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U.S. Wheat Associates Continues to Find Success in Virtual Programs

By Catherine Miller, USW Programs Coordinator

With the COVID-19 pandemic still lingering in 2021, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) continued to provide reliable, high-quality service to customers worldwide via virtual programming. The pandemic’s start quickly brought challenges that no industry in modern history had experienced on such an immediate, global scale. However, USW quickly pivoted and adapted its programs. That experience and valued feedback we received better prepared USW to improve and expand virtual programs in 2021.

USW conducted more than 315 virtual programs in 2021 and reached over 13,000 participants. This increased from 296 virtual programs and 11,000 participants in 2020, even as some regions slowly began implementing in-person activities again this year. The chart below showcases a breakdown of the types of USW programs and compares virtual participant reach in 2020 and 2021 to pre-pandemic, in-person participant numbers in 2019.

Estimated number of participants in USW programs 2019-2021

“Marketing year (MY) 2021/22 combined ending stocks of major wheat exporters are projected to reach their lowest level in more than ten years. This tighter supply outlook among exporters pushed wheat prices to historically high levels, and adverse global weather

Mike Spier

Mike Spier, USW Vice President of Overseas Operations

conditions intensified market volatility,” said USW Vice President of Overseas Operations Mike Spier. “In 2021, USW overseas staff rose to the challenge and increased the number of customers reached through crop and market updates by more than 1,000 participants compared to similar programs in 2020. This increased frequency in virtual programs and timely market information kept buyers around the world informed of the latest wheat price, production and quality trends, helping them navigate tighter supplies, price volatility and challenges brought on by the pandemic.”

In 2021, USW hosted a new monthly webinar series, “Creating Value for U.S. Wheat,” hosted by Mark Fowler, USW Vice President of Global and Technical Services. With assistance from Catherine Miller, USW Programs Coordinator, the seven-part series featured technical topics and current market trends such as solvent retention capacity (SRC), flour blending, flour particle size impact, stream selection and more. Webinar speakers included USW’s in-house technical staff, including Fowler, Roy Chung, Ivan Goh, Tarik Gahi, Peter Lloyd and Andrés Saturno. The monthly webinars ran from April to October and reached more than 1,840 participants.

Another highlight from USW’s 2021 virtual programming was the first-ever “School of Wheat Quality Course.” USW collaborated with Dr. Senay Simsek, Purdue University, and Brian Sorenson, Northern Crops Institute (NCI), who designed and executed two intensive 6-week virtual sessions for customers in South and Southeast Asia. Participants took a deep dive into the various steps of wheat quality testing from field to table through live-streamed lectures and demonstrations. Benchmark exams were conducted throughout the 6-week course and were a requirement for graduation—a helpful tool to ensure participants stayed engaged.

“These courses provided foundational instruction on testing wheat and flour quality. Training mill staff how to accurately measure quality parameters and compare attributes offered by different types of wheat helps illustrate the superior quality of U.S. wheat classes,” said USW Regional Vice President for South Asia Joe Sowers. “Courses like this are a win-win for USW and our stakeholders. They facilitate the success of collaborating millers while proving the value proposition of using U.S. wheat.”

For the U.S. wheat industry and its overseas customers, who share historically long connections, meeting together in person here and abroad has always been paramount to its successful relationships. While the value of face-to-face activities is irreplaceable, the unique opportunity to increase USW’s reach to customers has become a silver lining to the challenges brought on by the pandemic. Going forward, USW sees the value in leveraging a mix of in-person and virtual programming to best serve its customers.

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New Wheat Flour Lab to Help Promote U.S. Wheat Exports to South America

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) sees a robust growth opportunity for U.S. wheat exports to South America. To meet rising demand for bread, snacks and other wheat foods, regional flour millers are hungry for information they need to purchase a wider range of high-quality wheat classes.

U.S. wheat must compete in Colombia, Peru, Chile, Brazil and other South American countries with imported Canadian and Argentinian wheat. Technical training and comparative analysis to demonstrate the advantages of U.S. wheat classes are important parts of USW’s work in the region. However, those efforts are somewhat constrained because a substantial portion of the funding for activities was needed for travel costs to conduct activities in sometimes limited facilities in each country or at U.S. educational institutions.

