extended from the southern Plains into Colorado and Nebraska. Combining was nearly completed in Oklahoma and Texas. While the Kansas harvest recently has made great strides, intermittent rain delays continued to frustrate producers eager to garner the remainder of their crop before the moisture takes a toll on quality. The U.S.D.A. in its weekly Crop Progress report indicated the Kansas wheat harvest was 61% completed by July 7 compared with 28% a week earlier and 84% as the recent five-year average for the date. By July 11, the Kansas crop was about 71% combined, according to Plains Grains, Inc., Stillwater, Okla., which carefully tracks and analyzes the hard red winter wheat harvest and crop quality. Mark Hodges, executive director of P.G.I., said harvesting across the southern half of Kansas was winding down by July 11 while combining in northeast and north central areas of Kansas has moved past the halfway mark.
Sheperd’s Grain Markets WSU Variety Ryan for Noodle Flour
Capital Press – 07/03/2019
A Pacific Northwest farmer-owned flour company hopes to increase its domestic business and build an export market using Washington State University’s soft white spring wheat variety Ryan. Shepherd’s Grain recently shipped nine rail cars of Ryan to the ADM mill in Los Angeles for the domestic noodle manufacturing industry. “In particular, it appears to be very good for udon noodles,” said Jeremy Bunch, logistics manager for the company. “Udon noodles require a certain color and texture, and Ryan has the genetic makeup that is ideal for those applications for noodles. Sometimes, noodle products can lose their color after packaging, but noodles made using Ryan hold their color, Bunch said. “The people who know noodle textures are very impressed with Ryan,” he said. Pacific Rim countries primarily use wheat from Australia with the same genetic makeup — a partial waxy wheat. Ryan is one of a few U.S. varieties with the same makeup, Bunch said. “This variety is an avenue for us to compete with Australia on the noodle markets in the Pacific Rim countries,” he said. The variety allows the company to sell a branded noodle flour. The company purchases Ryan from its growers, Bunch said. The company can identity-preserve specific varieties. Shepherd’s Grain currently has no exports, but hopes to add markets, Bunch said. He estimates the company’s soft white flour market has increased by about 75 percent with the addition of Ryan.
Source: U.S. Wheat Associates