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Drought-Fueled Production Losses in Australia Alter Global Wheat Trade

By Claire Hutchins, USW Market Analyst

Prolonged drought has severely impacted Australia’s wheat production and, as a result, contributed to a significant shift in world wheat trade. If current weather conditions in Australia persist, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) believes these export trends could continue through marketing year (MY) 2019/20 and beyond.

According to USDA data, in the five years leading up to drought conditions that started in 2017, Australia exported an average of 18.5 million metric tons (MMT) of wheat per year. In MY 2016/17, Australian wheat production reached a record 31.8 MMT and exports reached 22.6 MMT, their highest level since MY 2011/12 (a significant portion of this volume was wheat exported for animal feed). In MY 2017/18, however, reduced supplies led to a sharp fall in Australian wheat exports to 13.8 MMT. In MY 2018/19, exports fell again to 9.0 MMT after Australian wheat production declined to 17.3 MMT.

Australia produces white wheats that compete effectively in regional bread applications, but most significantly in South and North Asian noodle markets. Even though there is no single U.S. wheat class with optimal characteristics for fine Asian noodle products, over many years, USW has provided technical assistance to millers and noodle manufacturers on blending of U.S. wheat or flour to optimize noodle quality and compete with Australian noodle varieties. In addition, U.S. hard red spring (HRS) provides a competitive option for higher protein flour needed in many markets to meet expanding demand for loaf bread products and hamburger buns.

USW believes that key customers have turned to the United States as Australian farmers struggle to produce enough exportable supplies. Between MY 2016/17 and MY 2018/19, for example, Australia lost market share in six of its top ten wheat export markets. Notably, Australian wheat exports to the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia declined while U.S. wheat exports to those countries increased in MY 2018/19.

Australian wheat’s share as a percent of total wheat imports in four key export markets has declined over the past two market years. Prolonged drought has significantly reduced exportable Australian supplies.

In MY 2019/20, USDA predicts Australian wheat production will rebound slightly to 21.0 MMT and exports are expected to increase to 12.5 MMT. Current USDA commercial sales data also show U.S. wheat exports to those four countries are ahead of last year’s pace.

U.S. farmers understand all too well the financial strain drought creates for their families and for end users of their wheat. Australian farmers must be concerned about whether their market share will rebound when the drought ends and supplies increase. That too is something U.S. wheat farmers, who have lost virtually all their market share in China under the current trade dispute, can understand. Market conditions change for all competitors. Ideally, that competition will continue to be carried out with the best interest of our shared customers and prospects in mind.

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“Breeding for Better Wheat” Illustrates Innovations  

Wheat is a staple of diets across the world. In fact, it is the source of about 20 percent of the calories consumed worldwide. Researchers at Kansas State University are using innovative methods like gene editing to breed wheat with added benefits, including lower gluten options that could one day allow people with gluten sensitivities to enjoy bread and other wheat-based foods.

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is pleased to share more information about plant breeding innovations in wheat in “Part 3 of the Plant Breeding Innovation” video series from the American Seed Trade Association and CropLife International. Click here to watch this informative presentation: https://bit.ly/2lB7zl3.

Produced by the American Seed Trade Association and CropLife International, “Breeding for Better Wheat” is next in a series on plant breeding innovations. To watch the video, visit https://bit.ly/2lB7zl3.

While the emphasis here is on innovative research associated with Kansas State University, state wheat commissions that are members of USW work closely with the Land Grant universities in their states to conduct similar public plant breeding programs. Private seed producers are also doing excellent work focused on improving both yield and functional characteristics of wheat.

USW is concerned that wheat production and harvested areas are on a long-term, downward trend around the world. Net returns per acre to farmers often favor other crops, and the differential is widening. An eventual supply and demand situation where smaller supplies of wheat are produced only in areas where more profitable alternatives do not exist will translate into supply challenges for the global food industry.

USW believes that these new technologies as well as on-going, conventional breeding methods benefit farmers, customers, and consumers, and will make positive impacts on the environment and the long-term health of U.S. agricultural land. To make this possible, USW urges the adoption of a nationally and internationally accepted definition of plant breeding innovation that clearly differentiates these methods from traditional biotechnology. The organization also advocates for international harmonization of scientific standards and trade rules.

