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California Association of Wheat Growers (CAWG)

August 15, 2005

CALIFORNIA WHEAT TESTIFIES AT USDA HEARING. Bonnie Fernandez, Executive Director of the California Wheat Commission, attended last week’s listening session in Fresno convened by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns. The current farm bill expires in 2007 and Secretary Johanns is holding a series of listening sessions around the country to solicit input. Joining more than 50 speakers representing various California agricultural interests, Fernandez offered some comments on wheat’s priorities for the pending farm bill renewal. With only two minutes allocated to each speaker, Fernandez noted that California wheat growers are not always able to access federal farm programs because of California’s different farming practices. She urged that greater authority be granted to the state’s USDA office in order to allow for more flexibility for our growers. She also noted that many programs are beneficial to wheat growers, such as the Foreign Market Development program and the Hard White Wheat incentive program, but that these programs will be wasted unless more research funding is made available to fight diseases such as stripe rust.

In a later conversation with Secretary Johanns, Fernandez thanked him for USDA’s efforts in getting Mexico’s trade ban on California wheat lifted (after nine years) and expressed her belief that the Mexican market provides real opportunity for California wheat growers.

The Fresno Bee reported that several speakers requested support to growers of specialty crops, including help in striking down trade barriers, and funding for research, marketing and pest exclusion. And they said the nation's new food pyramid, healthful eating and disease prevention programs bolster the argument for more assistance to specialty crop producers.

Other speakers suggested changes and additional support for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program that shares costs of projects farmers and ranchers often adopt to meet air or water quality regulation. Some wanted to be sure to keep funding for programs that help rural communities through Rural Development, a farm bill component that often receives less ink than crop subsidies.

USDA ISSUES AUGUST WHEAT CROP PRODUCTION REPORT. According the USDA’s monthly crop production report, all wheat production, at 2.17 billion bushels, is down 2 percent from the July forecast but up slightly from 2004.  Based on August 1 conditions, the U.S. yield is forecast at 43.0 bushels per acre, down 0.8 bushel from last month and 0.2 bushel below last year.

The final Winter wheat production forecast is 1.52 billion bushels.  This is down slightly from last month but 1 percent above 2004. Area harvested for grain totals 34.3 million acres, unchanged from last month but down 1 percent from last year.  The U.S. yield is forecast at 44.4 bushels per acre, down 0.1 bushel from last month.

Hard Red production is down 1 percent from a month ago to 913 million bushels.  Soft Red is up 2 percent from last month and now totals 320 million bushels.  White production totals 288 million bushels, up slightly from last month.  Of the White production total, 26.4 million bushels are Hard White and 261 million bushels are Soft White.  This is the first year that production levels for Hard White and Soft White are available. 

 Durum wheat production is forecast at 93.0 million bushels, down 1 percent from last month but up 3 percent from 2004.  The U.S. yield is forecast at 37.9 bushels per acre, 0.5 bushel less than last month.  Area harvested for grain is forecast at 2.45 million acres, unchanged from last month but 4 percent more than last year.

 Other Spring wheat production is forecast at 553 million bushels, down 6 percent from last month and 3 percent below 2004.  Acreage intended for harvest is unchanged from last month.  The U.S. yield is forecast at 40.6 bushels per acre, 2.6 bushels less than on July 1.  Of the production total, 516 million is Hard Red Spring wheat, down 6 percent from last month.

 NAWG MAKING THE CASE FOR BIOTECH WHEAT. At a meeting in early August with the Monsanto Growers Advisory Council,  NAWG President Sherman Reese announced NAWG is talking to other agribusiness groups about the future of growing and selling biotech wheat.  

Underpinning these discussions are the beliefs that:

·         Biotechnology has a critical role to play in the future of the U.S. wheat industry, and producers will be direct beneficiaries.  Therefore, producers need to take a more active role to bring about its introduction.

·         The domestic market will be more welcoming of the first biotechnology trait than foreign markets.

·         Wheat growers have a narrow window of time to make a successful introduction, or risk becoming an “orphan crop” and supplanted domestically by drought-tolerant corn, soybeans and other crops.  Drought tolerant corn is expected on the market no later than 2011.

·         The mainstream commodity channel will eventually be indifferent to biotechnology, and we will support that direction.  Efforts to segregate should focus on non-biotech varieties for customers who demand it.  This demand may be satisfied by organic wheat or by the evolution of a commercial non-biotech channel.

STRATEGO FUNGICIDE REGISTERED TO CONTROL WHEAT DISEASES. Bayer CropScience announced last week that its Stratego fungicide has been registered for control of foliar diseases in wheat by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Stratego was developed to provide control of rusts, leaf blight, glume blotch powdery mildew and tan spot. Stratego also gives California wheat growers the ability to harvest wheat for forage as soon as 30 days after application, and for hay 45 days after application.