German Ministry Sees Larger Wheat Crop Despite Heatwave
Reuters – 08/29/2019
The United States wheat industry is hailing the bilateral trade agreement reached in principle bGermany will produce a larger wheat harvest this year despite the impact of an early summer heatwave followed by repeated rain, the agriculture ministry said on Thursday. The country will harvest 22.71 million tonnes of its most important grain type, winter wheat, up 15.9% from 2018’s drought-hit crop, the ministry said in its first harvest estimate. The wheat harvest of all types will rise 13.7% on the year to 23.03 million tonnes, it said.
Mexico’s Wheat Output Revised Upward
World Grain – 08/29/2019
Mexico’s wheat production forecast for 2019-20 has been revised upward, according to an Aug. 28 Global Agricultural Information Network report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA said favorable weather conditions and plentiful water reservoirs in Sonora, the main wheat producing state, helped to obtain higher yields than initially estimated, which will increase the country’s wheat output to 3.3 million tonnes, up from 3 million tonnes in 2018-19.
Canadian Farmers Gain In Short-Term From Errant U.S. Trade War
Real Clear Markets – 08/29/2019
The trade war with China may be doing nothing but harm to U.S farmers, but they are helping to make Canadian agriculture great, at least temporarily. Make no mistake, Canadian agriculture is also undergoing pressures – including its own Chinese trade restrictions, largely stemming from Canada’s arrest of a Huawei executive who is also the daughter of the company’s CEO. The dispute has led to China cutting off its canola purchases from Canada.
CRISPR and Other New Breeding Techniques Could be Key to Unlocking Potential of Global Wheat Production
Genetic Literacy Projecty – 08/29/2019
To meet a growing global demand for wheat, scientists and policy makers are calling for wider use of new breeding techniques in a quest to increase yields and fight pests, disease and climate change. While other key commodity crops – including corn, soybeans and cotton – have been tweaked and improved through genetic modification, wheat has largely been left in the hands of conventional breeding techniques. The last major improvement in the wheat sector came during the Green Revolution of the 1970s, according to a March 2019 paper by a group of researchers from China, Ukraine, Australia and Kazakhstan.
Nebraska Wheat Board Elects Leaders
High Plains Journal – 08/29/2019
Bob Delsing of Hemingford and Mark Knobel of Fairbury were elected chair and vice chair respectively of the Nebraska Wheat Board during the board’s most recent meeting. Both will serve in that capacity for a period of one year. Delsing is a fourth-generation farmer raising wheat, corn and runs a cattle operation with his son Scott. They farm in Dawes and Box Butte counties on the land homesteaded by their ancestors. Delsing was recently appointed for a second term as the District 1 director for NWB. He currently represents NWB on the board of directors for U.S. Wheat Associates and also sits on the USW long range planning and audit committees.
Source: U.S. Wheat Associates