For more information on USW’s positions on Innovation and Sustainability, visit the USW website at https://www.uswheat.org/policy/innovation-and-sustainability/.

The Genetic Literacy Project recently published this article on the role of plant breeding innovation in global wheat production: https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2019/08/29/crispr-and-other-new-breeding-techniques-could-be-key-to-unlocking-potential-of-global-wheat-production/.

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Columbia Snake River System Has a Crucial Role in Moving Grain to Port

Early in 2019, I attended a presentation given by the Executive Director of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association (PNWA), Kristin Meira. In the audience were farmers eager to hear how U.S. legislators shared their interests regarding the ongoing navigability of the Columbia Snake River System. Open waterways are a crucial and efficient source for U.S. farmers to export their products to international markets.

The Columbia Snake River System is the leading gateway for wheat exports. The Columbia Rive alone barges 53% of U.S. wheat destined for export. The rivers can move more volume at once, with greater fuel efficiency, making them more effective for moving grain to market than by rail or truck. One barge can carry the same amount as 35 rail cars or 134 18-wheelers. A barge tow can carry more than one 100-unit train or 538 trucks. One barge can move a ton of wheat 647 miles per gallon while a truck can only move a ton of wheat 145 miles per gallon

A Voice for the River System

The PNWA is an active voice in promoting the benefits of keeping the river systems open for navigation. In their own words, the PNWA is a collaboration of ports, businesses, public agencies and individuals who combine their economic and political strength in support of navigation, energy, trade and economic development throughout the Pacific Northwest (PNW). The organization’s history dates back to the projects of the New Deal in 1934. The group, known then as the Inland Empire Waterways Association, petitioned President Roosevelt to fund a navigation lock along the Columbia River just east of Portland, Ore.

Since then, the PNWA has been a leader in securing Congressional authorization for the necessary funds to build another seven locks and dams along both the Snake and Columbia River. The PNWA also works hard to maintain and improve navigability. They advocate for deepening the draft and improving the jetties that allow safe passage into the Columbia River.

Conflicting Interests

The importance of the river system is not lost on the farming community. However, balancing the interests of environmental groups is difficult. Save Our Wild Salmon, an organization with the goal of increasing PNW wild salmon and steelhead populations, advocates for the removal of dams on the Snake River and expanded spillways on the remaining dams. They also want to modernize the Columbia River Treaty with Canada. These changes would include the river’s health as an equal portion of the treaty, which currently only governs energy production and flood management.

Many groups do not place value on the beneficial role that the dams have regarding grain transportation and clean renewable energy. The four dams on the Snake River power up to 800,000 homes while producing zero carbon emissions. Instead, environmental groups focus their argument on enhancing the railroad as a replacement for barge grain transportation. This tactic would take billions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades and would not be as efficient or as environmentally friendly

A Necessary Link

The value of the Columbia Snake River System as a transport hub from farm to market is the link necessary to connect the United States to its trading partners. The river system keeps U.S. wheat competitive by moving higher volumes at more efficient prices. The wheat associations that make up the tri-state region of Idaho, Oregon and Washington all support, through their PNWA membership and resolutions,  the ongoing navigability of the rivers system. There will continue to be controversy surrounding the river system and the rich ecosystem that they sustain. The shared interest between farmers, sportsmen, environmentalists, scientists and commerce are diverse. An organization like PNWA, which has spent more than 80 years advocating for an open river system, is the key to keeping it open for decades to come.

By Michael Anderson, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) Assistant Director, West Coast Office

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Wheat Industry News

Recent news and highlights from around the wheat industry.

Quote of the Week: “As we expand our understanding of the basic biological construction of food, [plant] breeders will deploy a greater variety of tools to identify and produce foods with attributes that can help feed the world as the climate, and thus our agricultural landscape, changes. “ – Mark McLellan, Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies, Portland State University, in “The Borlaug Blog.” Read more here.