ATP Funding Yields Innovative Idea

A potential answer to this challenge arrived in 2019 when the Agricultural Trade Promotion (ATP) program, administered by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), was created to help U.S. agriculture build new export markets. Under ATP, USW’s regional South American office staff in Santiago, Chile, proposed an innovative promotional concept to establish a regional flour milling, cereal chemistry and baking laboratory in cooperation with a respected university.

Through pandemic-related delays and customs challenges, USW and its project partner, Universidad Mayor, worked steadily to build a facility on the university’s Santiago campus and equip the lab with a test flour mill, wheat and flour analysis instruments and bread ovens. On Dec. 3, 2021, USW and the university dedicated Laboratorio De Analisis De Granos Harinas Y Panifcacion at an event attended by Chile’s Minister of Agriculture, U.S. State Department and FAS officials, the university rector and executives with several Chilean flour mills.

Photos show honored guests at the dedication of the new lab.

Honored Guests. Learning more about the new lab are, (L to R): Bret Tate, Agricultural Attaché, USDA/FAS; Lisa Swenarski, Counselor for Public Affairs, U.S. State Department; Pedro Pablo Lagos, Purchasing Manager, Luchetti Pasta, Santiago, Chile; Andrés Saturno, Technical Manager, USW/Santiago; Miguel Galdós, Regional Director, USW/Santiago; Lisa Swenarski; María Emilia Undurraga, Chilean Minister of Agriculture; Dr. Patricio Manque, Rector, Universidad Mayor. Photos courtesy of Universidad Mayor.

“We are very pleased to open the first lab of its kind in this region with Universidad Mayor,” said Miguel Galdós, USW Regional Director, South America. “We know that technical managers at South American flour mills have more influence today on the types of wheat their mills need to purchase. USW will be able to help more of those managers understand the differential advantages of U.S. wheat classes by conducting programs at this regional lab. At the same time, having access to consistent and reliable testing and analysis will lead to improvements in production processes and help improve the quality of regional wheat-based end products.”

More Efficient, More Effective

“Before now, South American millers would have to send wheat samples to a commercial company in Guatemala for analysis, so this lab adds much more efficiency in its support for regional customers,” said Mark Fowler, USW Vice President of Global Technical Services, who participated in the dedication event.

As a partner in the new lab, USW purchased and installed all the equipment using ATP funds, while Universidad Mayor built the lab and will cover fixed costs. USW Santiago in return will share equal access with the university to the lab for technical support activities supporting U.S. wheat exports to South America and remain the lab’s only private partner for 15 years.

Photo shows instruments in a new laboratory for measuring wheat quality that will support wheat exports to South America.

Fully Equipped. USW donated the instruments needed to analyze and compare wheat, flour and baking performance at the new lab. Funding for the equipment came from the Agricultural Trade Promotion program administered by USDA/Foreign Agricultural Service. Photo courtesy of Universidad Mayor.

Golden Opportunity

After attending the dedication event, USW Vice President of Overseas Operations Mike Spier called the new lab “a golden opportunity” to demonstrate the competitive baking advantage of U.S. wheat classes compared to wheat from other origins.

“With the ever-changing travel restrictions and quarantines, USW hasn’t been able to organize in-person technical activities for several months,” Spier said. “The lab provides everything USW Technical Specialist Andrés Saturno needs to get back to demonstrating the superior end-use baking performance of U.S. wheat classes to partners in Chile and other customers in USW’s South America region.”

Impressive Team and Project

For USW Chairman Darren Padget, a wheat farmer from Grass Valley, Ore., the dedication event was his first overseas trip to meet with customers in more than two years and his first visit to South America.

“I was very impressed by the enthusiasm of the regional USW team and among the guests at the dedication for this new lab,” Padget said. “I understand why, partly because we visited a supermarket in Santiago and saw the types of bread consumers purchase and how they shop. In Chile, consumption is very high, and they buy most of their bread for the day by the piece. Consumers there and across South America are looking for excellent quality products with a ‘clean label’ – very few additives. I think this lab will help USW demonstrate how flour from our wheat helps millers and bakers meet that demand.”

