For Immediate Release Contact:
Elizabeth Rivera | 202-547-7800 | erivera@wheatworld.org
National Wheat Leaders Visit North Dakota
Washington, D.C. (April 4, 2024) – This week, officers, committee chairs, and staff from the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) and the National Wheat Foundation (NWF) visited the Red River Valley as part of their Bayer Leadership Training Program. Northern Crops Institute (NCI) at North Dakota State University (NDSU) facilitated the training, which consisted of parliamentary procedure review, public speaking practice, board and officer responsibilities, and more. The national wheat leaders and staff had a reception with wheat boards from North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota, traveled to the North Dakota Mill and Elevator in Grand Forks, and heard from keynote speaker Collin Peterson about advocating for the Farm Bill.
“It is very important for us to visit the different wheat-growing regions in the country so that we can get a firsthand grasp of their production and issues. Last year, we held this meeting in Kentucky, and the year before, we had it in Oklahoma. We wanted to visit hard red spring wheat country this year and learn more about this region. The North Dakota State Mill and Elevator, the 8th largest miller in the country, is an impressive facility and integral to spring wheat and durum growers. We thank them for their generosity for the tour this week and for partnering with us on the National Wheat Yield Contest,” said Bernard Peterson, Chair of the National Wheat Foundation and farmer from Loretto, Kentucky.
NWF project manager Anne Osborne manages the Bayer Leadership Program. Osborne credits the training for preparing wheat grower leaders to effectively speak to the media and members of Congress, both in their states and on Capitol Hill. Wheat leaders have been called on by the media and to testify before Congress on extremely important issues for wheat growers; the Farm Bill, crop insurance, ad hoc disaster programs, impacts of the drought, research funding, trade promotion funding, impacts of the war in Ukraine, maintaining access to crop protection tools, supporting voluntary conservation programs, resolving transportation issues, and more.
Keeff Felty, President of NAWG, visited North Dakota for the first time. “NAWG represents wheat states all over the country, and it is our mission to unite wheat farmers to promote policy that creates an environment conducive to the success of wheat farming in the United States. NAWG continues to advocate for wheat’s priorities in the Farm Bill – like protecting crop insurance, ensuring ad hoc disaster aid programs work for all classes of wheat, and defense of glyphosate. We want to thank everyone who joined us in Fargo for the reception, NCI and NDSU for the great facilities and leadership, and Bayer for supporting the leadership program. Their support is invaluable to us for this leadership program and the National Wheat Yield Contest.”
For more information on NAWG go to wheatworld.org. For more information on the National Wheat Yield Contest go to www.wheatcontest.org.
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