2019 Borlaug Field Award for Scientists Under Age 40. The World Food Prize Foundation announced recently that Dr. Hale Ann Tufan, of Turkey, is the 2019 Recipient of the Norman E. Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application, Endowed by the Rockefeller Foundation. She is recognized for championing the incorporation of gender-supportive activities within the global agricultural research community, working across disciplines to ensure women farmers and scientists are fairly represented in the lab, in the field and at the table. Read more here.

Register for the 2019 World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue International Symposium. The 2019 Symposium theme, “Pax Agricultura: Peace Through Agriculture,” will address the increasingly intersectional issues of food security, conflict and development. With topics ranging from diplomacy, climate, scientific innovation, and corporate leadership, this year’s Dialogue will serve as an opportunity to take stock of the current state of global agriculture and food security. Attendees will have access to 20 panel discussions and keynote addresses, 25+ breakout events, and opportunities to meet and network with experts, Laureates and leaders in food security and agriculture from over 40 countries. Learn more and register here.

New Wheat Variety for the Noodle Market. “Ryan,” the newest spring soft white wheat variety from Washington State University, is winning over Northwest farmers and grain buyers across the Pacific, thanks to its surprising ability to create an outstanding fresh noodle. “Ryan has hit harder and generated way more interest than anything I’ve done before,” said Mike Pumphrey, WSU’s O.A. Vogel Endowed Chair of Spring Wheat Breeding and Genetics. “What sets Ryan apart is its quite remarkable noodle quality.” Read more here.

Scientists Discuss Gene Editing and The Future Of Agriculture. “Diversity is needed for species to thrive and evolve in nature,” explains Dr. Amita Mohan, a professor of plant physiology at Temple University, quoted in an article on Innovature.com. “Variety is what leads to higher yield, disease resistance, stress tolerance and higher nutritional quality.” Mohan is using gene editing to spur diversity in wheat crop at a time where the crop’s yield is plateauing once again. Read more here.

IAOM-KSU Basic and Advanced Milling Principles. Through hands-on training in the Kansas State University milling facilities and classroom discussions at the IGP Institute, these two courses will further develop participants basic and advanced milling skills and understanding of the milling process. The IAOM-KSU Basic Milling Course will be held Oct. 7 to 11, 2019. Click here for more information about these courses and the IGP Institute.

Subscribe to USW Reports. USW publishes a variety of reports and content that are available to subscribe to, including a bi-weekly newsletter highlighting recent Wheat Letter blog posts, the weekly Price Report and the weekly Harvest Report (available May to October). Subscribe here.

Follow USW Online. Visit our page at https://www.facebook.com/uswheat for the latest updates, photos and discussions of what is going on in the world of wheat. Also, find breaking news on Twitter at www.twitter.com/uswheatassoc and video stories

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Unfavorable Weather Delays U.S. Spring Wheat Harvest

By Claire Hutchins, USW Market Analyst

Though early April is the ideal planting window for U. S. hard red spring (HRS) wheat, saturated fields and cold soil temperatures kept many farmers out of their fields until late May or early June this year. The same precipitation and cool temperatures that delayed planting boosted early HRS development through mid-June and helped reduce concerns about late planting from central Montana to western Minnesota. Now, scattered precipitation and high humidity across the Northern Plains are preventing many farmers from entering their fields to begin the spring wheat harvest. According to USDA’s August 19 Crop Progress report, only 16% of the country’s spring wheat harvest was complete compared to last year’s 56% and the 5-year average of 49%. In spite of the delay, USDA rates 70% of U.S. spring wheat in good to excellent condition and an average yield of 49.2 bu/acre (3.30 MT/hectare), up from last year’s 48.3 bu/acre (3.25 MT/hectare). USDA predicts the country will produce 597 million bushels (16.2 million metric tons (MMT)) of HRS in 2019.

USW gathered some additional information from our stakeholders in HRS production states.

