Wheat Industry News

Recent news and highlights from around the wheat industry.

Speaking of Wheat. “Many of the more exciting projects associated with sequencing the wheat genome are still in the toddler stages. More important than ever is minimizing or eliminating the tradeoff between yield and quality. Milling and baking have a tremendous stake in what comes from this research and have every reason to take a seat at the table in this exciting effort.” – Josh Sosland, Editor, Milling & Baking News in an Oct. 27 editorial in World-Grain.com.

Hybrid Wheat Research. Amir Ibrahim, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Research wheat breeder in Texas A&M’s Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, has spent the past seven years studying the hybridization of wheat in a partnership with Stephen Baenziger, Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln small grains breeder. Read more at AgriLife Today.

Too Early to Speculate on GMO Wheat Variety. AgWeek reported that North Dakota State University agricultural economist Dr. Frayne Olson says it is simply too early in the approval process to see how the new variety, HB4, recently approved by the Argentine government, will affect international, national and regional wheat markets. Olson said there has not been any approval by importing countries thus far. Read more at AgWeek.

Grain Handler Rail Challenges Debated. Agri-Pulse covered a U.S. Senate Commerce Committee meeting this week focused in part on domestic rail service performance amid the rapid row crop harvest and significantly increased overseas demand. Mike Steenhoek, Executive Director of the Soy Transportation Coalition said “service levels overall have been good” but he continues to hear about high rail rates and service performance issues. American Association of Railroads President and CEO Ian Jefferies testified that as “we’re getting into a peak season, we anticipate continually increasing volumes.” When it comes to rail service being on time, he said constant communication with grain handling customers is key. Read more at Agri-Pulse.

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