The evidence of that was on display at the dedication event as artfully crafted bread products and pizza refreshments baked by Master Baker Didier Rosada and his wife Kathy Cruz using flour milled from U.S. wheat. USW frequently works with Rosada’s Red Brick Consulting company to conduct baking seminars in Spanish-speaking countries. The week of the dedication, Rosada and USW held a workshop using U.S. wheat flour for customers representing 75% of Chile’s milling industry.

 

Impressive artisan bread products display.

An Artful Display. Master Baker Didier Rosada and Katherine Cruz, Red Brick Consulting, produced this impressive display of bread products admired by and shared with guests at the dedication of the new lab, Dec. 3, in Santiago, Chile. Photo courtesy of Universidad Mayor.

Traditional preferences and the landed price of imported wheat will remain a competitive challenge for U.S. wheat in South America. But the complete value of U.S. wheat becomes more obvious to customers through demonstration and training. Now there is a dedicated facility for that work, giving USW the opportunity to interact with regional customers more frequently and invest more of its funding to show them the unique advantages of U.S. wheat.

USW Colleagues at the Lab Dedication that will support Wheat Exports to South America.

Proud Colleagues. The USW/Santiago team who worked tirelessly to build the new laboratory to promote U.S. wheat exports to South America shared their enthusiasm for the project with USW guests. L to R: Mark Fowler, Vice President of Global Technical Services; Maria Martinez, Administrative Assistant; Andres Saturno, Claudia Gomez, Senior Marketing Specialist; Mike Spier, Vice President of Overseas Operations; Paola Valdivia, Finance & Administrative Manager; Miguel Galdos; Osvaldo Seco, Assistant Regional Director; and Darren Padget, USW Chairman.

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Northern Crops Institute Announces Wheat Webinar Series

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) links overseas customers directly to the wheat they purchase and to the farmers who grow it by sponsoring participants at short courses, bringing trade delegations to the United States, creating end-product seminars and sending experts overseas. USW and the world’s wheat buyers are fortunate to work with world-class educational partners including Northern Crops Institute (NCI), IGP Institute and Wheat Marketing Center.

This week, Northern Crops Institute announced a series of market update webinars on topics that should be valuable to overseas customers and stakeholders here in the United States. Following are webinar descriptions, dates, times and registration information.

“July World Agricultural Supply and Demand Update Featuring Tregg Cronin,” Wednesday, July 21, 2021, 08:00 Central Daylight Time (CDT)

Portrait of Tregg Cronin, speaker at a Northern Crops Institute webinar

Tregg Cronin, Market Analyst, Halo Commodities, and contributing analyst to DTN/Progressive Farmer.

Tregg Cronin is a fourth-generation farmer and rancher from Gettysburg, S.D., as well as a contributing analyst to DTN/Progressive Farmer. Tregg graduated from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN in 2009 before working for agriculture cooperative CHS, Inc. With CHS, Tregg worked in the company’s grain marketing division as well as its commodity brokerage, CHS Hedging. Currently Tregg is a Contributing Analyst to DTN/Progressive Farmer. Tregg farms with his wife Sara and son Morgan as well as his father, uncles and cousins in what is truly a family farming operation.

Click here to register.

“2021 Hard Spring and Durum Wheat Tour Featuring Dave Green,” Thursday, July 29, 2021, 14:30 CDT

Portrait of Dave Green, Wheat Quality Council, speaker at a Northern Crops Institute webinar

Dave Green, Executive Director, Wheat Quality Council.

The Wheat Quality Council Hard Spring and Durum Wheat Tour will wrap up early the afternoon of July 29. This webinar will give the post survey results and give people a view of the situation on the ground as Northern Plains farmers deal with a devastating drought. Dave Green from the Wheat Quality Council will be with us to discuss the 2021 Hard Spring and Durum Wheat Tour. His presentation will include a review of the tour, what was viewed on the tour, estimated yield potential, and more.