Minnesota. “It’s been a good year for wheat. The crop looks great and we expect above average yields and average protein levels despite delays,” says Charlie Vogel, Executive Director of the Minnesota Wheat Research & Promotion Council. Farmers in Minnesota, the second largest HRS-producing state in the country, are expected to harvest 91.7 million bushels (2.5 MMT) of wheat in 2019, down slightly from 2018 levels as reduced planted area offset increased expected yields. According to Vogel, Minnesota farmers have barely begun the spring wheat harvest due to scattered precipitation throughout the state. In an average year, farmers would be about 88% complete by now compared to the 14% reported by USDA. In the west, farmers are swathing their wheat in windrows to dry it out before combining. With a cool, dry weather forecast for the next 10 days, Vogel expects Minnesota’s harvest to progress nearly to completion by next week if dry conditions hold.

In Montana, the third largest HRS-producing state in the country, cold and wet soil conditions widened the spring planting window from mid-April to early June. A dry July helped farmers who were able to get their HRS in the ground early, but could hurt yields for late-planted HRS. The Montana spring wheat harvest has been “slow and frustrating” according to Cassidy Marn, Marketing Program Manager at the Montana Wheat & Barley Committee, as rainy, cold weather poured over the southern two thirds of the state around August 10. Marn believes these conditions have delayed the HRS harvest by about 3 days on average and by as much as two to three weeks in some places. Montana’s spring wheat harvest, at 20% complete, is far behind last year’s pace of 42% and the five-year average of 44%. When Montana’s farmers do complete harvest, they are expected to see an average 34.0 bu/acre (2.28 MT/hectare) in 2019, 2.0 bu/acre higher than last year’s yield, according to USDA. Montana’s HRS crop is expected to total 85.0 million bushels (2.31 MMT) this year, down 11% from last year as reduced planted area more than offsets increased expected yields.

North Dakota. “Spring wheat harvest had a sluggish start, but is beginning to accelerate. It is an above-average crop and we are waiting to see how rains impact harvest pace,” says Jim Peterson, Policy and Marketing Director at the North Dakota Wheat Commission. North Dakota is the largest HRS-producing state in the country and is expected to produce 320 million bushels (8.70 MMT) in 2019. Cool, wet weather delayed spring wheat planting but boosted yield potential in the central and southern part of the state. In north-central North Dakota, HRS yields could be lower than USDA’s predicted 50.0 bu/acre (1.36 MT/hectare) due to unusually dry conditions that affected the crop throughout the summer. As of August 18, only 12% of the state’s HRS was harvested compared to 55% last year and the 5-year average of 43%. Peterson predicts the state’s HRS harvest could take off in the next couple of days if a pocket of cool, dry weather rolls through the state.

South Dakota. According to Reid Christopherson, Executive Director of the South Dakota Wheat Commission, “HRS harvest is extremely delayed. Unfortunately, the crop is ready to harvest; however, moisture and mud in the fields have stalled progress. Extreme humidity and frequent rains have allowed only a few hours of harvest per day when field conditions permit access.” Only 27% of the state’s HRS harvest is complete compared to last year’s 89% and the 5-year average of 75%. Based on early harvest data, South Dakota HRS test weights and protein levels look good, but continued moisture throughout the harvest could reduce kernel color. USDA expects South Dakota HRS yields to increase 12% over last year to 42.0 bu/acre (2.82 MT/hectare), but production is expected to fall 10% year-over-year as reduced planted area offsets increased expected yields.

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The U.S. Wheat Industry’s Partnership with Japan Adds Perspective to Current Trade Negotiations

There is renewed hope this week that the United States and Japan are making good progress toward a trade agreement that we hope will ensure U.S. wheat can continue competing with Canadian and Australian wheat based on quality, variety and value. Currently, under the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Japan’s effective tariffs on Canadian and Australian wheat imports are discounted and will continue being discounted to the tariff on U.S. wheat imports. U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) has every confidence that our agricultural trade negotiators working with Japan fully understand the need to mitigate the risk to U.S. wheat farmers in an agreement. We thank them for their efforts.

