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California Association of Wheat Growers (CAWG)

December 31, 2006

U.C. DAVIS/CA WHEAT COMMISSION AWARDED GRANT FOR STRIPE RUST RESEARCH. A U.C. Discovery Grant was recently awarded to U.C. wheat breeder Jorge Dubcovsky, Extension Agronomist Lee Jackson, and commodity partner California Wheat Commission for a four-year research project aimed at developing wheat varieties with durable resistance to stripe rust. This project will use available molecular markers to incorporate multiple stripe rust resistance genes (gene pyramiding) into wheat lines adapted to different California environments, as well as discovering new resistance sources of stripe rust.

Wheat Stripe rust has been devastating to California’s 600,000-acre wheat crop since 1999, causing cumulative yield losses of 17.4 million bushels of wheat valued at $60.9 million. Traditional breeding has not been able to keep up with the mutating fungus that causes the disease; over 120 races of the stripe rust pathogen now exist. New "resistant" wheat varieties are becoming susceptible to the fungus within a matter of a few short years.

The research project will benefit California growers by maintaining the competitiveness and long-term productivity of California wheat. The current stripe rust epidemic has postponed improvement of other traits needed to maintain competitiveness in the market, such as better quality and agronomic traits. The incorporation of stripe rust resistant genes into wheat varieties will give growers the opportunity to continue to grow wheat as a valuable rotation crop or as an alternative crop when it is profitable in the marketplace.

The U.C. Discovery Grant provides for matching resources from the State of California and an industry partner on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

WHEAT CONTRIBUTES $21.5 BILLION TO U.S. ECONOMY. A new study on the economic impact of wheat shows that the crop contributed an average of $21.5 billion per year to the U.S. economy from 2003 to 2005. The study also showed 206,000 jobs on average each year were available over that time due to wheat production and use.

“This study points out something most wheat growers already knew, that wheat growing and the income it allows to flow through the economy are important to local communities and the U.S. economy as a whole,” said Dale Schuler, NAWG president and a wheat grower in Carter, Mont., in a press release on the study.

“Keeping wheat growers on the ground isn’t just important for the sake of food security – it’s a $21 billion decision that affects the economy as well as people’s jobs,” he said. “We are proud to represent this important sector of the economy and will continue to work to ensure that growers can stay on the land.” 

The Impact Analyses and Planning (IMPLAN) software package and database of technical coefficients were used to make the study’s estimates. The study looked at direct, indirect and induced economic impact on the state and national levels. It was commissioned by NAWG and done by James W. Richardson, Joe L. Outlaw and J. Marc Raulston at the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University.

USDA PROPOSES PERMANENT DEBARMENT FOR AWB, LTD. USDA Secretary Mike Johanns announced this week the immediate suspension and proposed debarment of AWB, Ltd. and its affiliates from participation in U.S. government programs and from contracting with the U.S. government.

USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) has sent suspension and proposed debarment notification to AWB and 11 individuals, as well as to a Minnesota-based company. The announcement followed the release of the Cole Commission report in late November.  The Australian government established the Cole Commission to investigate AWB’s wrongdoing associated with the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program. The Cole report confirmed that a variety of improprieties took place during that time and recommended criminal investigations into about a dozen AWB employees.

During the suspension FAS will conduct proceedings to determine if long-term, permanent debarment is justified. In November 2005, FAS temporarily suspended AWB’s ability to use U.S. programs pending the outcome of the Cole report, although AWB has not used the U.S. programs since 2004.

USDA ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF SECTION 1614 DATABASE. USDA’s Farm Service Agency announced recently that the agency has completed a database that attributes government farm payments at the individual level.

The database, commonly referred to as the Section 1614 database after authorizing section of the 2002 Farm Bill, includes more than $56 million in total payments to more than 2 million recipients that were delivered by USDA between Oct. 1, 2002 and June 30, 2006. 

Section 1614 directed the agency, “to establish procedures to track the benefits provided, directly or indirectly, to individuals or entities under titles I and II…” 

While this is the first time payments to corporations and co-ops have been attributed to individual persons, the database is not an official record of payment to producers, as the official records have been publicly available for several years.

The data from co-ops is integrated into the database to reflect individual benefits, rather than a single payment to a co-op or corporation.  These benefits are attributed to members according their individual share of the entity – although there is no way to determine if that individual ever actually received a payment.

According to a USDA fact sheet, some anomalies still remain within the database due to the way the data was collected.  For example, some individuals may actually show negative benefits.

Because of the large size of the database – six gigabytes – the database is not available via the Internet, and there are currently no plans to create a public Web site that includes the data. 

A DVD copy may be obtained from FSA but, because of the large amount of information it contains, that database will likely be too large to be loaded on the average home or desktop computer.

For more information about the Section 1614 database and about requesting the DVD, please visit:

http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/newsReleases?area=newsroom&subject=landing&topic=ner&newstype=newsrel&type=detail&item=nr_20061219_rel_1599.html

U.S. AND PANAMA FINISH FREE TRADE NEGOTIATIONS. U. S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab announced this week that the U.S. and Panama have completed negotiations on a free trade agreement, with an understanding that there will be further discussions regarding labor issues.

Panama already has broad duty-free access to U.S. markets through several trade preference programs such as the Caribbean Basin Initiative. Once the new agreement is ratified, the U.S. will receive immediate duty-free access to Panama for more than half of all U.S. farm exports, including wheat.

The U.S. and Panama also signed an agreement on sanitary and phytosanitary measures that will require Panama to recognize the equivalence of the U.S food safety inspection service for meat and poultry and the U.S. regulatory system for processed foods.  The U.S. is Panama’s largest trade partner, and the U.S. currently enjoys about a $1.8 billion trade surplus with the country. 

The agreement will have to be ratified by Congress.  However, because of the labor concerns that still need to be addressed, it is unknown when the Administration will send implementing legislation to the Hill, or when Congress would take action on such legislation.

For more information about the agreement please visit: