Educating the Wheat World - October 2012The Beatles coined the phrase, "I get by with a little help from my friends," but U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) has perfected the sentiment through its successful working relationships with educational partners like Wheat Marketing Center, Northern Crops Institute, International Grains Program and AIB International.
Last year, USW linked participants from 25 countries directly to the wheat they purchase and the farmers who grow it by sponsoring participants at short courses, bringing trade teams to the United States, creating end product-specific seminars and sending experts overseas.
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Record Sales: Adding Value to America’s Reliable Wheat Supply - October 2012Despite surplus wheat stocks and U.S. wheat prices that frequently exceeded the price of competing supplies, 2011/12 U.S. wheat sales to several countries reached record levels.
Our customers recognized the value of U.S. wheat – backed by the fact that U.S. wheat farmers have consistently produced abundant, high quality crops and supported the effort of U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) to answer questions and resolve issues in purchasing, shipping or using all six classes of wheat.
Through USW, our overseas customers get professional technical assistance and personalized consulting that help strengthen their milling, baking and wheat food industries.
Read more (Adobe Reader required) Mabuhay! USW Celebrates Golden Anniversary in the Philippines - October 2012In Tagalog, "Mabuhay!" is a greeting that celebrates a happy life.
Its joyous sentiment rang true when U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) celebrated 50 years of partnership with Filipino flour millers, bakers and noodle manufacturers in February 2012.
"Few markets have shown such loyalty to U.S. wheat," said USW Assistant Regional Director Joe Sowers. "We have provided market intelligence and technical information and in return you have rewarded us by increasing wheat imports from 200,000 metric tons in 1961 to more than 2 million metric tons in 2011."
Read more (Adobe Reader required) Hamburger Buns in Hangzhou: Following Western Food Trend to China Pays Off in New Demand for U.S. Wheat - October 2012U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is proving that it is possible to sell more wheat to the world's largest wheat-producing country.
Starting 25 years ago, USW saw the demand for high quality flour grow in many developing countries and was confident the same would happen in the People's Republic of China.
USW and partner organizations like the Sino American Baking School laid a foundation for growth by demonstrating the quality reliability and value of U.S. wheat.
The payoff was evident in 2011/12 when China imported more than 22 million bushes of U.S. hard red spring, soft white, soft red winter and hard red winter wheat, three times what it bought in 2010/11.
Read more (Adobe Reader required) Moving On Up: Service Sparks Wheat Sales to Indonesia - October 2012Indonesians today eat one-third more wheat than they did in 2000...thanks to the fact that seven million Indonesians move up to the middle class every year, according to the World Bank.
With increased consumption driving more demand for high quality flour, U.S. Wheat Associates is providing information and technical training that milling and baking customers in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian markets are using to build their businesses.
In turn, this service fosters a long-term demand for U.S. wheat in markets that are much closer to Australia's wheat supply.
Read more (Adobe Reader required) A Whole-istic Product: U.S.Wheat Associates Promotes Whole Wheat Foods in AsiaWhether they live in New York or Beijing, consumers are eating more whole wheat foods. Yet whole wheat products are still relatively new to Asian consumers—and to the flour millers and bakers who serve them.
By sharing expertise and experience with milling and baking whole wheat flour, USW is helping an industry with strong growth potential overcome challenges while promoting U.S. wheat as the ideal source for high-quality, tasty whole wheat products.
Read more (Adobe Reader required) Meet Our Wheat: Trade Teams Bring U.S.Wheat Importers to the SourceThe United States has the highest quality wheat and the most reliable export supply in the world. And we prove it year after year.
USW conducts more than 10 trade team visits to the United States each year, to connect international millers, bakers and other wheat buyers personally to wheat farmers and the U.S. supply chain.
Trade teams visit wheat farmers to talk about crop conditions, and wheat breeders discuss future varieties. They also visit export facilities to view grain grading and inspection procedures, and even futures exchanges to witness price discovery.
These intense trips, supported by checkoff dollars from state wheat commissions and the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service market development programs, are essential tools to building trust and lasting relationships.
Read more (Adobe Reader required) Growing the Wheat They Want: U.S. Wheat Associates Partnership Works to Improve Wheat QualityWhile yield, protein and disease resistance potentially all play a factor in how farmers choose varieties, overseas millers and bakers consider other characteristics when choosing to use U.S. wheat.
Through the Overseas Varietal Analysis (OVA) program, USW brings those customers into the wheat variety selection.
OVA is an innovative program that demonstrates the beneficial milling and baking characteristics of newly released wheat varieties and helps the industry varieties perform best both on the farm and in the flour mill.
Read more (Adobe Reader required) The Ultimate Partnership: Helping Nigeria’s Millers Feed a Hungry PeopleWhen a wheat import ban was lifted in Nigeria in 1992, USW — with funding from American wheat farmers and the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service — was first in line to help the country’s millers and bakers rebuild and expand beyond even the most optimistic expectations. The relationship between U.S. wheat growers, USW and Nigeria’s milling industry is the ultimate success story of commitment, accomplishment and shared opportunity. With U.S. wheat imports as the grist and technical training and assistance by USW as the power, flour milling is now the second largest industry in Nigeria — buying almost all its wheat from American farmers. Our Nigerian customers have great respect for the many years of dedicated USW service and the consistently high quality of U.S. wheat.
Read more (Adobe Reader required) Thinking Downstream: U.S.Wheat Associates Keeps Exports Flowing During Columbia-Snake River System UpgradeForty to 45 percent of all wheat exported from the United States—including 75 percent of soft white wheat (SW)—passes through the mouth of the Columbia River. So it was no surprise that overseas buyers anxiously wondered about U.S. wheat supplies following an announcement that large segments of the Columbia River and Snake River would be closed for several lock and dam repairs from December 2010 to March 2011.
Recognizing that the river system upgrade could create challenges for some U.S. wheat buyers and pose a serious threat to the country’s reputation as the world’s most reliable wheat supplier, USW enacted a plan to keep buyers informed, demand high and exports flowing.
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