As the talks move forward, USW thinks it is important to review the indelible link between the Japanese people and U.S. wheat producers. It began when the Oregon Wheat Growers League (OWGL) organized a trade delegation to investigate opportunities for expanding U.S. wheat sales to Japan in 1949. In 1956, with a vision to the future, OWGL opened an office in Tokyo to share information the wholesome goodness of wheat foods. The success of this endeavor helped encourage wheat farmer organizations in the state of Washington and Oregon to join OWGL in forming Western Wheat Associates (WWA), which merged with Great Plains Wheat in 1980 to become USW.

In the early years, USW’s legacy organization focused on acquainting the Japanese people with the nutritional value of wheat foods. Perhaps the most famous were “Kitchens on Wheels” traveling through rural Japan to promote wheat foods to Japanese consumers, conducted jointly by OWGL and the Japan Nutrition Association with financial assistance from USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), which has remained an essential partner with USW and our Japanese customers. Eventually, management of these programs transitioned to eight key prefectures. Another early program involved the introduction of bread to school lunch programs.

Kitchen buses helped introduce the Japanese people to the nutritional value of wheat foods. This project started in 1956 was the first of many successful wheat promotion programs sponsored by U.S. wheat farmers in close cooperation with the Japanese government, millers, bakers and the grain trade over the last 60 years.

 

Starting with bread donations, the U.S. wheat industry continued to help introduce bread to school lunch programs allowing Japanese children to enjoy the taste and nutrition of a new type of food.

As market conditions changed, the wheat industry’s Tokyo office contracted with the Japan Institute of Baking to conduct functional and quality testing offering proof that flour products milled from U.S. hard red spring and hard red winter wheat classes could compete with Canadian spring wheat. Those early efforts continued to expand and change as Japan’s milling and baking industries advanced in sophistication and automation to set global standards of cleanliness, uniformity and variety of products for consumers.

Working to Increase Confidence. For example, Japanese flour mills and their customers demand very high standards of cleanliness and uniformity in addition to the variety of wheat classes to make the wide range of flour products for hundreds of different wheat food products — and U.S. wheat producers consistently meet those standards. Recognizing that our customers in Japan needed the confidence they could contract for and receive wheat of the highest quality, USW took action. Managers worked closely with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry (MAFF), Japan’s grain trade and flour millers to refine specifications in tenders for U.S. wheat. At the same time, USW and its state wheat commission members worked with the U.S. grain trade to respond to these specifications. Partly as a result, Pacific Northwest export elevators changed their processes to improve segregation and installed cleaners. That commitment to reliability and customer service combined with the high quality and end-use performance is why Japanese flour mills prefer and choose to source 50 percent of their annual needs – almost 3 million metric tons per year on average – of wheat from the United States.

In 2016, U.S. wheat farmers and U.S. Wheat Associates traveled to Tokyo to celebrate the founding of a U.S. wheat export office in Japan in 1956. Here is that delegation at the offices of the Japan Flour Millers Association. Bringing Japanese millers and U.S. wheat farmers together builds a closer working relationship. The result is greater trust and a big reason why Japanese millers keep producing flour from U.S. wheat.

Over the years, a strong trust had grown between U.S. wheat farmers, state wheat commissions, USW, MAFF, millers and bakers, as well as the Japanese grain trade and their quality assurance partners. USW and the farmers we represent take this opportunity to renew our commitment to producing the highest quality, highest value wheat for our customers in Japan and around the world.

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Bakery Technician Joins U.S. Wheat Associates Team in South Asia

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW), which represents the interests of U.S. wheat farmers in export markets, is pleased to announce that Mr. Adrian “Ady” Redondo recently joined the organization as a Bakery Technician in its Manila, Philippines, office.

USW Regional Vice President Joe Sowers said there is a strong connection between increased imports of U.S. wheat and the organization’s investment in technical milling and food production support, which is the role Redondo will play in the Philippines and across growing Southeast Asian markets.

“Our long-term effort to help customers improve their products and processes through technical support has helped established strong and consistent export markets for U.S. wheat farmers,” Sowers said. “We are expanding our technical support team in South Asia to provide similar returns. Ady will spend a lot of time working closely with our experienced technicians in the region, but his professional experience in food technology and interpersonal skills will serve him — and the wheat farmers we represent — very well in what we hope will be a long career with U.S. Wheat Associates.”