Click here to register.

“Challenges and Opportunities in Global Agricultural Trade and Competition Featuring Dr. William W. Wilson,” Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021, 08:00 CDT.

Portrait of Dr. William Wilson, Professor, Agribusiness and Applied Economics, NDSU, speaker at Northern Crops Institute webinar.

Dr. William Wilson, Professor, Agribusiness and Applied Economics, NDSU.

Dr. Wilson is a distinguished Professor, Agribusiness and Applied Economics, at North Dakota State University (NDSU). Dr. Wilson has spent his career working with the global grain trade on everything from global futures, cash, and derivative markets, transportation, logistics, technology, and biotech. He was recently selected by NDSU to present the 60th annual faculty lectureship which is one of NDSU’s oldest and most prestigious awards. It recognizes sustained professional excellence in teaching, scholarly achievement and service among current faculty at NDSU. The honor is conferred on an individual who has demonstrated excellence in all three areas. The title of Dr. Wilson’s lecture is: “Challenges and Opportunities in Global Agricultural Trade and Competition” which includes a lifetime of research, thoughts, and observations. Dr. Wilson was instrumental in developing NCI’s procurement course that has benefitted so many U.S. wheat customers around the world.

Click here to register.

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An Inside Look at IGP’s Flour Milling Short Course for Commissioners

The IGP Institute serves Kansas and U.S. agriculture through its global education center housed in the Grain Science Complex on the Kansas State University campus in Manhattan. Its mission is to provide technical, research-based training benefiting industry professionals globally and enhancing the market preference for U.S. grains and oilseeds. The emphasis is on educational and technical programs supporting promotion and export market development efforts.

From Feb. 25 to 27, 2020, four colleagues from U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) participated in an IGP short course on flour milling for wheat commissioners (farmers and grain trade representatives who serve on the boards of state wheat commissions) and staff.  IGP tries to hold this course annually to educate members of the U.S. wheat industry in the basic principles of flour milling through classroom lecture and hands-on practical training in the Kansas State University milling and baking laboratories and the Hal Ross Flour Mill.

Here is an inside look at this fun and very enlightening course that has built, and will continue to build, greater empathy for and connections with overseas flour milling and wheat food processors among U.S. wheat farmers and grain traders.

Participants in the 2020 milling short course were (left to right around the table): Mark Fowler, Vice President of Global Technical Services, USW , and co-instructor; Amanda Hoey, Chief Executive Officer, Oregon Wheat Commission, Portland, Ore.; Nathan Larson, a wheat farmer and Kansas Wheat Commissioner, Manhattan, Kan., ; Lance Adams, Merchandising Manager, Team Marketing Alliance, Moundridge, Kan.; Steve Mercer, Vice President of Communications, USW; Jason Middleton, Oregon Wheat Commissioner and PNW Regional Manager, United Grain Corp., Umatilla, Ore.; Dana Tuckness, a wheat farmer and Oregon Wheat Commissioner, Ontario, Ore.; Shelby Knisley, Director of Policy, USW; Scott Yates, Director of Communications and Membership, Washington Grain Commission, Spokane, Wash.; Claire Hutchins, Market Analyst, USW; Brian Cochrane, a wheat farmer and Washington Grain Commissioner, Kahlotus, Wash.; Aaron Harries, Vice President of Research and Operations, Kansas Wheat, Manhattan, Kan.; Shawn Thiele, Interim Associate Director/Flour Milling and Grain Processing Curriculum Manager, IGP Institute, and co-instructor.

 

 

Mark Fowler counsels his colleagues Shelbi Knisley and Claire Hutchins on adjusting laboratory mills in K-State’s Shellenberger Hall in a section of the course demonstrating basic milling processes. Hutchins is adjusting the break roll gap on the lab mill.

 

Measuring and adjusting “Break Release” to balance the milling system is a basic skill for flour millers. Here in the Hal Ross Flour Mill, Shawn Thiele explains how weighing stock from 1st break rolls, sifting and comparing the weight of the resulting flour (“through material”) measures the percentage of break stock released.

