U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is the export market development organization for the U.S. wheat industry. USW promotes the reliability, quality and value of all six U.S. wheat classes to wheat buyers, millers, bakers, food processors and government officials in more than 100 countries around the world.
Its mission is to “Develop, maintain, and expand international markets to enhance wheat’s profitability for U.S. wheat producers and its value for their customers.”
Funding is made possible through checkoff dollars, goods and services from 17 state wheat commissions and cost-share grants from the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.
USW does not buy, sell nor process wheat; we do help make it easier for everyone else who does.
USW proudly represents the hard-working farm families that produce enough wheat every year to fill American tables, while still supplying a substantial share of world wheat trade.
- OUR ACTIVITIES
USW works to help wheat buyers, millers, bakers, wheat food processors, and government officials understand the quality, value, and reliability of all six classes of U.S. wheat.
- OUR HISTORY
Wheat farmers in post-World War II America were producing more wheat than ever before. But, with a poorly standardized marketing system, farmers needed a new way to improve marketing opportunities for their wheat. To do so, state wheat leadership created two regional organizations to coordinate export market development – Great Plains Wheat Market Development Association and Western Wheat Associates.
The Great Plains Wheat Market Development Association, chartered in 1958, was tasked with promoting wheat exports from the Plains states.
Western Wheat Associates was formed in April 1959 to expand international markets for wheat from the Pacific Northwest.
Realizing that the world wheat market was transforming into a global marketplace combined with the growing overlapping demand for U.S. wheat classes, the two organizations merged in 1980 to form one overseas grain promotion organization for wheat – U.S. Wheat Associates.
USW remains fixed on the mission of the farmers who created these legacy organizations to develop and grow export markets.
- OUR FUNDING
USW is supported by a highly successful partnership between our state wheat commission members and cost-share funding from the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).
- State Support. Wheat producers contribute a portion of their wheat sales (either by bushel or by production value) to their state wheat commission, known as a checkoff program. Currently 17 states contribute checkoff dollars to USW. This qualifies USW to apply for matching funds from FAS. Many state wheat commissions also contribute special project funds.
- USDA Programs. Most annual matching funds come to USW from FAS through the Market Access Program (MAP) and the Foreign Market Development (FMD) program. FAS requires USW to prepare an annual Unified Export Strategy to earn program funding. While FAS funding varies, its average match has been about $2.00 for every $1 in state funding.
USW does not receive direct funding from any commercial source.
For more information, visit the Policy section of this website.
Wheat Industry News
Recent news and highlights from around the wheat industry. Quote of the Week: “Things have changed (and) it is going to take a while to dry out. Probably...
MOREA Wild Trade Ride
By Ben Conner, USW Vice President of Policy U.S. trade policy has been going through a wild ride recently. The current U.S. administration believes that the...
MORENew Hard White Crop Offers Good Milling, Dough and End Product Performance
In a year when limited exportable quantities of U.S. hard white (HW) wheat are available, the good performance in milling, dough rheological properties and end...
MOREOctober 18, 2018
U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) publishes a new Commercial Sales report every Thursday documenting wheat export sales-to-date by country and class for the current...
MOREUSDA Leaves U.S. Wheat Exports Unchanged, Supported By Decreasing Global Wheat Production
By Stephanie Bryant-Erdmann, USW Market Analyst USDA updated its monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) on Oct. 11, showing the United...
MORETop Grade PNW White Wheat Available for a Variety of High Quality Finished Foods
Timely and adequate moisture through the soft white (SW) and white club (WC) growing season and a transition to a warm, dry harvest helped Pacific Northwest...
MORESupply and Demand – October 2018
Each month, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) updates a graphic summary of USDA’s WASDE (World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates) report The report...
MOREPrice Report – October 12, 2018
Every Friday, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) compiles information from market sources, including U.S. wheat exporters of all classes from various U.S. ports. The...
MORE