Born in the Philippines, Redondo earned a bachelor’s of science degree in food technology from the University of the Philippines in 2001. He went on to amass experience in quality assurance, research and development, production and sales in the thriving Philippines food and bakery industries. Most recently, Redondo was a key accounts manager with Ingredion Philippines, Inc., a global ingredient solutions company manufacturing starches, sweeteners, nutrition and biomaterial ingredients for food, pharmaceuticals and industrial applications.

USW’s 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.” USW activities in more than 100 countries are made possible through producer checkoff dollars managed by 17 state wheat commissions and cost-share funding provided by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. USW maintains 15 offices strategically located around the world 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. For more information, visit the USW website at www.uswheat.org.

Ady Redondo.

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USW Takes its Video Team to Washington’s Iconic Palouse Region

Sculpted by the cataclysmic Missoula floods millions of years ago at the end of the last ice age, the rolling, fertile hills of the Palouse region in the Pacific Northwest is one of the most distinct agricultural landscapes in the United States. In Washington’s Whitman County—the largest U.S. wheat producing county—Gary Bailey farms both winter and spring wheat.

Capturing footage of wheat harvest in Eastern Washington.

 

Gary Bailey, Washington Grain Commission Chairman and USW Board Member does his interview.

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is producing a video that focuses on the people who contribute to the wholesome quality of U.S. wheat for dozens of different food products around the world. Recently, the Baileys and LM Farms was the third stop for the project that will be completed in 2020, with visits already made to Kansas and Ohio and many more to come.

After starting his career with Farm Credit, a major farm lending institution, Gary left to join the farm full-time in 1989 with his parents and two brothers to be a part of the legacy that his parents started and to give his children the same kind of upbringing that he had. Today, Gary works the farm’s 4,500 acres alongside his brother Mark and his young niece Erin—the next generation.

Gary Bailey with USW Director of Communications Amanda Spoo.

During USW’s visit, Gary hosted a USW-sponsored trade delegation of grain buyers from Myanmar and Malaysia on the farm to learn firsthand about what he does as a U.S. wheat farmer to produce the high-quality wheat these export markets are looking for. This was the participants’ first time visiting the United States and the first time any of them had seen or touched wheat plants.

 

A USW-sponsored trade delegation from Malaysia and Myanmar hosted by the Washington Grain Commission.

USW and the video crew also visited Tri-Cities Grain in Pasco, Wash., and HighLine Grain Growers in Waterville, Wash., to capture footage of the journey U.S. wheat takes from the local grain elevators to river and train terminals where it is loaded and transported to export terminals.

Barge at Tri-Cities Grain.

Thanks to Washington Grain Commission Program Director Joe Bippert for his help arranging our visit and Damon Filan (Tri-Cities Grain) and Paul Katovich (HighLine Grain Growers) for hosting us at their facilities. And many thanks to the Bailey family for graciously taking so much time to share their love of producing U.S. wheat for the world.

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USDA Plan to Ease Biotech Regulations Splits Industry

By Philip Brasher, Executive Editor, Agri-Pulse

Copyright © 2019, Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc., Excerpted with Permission

 

Crop developers say USDA’s effort to streamline its regulation of biotech crops will still slow the commercialization of many gene-edited products, but groups representing grain traders, food processors and restaurant chains are slamming the department’s proposal, claiming it could lead to trade disruptions and undermine consumer confidence.

 

Under the proposed rule issued in June, bioengineered plants would be exempted from regulation by USDA if the modifications could be produced through traditional breeding techniques, making them unlikely to pose a greater plant pest risk than conventionally bred crops.

 

Crop developers would have three options under the proposed rule: They would be allowed to decide on their own whether their modifications are exempt from regulation; Companies could seek confirmation letters from USDA of the exempt status; Or they could ask USDA to determine whether the trait is regulated or not.

