IGP Hosts Flour Milling Courses
World-Grain – 10/31/2019
Back-to-back flour milling courses were hosted at the IGP Institute to bring different milling perspectives shared through training to create a dynamic learning environment. Kicking off the training was the International Association of Operative Millers (IAOM) and Kansas State University’s (KSU) basic milling principles course held for 18 participants from five countries. Participants studied an array of topics within the umbrella of the milling industry…“We opened up a lot of knowledge that wasn’t in the textbook that I was reading before my visit, particularly the hands-on approach on milling,” said Adrian Redondo, baking technician for U.S. Wheat Associates in the Philippines and course participant. “It’s really different when you read the textbook and experience it for yourself, it gives you a practical idea of how to go about asking the correct questions to millers.”
Russian Farmers Hold on to Wheat, Keep an Eye on 6-Month-High Prices
Reuters – 10/30/2019
Cash left from previous sales, more storage, and no sign the government will introduce export restrictions are encouraging Russian farmers to hold onto their wheat, despite prices hitting six-month highs, traders said. Farmers in Russia, the world’s largest wheat exporter, have long been viewed as indebted and in a hurry to sell crops, fanning a grain export rush early in the season for many years. But this may be changing. “(Farmers) have earned very well, and they were able to provide themselves not only with new equipment and technologies, but also with storage capacity,” Genrikh Arutyunov, deputy head of major Russian meat products maker Prodo group, told Reuters.
Black Sea prices for Russian wheat with 12.5% protein content have risen 12% since mid-September to $208 per tonne, their highest since late April, according to consultancy IKAR.
Argentina Ready to Fill Vietnams Supply Gap
Reuters– 10/30/2019
Argentina could export up to 2 million tonnes of wheat to Vietnam per year, replacing shipments from Russia which were suspended because of the presence of thistle seed, Argentina’s export company chamber said on Wednesday. “Vietnam has recognized that Argentina can be certified free of these pests, which brought Russian wheat into question,” Gustavo Idigoras, head of the Argentine agro-industrial export chamber CIARA-CEC, told Reuters. “We understand that the talks between Russia and Vietnam are going to go on for a long time,” said Idigoras, who explained that Argentina is in a position to increase the 800,000 tonnes of wheat it currently sends to Vietnam per year to 2 million tonnes.
USDA’s Censky: US-China Trade Talks on Track Despite Summit Cancellation
Agri-Pulse – 10/30/2019
U.S. and Chinese negotiators still aim to finish the “phase one” trade deal by mid-November despite the cancellation of a summit in Chile where President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had planned to sign the pact, Deputy Agriculture Secretary Steve Censky said Wednesday.
Chilean President Sebastián Piñera said Wednesday that the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit is being cancelled “to ensure order and social peace” as massive street protests continue to rock Santiago, where the APEC leaders meeting was scheduled for Nov. 16-17, but Censky said that will have no effect on the U.S.-China trade pact that is promised to boost U.S. ag exports by billions of dollars. “Everything is still all systems go” for the negotiators who are still ironing out details of the pact, Censky said, adding that negotiators from both countries continue to work this week on finishing it by mid-November.
Researchers Create Method to Identify Drought-Resilient Wheat
World-Grain – 10/30/2019
Australian researchers have developed a new method to identify drought-resilient wheat quickly, cheaply and accurately. Work by the scientists from The Australian National University (ANU), ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, and CSIRO Agriculture and Food could help breeders develop more drought-resilient crops that can produce more food and more profit with less water.
“Our work may be instrumental for farmers to maximize food production in the face of increasingly severe drought,” said Arun Yadav from the Research School of Biology and ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology at ANU. Yadav and the other lead researcher Adam Carroll said selecting wheat that can grow better during short- to medium-term drought is vital to help fight food insecurity around the world.
Source: U.S. Wheat Associates