‘Unique’ Circumstances Increase Wheat Use in Animal Feed
WATTAgNet – 08/01/2019
Wheat is now a more economical animal feed ingredient than corn in several U.S. states — a unique circumstance that has only occurred a handful of times in recent years, according to an analyst with U.S. Wheat Associates. Claire Hutchins, a market analyst at U.S. Wheat Associates, said she’s spoken to feed lot managers in Texas who have begun to select winter wheat over corn due to inverted prices, with corn in that state going for an average of $4.46 per bushel, and wheat running $4.27 per bushel as of July 30. And she said she doubts that Texas is the only state where wheat has become a more economic feed ingredient than corn. In Kansas, Hutchins said, corn is averaging $4.02 per bushel, while wheat costs $4.12 per bushel, a tight spread that may have some producers opting for wheat over corn, depending on species. In cattle, Hutchins said, wheat becomes an attractive feed ingredient when the difference between corn and wheat prices averages less than $1; poultry requires a tighter spread, often as little as 10 cents. The spread in many states has become so tight, Hutchins said, that she would not be surprised if producers are feeding poultry and cattle wheat — and she said she expects the trend to continue for at least several months.
E.U. Wheat Production Forecast Lower
World-Grain – 08/01/2019
Wheat production in the E.U. is forecast at 149.5 million tonnes for 2019-20, up 9% compared to 2018-19 but below the previous monthly forecast, according to a July 31 Global Agricultural Information Network report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Projected output for 2019-20 fell by 2 million tonnes from the June forecast due to an unprecedented heatwave that affected many of the E.U.’s 28 member countries. “The rains came too late for Spain and there are concerns in Germany that the period of extremely hot weather in June halted the development of its wheat crop,” the USDA said. “It had otherwise been progressing well, but the heatwave caused a decline in yield compared to previous expectations. “It is a similar story in northern France and Belgium where yield expectations have been lowered and a watchful eye is also being kept on the crops in Poland and the Baltic states.”
China Warns of Retaliation After Trump Threatens Fresh Tariffs
Reuters – 08/01/2019
China on Friday said it would not be blackmailed and warned of retaliation after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to slap a 10% tariff on $300 billion of Chinese imports from next month, sharply escalating a trade row between the world’s biggest economies. Trump stunned financial markets on Thursday by saying he plans to levy the additional duties from Sept. 1, marking an abrupt end to a truce in a year-long trade war that has slowed global growth and disrupted supply chains. Beijing would not give an inch under pressure from Washington, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. “If America does pass these tariffs then China will have to take the necessary countermeasures to protect the country’s core and fundamental interests,” Hua told a news briefing in Beijing…The newly threatened duties, which Trump announced in a series of tweets after his top trade negotiators briefed him on a lack of progress in talks in Shanghai this week, would extend tariffs to nearly all Chinese goods that the United States imports. The president later said if trade discussions failed to progress he could raise tariffs further – even beyond the 25 percent levy he has already imposed on $250 billion of imports from China.
Sample Collection Underway for Wheat Quality Reports
American Ag Radio Network – 08/01/2019
The annual U.S. hard red spring and northern durum harvest quality survey will be active across the region in the next few weeks. Approximately 1,000 samples are to be collected during the harvest and sent to North Dakota State University for a full performance analysis of milling, dough, baking and pasta qualities. Samples are collected directly from producers off the combine and at bin sites, or from local elevators. The North Dakota Wheat Commission, along with wheat check-off organizations in surrounding states have conducted this annual crop quality survey for hard red spring wheat and durum for over 60 years. The final report highlights the quality attributes of each year’s newly harvested crop and is used with domestic and overseas buyers to showcase our region’s quality. This is our number one and longest standing marketing tool for promoting our region’s wheat crop and enables us to promote our quality advantages over our competitors. The reports directly influence our customer’s purchasing decisions and are used in overseas visits with customers each fall.
Wheat is Top Crop in PNW
Post Register – 07/31/2019
Idaho is famous for its iconic potatoes, Washington is known for producing a whole lot of apples and Oregon is well known for its nursery crops. But when you combine the three Pacific Northwest states, wheat is the top crop, at least when it comes to total acres. “Although potatoes may be No. 1 in Idaho and apples No. 1 in Washington, the PNW is really wheat country,” said Idaho Wheat Commission Executive Director Blaine Jacobson. “When a broad look is taken at the three PNW states, wheat is the top … crop.” Data provided by employees at USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service’s regional office in Olympia, Wash., shows that farmers in the three states harvested a combined 4.07 million acres of wheat in 2018. That’s well ahead of the 3.2 million acres of hay and haylage that was harvested. Barley ranked No. 3 in acres in the PNW with 623,000, followed by corn (not including sweet corn) at 599,000 and potatoes at 526,000. Given those numbers, the PNW should be most famous for its wheat, said Jacobson, who has also compiled a list of infrastructure that supports the three states’ wheat industries. In addition to eight wheat breeding programs, there are seven wheat breeders in the three states, two wheat geneticists and about seven dozen people work full-time on those wheat breeding teams.
Source: U.S. Wheat Associates