Weekly Update for
January 23

Last week, the National Association of Wheat Growers held its Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. We kicked off the week with committee meetings and a joint plenary session with U.S. Wheat Associates. Then, our growers headed to Capitol Hill, to advocate for our 2025 policy priorities. They continued to stress the need for a long-term comprehensive farm bill and presented Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson with NAWG’s 2024 Wheat Leader of the Year Award. We also celebrated our outgoing President Keeff Felty and NAWG’s 75th anniversary with Congressman Frank Lucas. NAWG’s Board of Directors elected its new officer team, with Pat Clements of Kentucky elected as President, Jamie Kress of Idaho as Vice President, Nathan Keane from Montana as Treasurer, and Chris Tanner of Kansas as the new Secretary. Keeff Felty of Oklahoma will transition into the Past President position. The NAWG officers will assume their newly elected roles after Commodity Classic in March.  

On January 15, the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) awarded House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA-15) with its 2024 Wheat Leader of the Year Award for getting a long-term bipartisan farm bill passed out of the committee, which, if enacted, would have made significant improvements and investments in the farm safety net. NAWG President Keeff Felty presented the award to Chairman Thompson during the National Wheat Foundation’s annual Wheat 101 reception in Washington, DC. “Chairman Thompson has been a champion for wheat growers, and we appreciate his efforts to advance the bipartisan Farm, Food, and National Security Act out of committee and for helping secure much-needed economic assistance for farmers last month. NAWG is proud to present him with the 2024 Wheat Leader of the Year Award,” said President Keeff Felty. “This past year, the Chairman and his staff have made themselves available to NAWG, and I have always felt our needs were heard. I look forward to continuing to work with Chairman Thompson as we focus on getting a bipartisan, long-term farm bill passed that helps wheat growers and rural America thrive.”

On January 20, President Donald J. Trump was sworn into office as the 47th President of the United States. In response, the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) President Keeff Felty released the following statement: “Congratulations to President Trump and Vice President Vance. President Trump has been an advocate for our nation’s producers, and NAWG looks forward to working with him as we continue to advance the needs of wheat growers and rural America.” The NAWG staff also celebrated President Trump’s inauguration by attending the 2025 Bipartisan Inaugural Agriculture. Nearly 1,500 attendees gathered to celebrate American agriculture and heard from members of Congress, trade associations, and industry leaders at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C.

The 2025 Commodity Classic is right around the corner! NAWG hopes to see you in Denver, CO, from March 2 to 5. When you register, make sure to mark the National Association of Wheat Growers as one of your associations. The early registration discount ends on January 15. Please encourage any wheat grower in your state to attend the largest agriculture trade show in the country.

Following the pomp and circumstance of President Trump taking office, he immediately got to work and issued a wide range of Executive Orders in alignment with his campaign promises. The EOs covered a range of topics from ending birthright citizenship, temporarily halting foreign and realigning foreign aid, pulling the United States out of the Paris Agreement, expanding American energy production, examining trade policy, and declaring a national emergency on the southern border. As part of the executive action, the America First Trade Policy does not impose any new tariffs at present. Instead, it directs his administration to issue a unified report to the president by April 1, which may include recommendations to collect tariffs, duties, and other foreign trade-related revenues.

Today, Brooke Rollins, who has been nominated by President Trump to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture, appeared before the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee. Rollin faced questions about the farm bill, bird flu, federal nutrition programs, trade, and possible tariffs. In Chairman Boozman’s opening comments, he submitted a letter for the record that NAWG and 400 other agricultural organizations sent to the committee in supports Brooke Rollins’ nomination. The letter highlights Rollins engagement with American agriculture and that her previous work will be essential at USDA as we advocate for the reauthorization of the farm bill. Next, the committee must vote to confirm Ms. Rollins, and then the nomination will await consideration by the full Senate. Watch the full hearing below.

In the first few days of his administration, newly sworn in President Trump officially nominated Luke Lindberg of South Dakota for Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agriculture Affairs at the USDA. Dudley Hoskins, of the District of Columbia, to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. Stephen Vaden, of Tennessee, to be Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. Richard Fordyce, of Missouri, to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm Production and Conservation. Michael Boren, of Idaho, to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment. Read the full list of appointees below.

On January 21, the USDA announced the names of individuals who will hold senior staff positions in Washington, D.C. These include Kailee Tkacz Buller as Chief of Staff, Preston Parry as Deputy Chief of Staff, Jennifer Tiller as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary and Senior Advisor to the Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, Ralph Linden as Principal Deputy General Counsel, Audra Weeks as Deputy Director of Communications, and Dominic Restuccia as White House Liaison.  

On January 17, Congressman Glenn "GT" Thompson (R-PA-15), Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, announced the majority's vice chair and subcommittee leadership for the 119th Congress. On January 22, Congresswoman Angie Craig (D-MI-02), Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Committee, announced the minority's vice ranking member and the subcommittee leadership for the 119th Congress. Read the complete list of leadership positions below.

At the winter board meeting on January 15 in Washington, DC, the National Wheat Foundation elected Gary Broyles (MT) as Chair, Scott Brown (ID) Vice Chair, and Secretary/Treasurer Ben Scholz (TX). The officers will be installed after the Commodity Classic on March 5, 2025. Bernard Peterson (KY) is currently serving as Chair until March 5, 2025. Bernard has served his allowable two full terms on the NWF board. Dennis Schoenhals, a farmer from Kremlin, OK, has been selected to serve on NWF’s Board of Directors starting after the Commodity Classic. Ben Scholz and Mark Haugland (ND) were selected to serve their second 3-year terms. Thank you to everyone on the board for their leadership and generosity with their time and talents! Bernard, you will be missed!

The National Wheat Yield Contest encourages contestants to strive for yield, quality, and profit. Everyone who enters the contest saves a 10 lb sample of wheat and the National Winners ship their samples in to be tested for milling and baking quality. The results are analyzed by a panel of experts, and top-quality winners are selected and will each receive a $250 cash prize, in addition to their trip to the Commodity Classic that they earned by their top yields. The Winners of the Top-Quality Awards were announced at a Zoom meeting on Wheat Quality held on Wednesday, January 22. To see the list of winners, go to the wheat contest page, www.wheatcontest.org. Congratulations to those winners who prove that high-yielding wheat can also be customer-desired top-quality wheat!