 

Comparing particle size and color of “through” material from the break, purification and reduction systems clearly show the fine-tuned effort at each step in the milling process to extract as much usable flour as possible from cleaned and tempered wheat stock.

 

Participants in the short course learned about the wide range of flour qualities and byproducts produced in the milling process. This sample table was prepared for course participants by students at K-State working toward bachelor’s degrees in milling science and management.

 

One wheat does not fit all. Preparing and baking sugar snap cookies (biscuits), yellow cakes and pan breads using different flour products helped the course participants better understand flour functionality and the crucial wheat quality component for end-product processors around the world. Aaron Clanton, left, Bakers National Education Foundation (BNEF) Instructor at K-State, and several Bakery Science students led the participants through an enjoyable morning in the K-State bakery lab.

 

 

 

 

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Cereal Chemistry Training in Emerging Wheat Markets Features SRC Analysis

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is applying Agricultural Trade Promotion (ATP) program funding to hold “Cereal Chemistry Seminars” in 2020 for the milling industries across several countries that are growing in sophistication to meet expanding demand for wheat foods. USW believes that with a more complete understanding of the functional value of wheat proteins, carbohydrates and other properties, flour milling quality control managers will have additional information with which to evaluate the high-quality characteristics of U.S. wheat compared to competing supplies.

To provide the knowledge that will help these managers fully understand the end-use value of U.S. wheat supplies, USW has developed a comprehensive seminar that will be conducted over the next two years in several markets. One of the topics to be covered in the seminars is Solvent Retention Capacity (SRC) analysis of flour (photo above Copyright © Chopin Technologies).

USW believes that the evidence is strong supporting SRC as the most effective method for evaluating the true performance characteristics in flour for biscuits (cookies), crackers and cakes, as well as many hard wheat flour applications, is testing for. The SRC Method was created by scientists to identity the important components of wheat flour that affect end-product cost and productivity for cookie and cracker manufacturing. SRC testing reveals that U.S. wheat has strong “character.” In other words, it functions effectively and produces desirable end-products without heavy additive manipulation.

In a brief video, Bongil (Bon) Lee, operations manager with the Wheat Marketing Center in Portland, Ore., describes the basic functions of SRC flour analysis. Click here to view the video.

USW anticipates that after the seminars, participants will have enhanced skills, like being able to use SRC analysis, to assist co-workers, suppliers and customers in developing new formulations requiring more specific flours and increased volumes of U.S. wheat classes. Participants will gain expertise in flour analysis and the importance of specifications required in large production bakeries. And quality control staff will have enough technical capabilities to defend the functional value of high-quality flour from U.S. wheat.

By funding opportunities like Cereal Chemistry Seminars, ATP, an export market development program administered by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, is helping USW continue to give flour milling and baking managers the information they need to meet demanding consumer needs in their local markets while building a preference for U.S. wheat supplies.

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Commitment to Education Continues to Add Value to U.S. Wheat Imports

By Catherine Miller, USW Program and Planning Coordinator

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) believes customer engagement, supply chain transparency and accessible global market information are the building blocks for robust relationships with U.S. wheat customers.

USW often partners with organizations that offer a variety of short courses related to the global wheat supply chain and processing industries, providing the opportunity for customer engagement and education. These partners include Northern Crops Institute (NCI) at North Dakota State University (NDSU) in Fargo, N.D., IGP Institute at Kansas State University (KSU) in Manhattan, K.S., and Wheat Marketing Center (WMC) in Portland, Oregon.

In 2019, USW sponsored 81 participants from Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe at eight short courses and four workshops at IGP, NCI and WMC.

USW Market Analyst with NCI’s Brian Sorenson during the 2019 Grain Procurement short course. Read more about this course here: https://bit.ly/2kGGM7a 

In addition, USW staff and consulting experts who may be associated with the educational partner organizations, conduct such courses or workshops. Funding for the educational service is provided primarily by export market development programs directed by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.