 

The National Grain and Feed Association, Corn Refiners Association, National Oilseed Processors Association, North American Export Grain Association and North American Millers Association said in a joint statement to USDA that the proposal is “fundamentally flawed and is inconsistent with the agency’s obligation to protect the economic value of U.S. agricultural and food exports.”

 

Other food industry groups, including the Grocery Manufacturers Association, National Restaurant Association and American Bakers Association, joined the grain industry on a shorter statement that said the proposal also risked undermining consumer confidence.

 

“If USDA is unable to inform consumers on what is available in the market, it is likely that consumer confidence in USDA will wane. Additionally, we believe the proposed regulatory framework opens the door for significant criticism of APHIS and genetic engineering technologies,” the statement said.

 

The groups called on USDA to slow implementation of the changes to its regulatory system until the Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency issue rules or guidance on how they plan to oversee gene-edited crops.

 

Tuesday was the deadline for industry organizations, advocacy groups and the public to file comments on a proposed rule issued in June to rewrite USDA’s Part 340 regulatory process for genetically engineered plants.

 

The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and American Seed Trade Association urged USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to expand the proposed regulatory exemptions, which are based on the concept that modifications that could be achieved through “traditional breeding techniques” should not require USDA approval. The four exemptions include modifications achieved solely through the deletion of genetic material or through single base pair substitutions.

 

The American Seed Trade Association says “significant applications of genome editing” could fail to qualify for the proposed exemptions. The group said the exemptions should cover a range of genetic changes that have been traditionally made through mutations, sometimes with chemicals or radiation.

 

More than 3,200 crop varieties, from heat-tolerant cotton to Ruby Red grapefruit, have been bred since the 1950s through induced mutations, the group said.

 

Plants modified through mutations induced by chemical means or radiation can be used in organic production.

 

BIO said, “Techniques commonly used by plant breeders today are capable of creating a much broader array genetic modifications than the limited exemptions proposed.”

 

Nina Fedoroff, a molecular biologist who served as the State Department’s science and technology adviser during the George W. Bush administration, agreed that the exemptions were too limited.

 

“The kinds of modification that can be made through traditional breeding, which now defined to include chemical and radiation mutagenesis, cover a much larger array of genetic changes than is included in the detailed list of exemptions listed in the proposed rule,” wrote Fedoroff, who is a science adviser in the Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Matz law firm.

 

But the groups representing grain traders and processors argued that USDA hasn’t provided scientific justification for the exemptions in the proposed rule and that the self-determination approach “risks undermining consumer acceptance and international regulatory recognition of APHIS’s regulatory oversight.”

 

The biotech industry acknowledged that USDA should require some form of mandatory notification. BIO, which represents a wide range of biotech companies, said breeders should be required to file a notification, which would include details of why it is exempt from regulation, at least 90 days before putting the product on the market. The information would later be posted on an agency website. The notification requirement would apply to a product that a developer self-determines to be exempt, not just to those products for which the developer seeks formal confirmation from USDA that it is exempt.

 

“BIO looks forward to working with the Agency on implementing guidance that achieves transparency without limiting innovation in either commodity or specialty crops,” the group said in its 43-page filing with APHIS.

 

ASTA also supports mandatory notification, although the industry is still debating what the requirements should be, said ASTA President Andy LaVigne.

 

The National Corn Growers Association cautioned the agency to consider how a mandatory notification system “might be perceived in international markets” and whether and how the notification process would “hinder global acceptance” of biotech products.

 

The National Association of Wheat Growers, which also is concerned about protecting its export markets, called on the federal government to “actively engage with our trading partners as soon as possible to work toward consistent, science-based policies across countries to avoid trade disruptions.

 

“All foreign customers expect the continued oversight by USDA to ensure consistent food safety, which is fundamental to their confidence in purchases of U.S. wheat,” the group said in its comments, noting that half the wheat American farmers grow is sold for export.

 

The vast majority of the more than 5,400 comments that have been posted online so far have been critical of the administration for seeking to streamline biotech regulations.

 

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group that is generally supportive of agricultural biotechnology, also thinks USDA is going too far in deregulating the products.

