Weekly Update for
August 27

The schedule for the 2026 NAWG/NWF/USW Fall Meeting is now available! We encourage attendees to arrive in time for the National Wheat Foundation Board Meeting at 1:00 p.m. MST on Monday, November 2. The meeting schedule will conclude with the NAWG Board Meeting at 11:00 a.m. MST on Wednesday, November 4. Additional information about registration and hotel reservations will be available next week. We look forward to seeing you in Albuquerque!

On August 24, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the Harvest to Hallways Initiative, a new effort to strengthen school meal programs by connecting more American farmers with local schools, investing in school kitchen infrastructure, and providing states and school districts with additional tools to serve healthier, nutrient-dense meals. This announcement, made at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), brought together farmers, students, school nutrition professionals, athletes, chefs, and parents. The initiative focuses on strengthening the connection between local agriculture and school cafeterias while supporting schools in preparing and serving nutritious meals. “If we want to Make America Healthy Again, we have to start with our children, and that means improving what we put on their lunch trays every single day,” said Secretary Brooke L. Rollins. “Harvest to Hallways is about bringing more American agriculture into the school cafeteria. We are connecting schools with the farmers and ranchers in their own communities, investing in the kitchens and equipment school nutrition professionals need to prepare real food, and cutting through barriers that have made it too difficult to serve healthy, American-grown food. When we strengthen the connection between the farm and the lunchroom, everybody wins: our children eat better, our farmers gain new markets, and our communities grow stronger.” “Every school meal should make a child healthier,” said Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we are putting the updated Dietary Guidelines into action by bringing real, nutrient-dense food back to school cafeterias and giving schools the tools to serve it affordably. Together with Secretary Rollins, we are building a school food system that supports American farmers and raises healthier American children.” The initiative reflects a broader effort to support school nutrition, local agriculture, and the infrastructure needed to provide nutritious meals to students. 

Regional officers and supporters of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program have raised concerns as the USDA has yet to release fiscal 2026 funding for the program. If the funds are not made available by September 30, they will be absorbed into the general treasury and SARE’s grant programs will be halted. Authorized in the 1990 farm bill, SARE funds farmer-driven research focused on addressing soil erosion, pests, water quality issues, and other concerns. On average, the program provides about $25 million a year directly to hundreds of ranches and farmers to participate in research and educational projects, having funded over 10,000 projects since its creation.

Our friends at the National Pasta Association have a great website for everyone to learn more about pasta. From great recipes to a Pasta IQ quiz, this website is full of valuable and fun information. Maybe you will discover a new recipe to try or learn a new fun fact about pasta. Take a look below.

Two of the National Wheat Foundation Directors’ second terms will expire in 2027; Scott Brown (ID) and Jeff Blackwood (industry). We want to thank and recognize Scott and Jeff for their tremendous contributions to the board. We are calling for anyone interested in serving on the National Wheat Foundation Board to submit your name, in writing, along with a brief resume to Boyd Heilig, NWF nomination committee chair (heiligb18@gmail.com) or Anne Osborne, NWF Executive Director (aosborne@wheatworld.org) by October 9th, 2026. Board terms are three years, and there is a maximum of two terms. The board holds two in-person meetings per year, plus it attends the Commodity Classic where we host the National Wheat Yield Contest winner’s reception.