Wherever they are held, these courses are focused on helping customers better understand the U.S. grain marketing system from farm to port, U.S. wheat classes and risk management needed to ensure future purchases provide the best value. With the different courses offered, USW can serve participants from such diverse backgrounds as millers, bakers, end-product manufacturers and buyers.

A core educational program that USW offers is the “Contracting for Value Workshop.” It is designed to help customers gain greater knowledge of supply chain management challenges and opportunities to write tenders for U.S. wheat that will yield the greatest return on their investment.

While this workshop is typically hosted at one of the U.S. educational organizations, this year USW’s team in the Mexico, Central America and Caribbean Region decided to hold workshops in Mexico City and Chihuahua, Mexico. Agricultural Economics Professor Frayne Olson of North Dakota State University, who supports short courses held at NCI, joined USW staff to conduct the workshops in October 2019.

USW Vice President Steve Wirsching presenting in Chihuahua, Mexico

“By doing the workshops in-country, USW staff and consultants could meet with the entire management teams at two different mills in a week,” said Stephanie Bryant-Erdmann, USW Assistant Regional Director. “Having the general managers and owners as well as the production, storage, quality and purchasing staff all together was invaluable because while they were learning about U.S. wheat quality, we also could see consensus being built on the specifications as the teams identified the wheat characteristics that had the most value for them.”

This commitment to customer service before and after U.S. wheat is imported is one of the unique legacies represented by USW’s partnership with farmers, the U.S. government, state wheat commissions and our educational partner organizations.

Header Photo Caption: Contracting for Value Workshop in Chihuahua, Mexico

2019 Contracting for Wheat Value team from China in Montana.

NCI Pasta Production and Tech Course

Philippine-Korean Bakery Workshop at the Wheat Marketing Center.

 

2019 Grain Purchasing short course at the IGP Institute.

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It Takes Some PhDs to Bake a Cake

By Michael Anderson, USW Assistant Director, West Coast Office

Reading the directions on the back of a cake mix box and adding the ingredients step by step may seem simple enough but it is no easy feat to ensure the consumer ends up with a consistent cake from box to box. How do baked good brands stay the same store to store, how does a cake get its perfect lofted middle, how do crackers keep their shape? The answer is simple: from science. Yet the means of getting there is anything but simple.

Two familiar names leading the discussion on U.S. wheat quality characteristics and versatility through education and training are Dr. Jayne Bock, Technical Director, and Dr. Lingzhu Deng, Food Scientist, of the Wheat Marketing Center, Portland, Oregon.

Dr. Jayne Bock, Technical Director, Wheat Marketing Center

Both Dr. Bock and Dr. Deng have food science backgrounds and roots in farming. Dr. Bock grew up in Kansas where her family had a wheat farm and Dr. Deng grew up helping her uncles on their rice farm in Southern China. Deng said that the poor growing practices in the area inspired her to find a better way which as an accomplished cereal scientist, she has.

Dr. Lingzhu Deng, Food Scientist, Wheat Marketing Center

These scientists say they enjoy research and academia, which is key to a job tasked with improving end-product quality. Their role at the Wheat Marketing Center is to improve the understanding of wheat functionality and end use characteristics. They assist overseas customers with hands-on opportunities, allowing visiting technical teams to objectively judge the quality and functionality of a given product.

Many markets that purchase U.S. wheat are well developed with a sophisticated knowledge of what characteristics they are looking for. Those customers however, may be interested in new food trends and the ingredients needed to produce them. Technicians from markets where demand for wheat foods is still less developed may not be as aware of the importance of functionality as it relates to end-product quality or cost. Bock and Deng are eager to help customers develop the answers they seek.

Many experienced bakers know that quality products start with quality flour. Flour from a strong, extensible hard wheat is great for bread, but a mellower soft wheat makes the best cake flour. High ash content may make good bread products, but you do not want it in your cake. Selecting the right flour ingredient is complicated, so it makes sense that it takes highly trained PhDs to help build the practical knowledge needed for any type of product.