 

CSPI specifically opposes allowing companies to self-determine whether their products are subject to regulation and says the proposed exemptions are too expansive, not too narrow, as BIO, ASTA and Fedoroff argue.

 

The proposed rule would eliminate USDA oversight of many ‘traditional’ plants that are genetically engineered, “which could result in harm to human health, the environment, and/or U.S. agricultural interests. We are also concerned that many of the proposed exemptions from oversight are not supported by the necessary scientific data and analysis that would ensure they will not result in adverse impacts,” CSPI said in its comments.

 

The group goes on, “U.S. consumers and trading partners will not accept unregulated GE products unless the basis for exempting oversight is based on scientific evidence.”

 

An advocacy group that has long fought USDA in court over biotech regulation, the Center for Food Safety, claims in its comments that the exemptions would “drastically shrink the scope of regulation to a small subset” of genetically engineered organisms.

 

“This exemption scheme is arbitrary and capricious, and contrary to sound science, because as APHIS itself concedes, it is impossible to determine whether a specific GE modification on a specific plant could in fact have been effected by means of traditional breeding techniques,” CFS says.

The organization contends the exemption criteria are so explicit that crop breeders won’t bother to consult with APHIS on whether their products are regulated.

A USDA official said recently that the department should be on track to finalize the regulatory changes in mid-2020.

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Wheat Industry News

Recent news and highlights from around the wheat industry.

Quote of the Week: “Trade policy throughout the past several decades has opened up new markets for agricultural exports, increased access in existing markets, and lowered or eliminated various tariffs and technical barriers to trade. Opportunities for improvement still abound; however, the benefits far outweigh the drawback for the agricultural community.” – Michelle Erickson-Jones, Wheat Farmer and Past-President of the Montana Grain Growers Association. Click here to read more.

Weekly Commercial Sales are Up. USDA reported net U.S. wheat export sales of 487,700 metric tons for the week to August 1. That is 27% higher than the preceding week and 17% above the prior four-week average. U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) publishes a Commercial Sales report every Thursday with more details.

USDA Should Consider Export Customer Concerns. This week, the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) submitted comments to the U.S Department of Agriculture on proposed rule changes to regulations on plant biotechnology. In a statement about its comments, NAWG said: “… its highest priority concern is that any rule change contemplated by the USDA APHIS needs to consider its impact on importing countries of U.S. produced grain. NAWG encourages USDA APHIS to develop and execute an international engagement strategy that defines USDA’s rationale on pre-market regulatory approaches. All foreign customers expect the continued oversight by USDA to ensure consistent food safety, which is fundamental to their confidence in purchases of U.S. wheat.” Click here to read the entire statement.

No Vote on USMCA “Disappointing.” In a news release, the Washington Grain Commission (WGC) and the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) said the failure of the U.S. Congress to approve the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on Trade (USMCA) prior to its August recess “jeopardizes trade with two of America’s most reliable customers as it threatens wheat shipments to our most important market.” They urged Congress to schedule an expedited vote on the important trade agreement. Although the Pacific Northwest exports little grain to Mexico, wheat is traded on the world market and undermining exports to Mexico “will depress prices further for all wheat farmers” the organizations stated.

IAOM-KSU Basic and Advanced Milling Principles. Through hands-on training in the Kansas State University milling facilities and classroom discussions at the IGP Institute, these two courses will further develop participants basic and advanced milling skills and understanding of the milling process. The IAOM-KSU Basic Milling Course will be held Oct. 7 to 11, 2019. Click here for more information about these courses and the IGP Institute.

Subscribe to USW Reports. USW publishes a variety of reports and content that are available to subscribe to, including a bi-weekly newsletter highlighting recent Wheat Letter blog posts, the weekly Price Report and the weekly Harvest Report (available May to October). Subscribe here.

Follow USW Online. Visit our page at https://www.facebook.com/uswheat for the latest updates, photos and discussions of what is going on in the world of wheat. Also, find breaking news on Twitter at www.twitter.com/uswheatassoc and video stories at https://www.youtube.com/uswheatassociates.

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