As wheat food demand sets new records across the globe almost every year, businesses look for ways to make more products that are attractive to more consumer market segments. Automation has become an increasingly important component of the baking industry and, as bakers try to keep up with and expand demand for their products, knowledge of wheat quality characteristics and consistency becomes more important.

Dr. Jayne Bock discussing wheat quality and sustainable production at the 2019 USW World Staff Conference.

There is a lot of thought that goes into something that seems as simple as a cake or a pizza. At the Wheat Marketing Center, it takes two PhDs plus a successful support staff to help keep the wheat flour and foods industry advancing and help U.S. wheat customers around the world develop a more sophisticated understanding of ingredients and processing. It is an understanding that Dr. Bock and Dr. Deng are eager to share.

Dr. Lingzhu Deng is a Food Scientist at the Wheat Marketing Center.

For more information about how the Wheat Marketing Center provides training opportunities and product development assistance, visit its website at https://www.wmcinc.org/. In addition, you can read a U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) profile of the Wheat Marketing Center online at https://bit.ly/2MPSOYw.

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Wheat food products to illustrate Wheat Industry News

State Wheat Commission Members Support Wheat Farmers and Engage with Consumers

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is supported by a highly successful public-private partnership that includes 17 state wheat commissions. Wheat producers contribute a portion of their wheat sales (either by bushel or by production value and known as a “checkoff” program) to their state wheat commission and contribute a portion of the checkoff to join USW. On average, U.S. wheat farmers contribute about one third of a penny per bushel ($0.0032) to USW. In return, USW’s works closely with its state wheat commission members to carry out its mission “to develop, maintain, and expand international markets to enhance the profitability of U.S. wheat producers and its value for their customers.”

On the state level, these commissions invest funds in various educational projects and ongoing communications efforts to support wheat farmers and engage with consumers, domestically and overseas. We thank USW state commission members’ commitment to building demand for U.S. wheat and highlight some of their activities and resources here.

  • Find more information about the Arizona Grain Research & Promotion Council’s news and activities here.

 

 

  • The Colorado Wheat Administrative Committee posts weekly crop progress reports on its website and other news and activities on Facebook and Twitter.

 

  • By using the registered tagline ‘Quality wheat simply grown’ and a new, more modern logo, Idaho wheat farmers are connecting on a more personal level with consumers who want to know their food is grown naturally on family farms. Visit the Idaho Wheat website here and follow its news and activities on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • The Oklahoma Wheat Commission recently partnered with the Oklahoma State University Food & Agricultural Products Center for a day-long event called All You Knead to Know – An Artisan and Grain Workshop. The new, annual event walked participants through the journey wheat goes on from field to fork. Read more about this event here and stay up to date with the commission’s other news and activities on Facebook.

 

  • The Oregon Wheat Commission is showcasing wheat growers and Oregon State University (OSU) researchers through videos to help connect consumers to agriculture. The first video features Dr. Hagerty from the Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center (CBARC) in Pendleton, Ore. View the video here and follow along with the commission’s other new and activities on Facebook and Twitter.

 

 

 

  • The “Wheat All About It” weekly podcast, hosted by the Washington Grain Commission, features guests from all over the U.S. wheat industry discussing important current issues. Listen to the podcast here. The commission also shares its news and activities on Facebook and Twitter.

 

  • Find more information about the Wyoming Wheat Marketing Commission’s news and activities here.
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Wheat Marketing Center Hires New Technical Director

The Wheat Marketing Center (WMC) recently announced the selection of Dr. Jayne Bock as its new Technical Director. Starting in late October, Dr. Bock will lead WMC’s research and technical training efforts focused on demonstrating the value of U.S. wheat produced across the country.

WMC Managing Director Janice Cooper said, “Dr. Bock was selected after a lengthy international search. She possesses an excellent set of research skills, technical expertise and communication abilities that will help move WMC programs in new and exciting directions.” Cooper is particularly pleased that Bock has a depth of experience with soft wheat quality and end products, including crackers and biscuits.

Bock is an experience research leader with a specialty in grain and flour quality. Bock earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in food science at Kansas State University and her Ph.D. in Food Science at University of Wisconsin-Madison. She spent several years at the University of Guelph as an Adjunct Professor and, more recently, as Global Technical Leader with Brabender Instruments, as well as a consultant with Chopin Technologies. Bock is also active in wheat industry associations, including AACCI, and has co-authored an impressive list of refereed publications.

“I enjoy the challenge of communicating complicated technical issues to diverse audiences and am very excited to be joining the WMC team,” said Bock.

WMC Board Chairperson Bill Flory, an Idaho wheat grower, looks forward to welcoming Bock at the WMC board meeting Oct. 18 in Portland, Ore. “WMC’s technical expertise in research and product development is highly respected around the world. Dr. Bock’s background and experience are an excellent fit to help WMC meet the evolving challenges of our customers and wheat producers,” said Flory. “Jayne will be a great addition to our existing group of dedicated professionals.”

Created in 1988, WMC is technical crossroads of the wheat world linking wheat producers, consumers, millers and end product manufacturers. U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) works with this educational partner to identify U.S. wheat market needs and provides technical training courses for customers. The two organizations also work together every year to provide crop quality analysis and data for soft white (SW) and hard white (HW) wheat. Read more about this partnership here.

Everyone at USW wishes Dr. Bock the best of luck in this new position and are looking forward to working with her.

For more information about the Wheat Marketing Center visit www.wmcinc.org.

Dr. Jayne Bock

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AIB International Empowers and Adds Value to the Baking Industry

By Amanda J. Spoo, USW Assistant Director of Communications

Global demand for wheat food grows stronger every year, making exports vitally important to U.S. wheat farmers. As the export market development organization for the U.S. wheat industry, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) works to help wheat buyers, millers, bakers, wheat food processors and government officials understand the quality, value and reliability of all six U.S. wheat classes. USW relies on its successful working relationships with world-class educational partners that, through courses, workshops and seminars, enhance the technical and trade service assistance to help separate U.S. wheat from its competitors. One of those partners is AIB International (AIB) in Manhattan, Kan.

AIB was founded in 1919 as a technology and information center for bakers and food processors. Its mission is to empower the global food industry to elevate their food safety and grain-based production capabilities. AIB’s staff includes experts in baking production, experimental baking, cereal science, nutrition, food safety and hygiene. While most of its training occurs at its United States headquarters office, both AIB’s physical and virtual overseas offices are involved in coordinating its food safety services as well as public and private training on location.

“AIB has evolved as a company, but that educational piece of our mission has remained at the core of everything we do,” said Brian Strouts, AIB Vice President of Baking and Food Technical Services.

In 2018, USW is sponsoring participants from Japan, China and Hong Kong at AIB courses focused on variety breads and rolls, and baking science and technology. USW Technical Specialist Dr. Ting Liu recently completed the Baking Science and Technology Resident Course, an intensive, 16-week residency held twice a year that combines science, hands-on lab work and baking tradition. Liu shares her first-hand experience at the course in the story (The AIB Baking Science and Technology Course: A Pathway to Success) below.

Participants learn how key ingredients function and interact in baked products, which processes are critical to finished products, sound manufacturing practices and how to manage the production process. The course is accredited by the Kansas Board of Regents, so participants who pass it also receive 60 IACET (International Association for Continuing Education and Training) continuing education units.

“This course is the capstone of our baking training programs and holds quite a bit of weight in the industry because of its historical significance,” said Strouts. “This most recent class to graduate was class 192, and the true value of this certificate is the knowledge of the students who came before them in classes 1 through 191, and what that experience means to them individually and to their organizations.”

AIB also offers an extensive database of online resources, webinars and guides, both free and for purchase. This includes several resources focused on helping bakeries address key elements of the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act.

USW recognizes the value of sending both its own staff and U.S. wheat customers to AIB for training. Strouts explained that the key component of AIB’s relationship with USW is the international perspective from the participants that USW sponsors.

“Our courses — especially one as long at the Baking Science and Technology Course — is an immersion of its participants, their cultures and individual experiences,” said Strouts. “That value is intangible.”

Learn more about AIB and its programming and services at www.aibonline.org.

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