Weekly Update for
March 2

Join us in celebrating our President, Nicole Berg, at the NAWG President’s Reception in Orlando next week! Tickets are now on sale for the event that will take place on Thursday, March 9, followed by an auction to raise money for the WheatPAC. To purchase, go to wheatpac.givesmart.com.

This week, NAWG CEO Chandler Goule met with European landowners, land managers, and rural entrepreneurs from the EU Landowner Study Tour. Chandler provided insight into agriculture and its approach to sustainability and climate solution from the perspective of wheat growers. Chandler also discussed the role of NAWG, perspective on the current state of the U.S., agriculture, opportunities/challenges ahead, Farm Bill priorities and U.S. agriculture globally.

On March 21 and 22, the National Wheat Improvement Committee (NWIC) will be in Washington, D.C., for its annual hill day. NWIC is comprised of wheat researchers and growers from across the United States who work to secure additional federal resources for public wheat research. The group has been instrumental in continuing to secure $15 million annually for the U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative and is working to secure additional funding to address wheat rust, wheat stem sawfly, bacterial leaf streak, and hessian fly. If you are interested in participating in the fly-in, don't hesitate to contact Jake Westlin at jwestlin@wheatworld.org.

On March 1, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released President Biden’s 2023 Trade Policy Agenda and 2022 Annual Report to Congress. The report provides details on USTR’s around President Biden’s trade agenda from over the last two years, as well as priorities for the years ahead. “The 2023 Trade Policy Agenda and 2022 Annual Report details the key accomplishments from the first two years of the Biden Administration and our priorities for the year ahead. From enforcing the USMCA to creating innovative trade arrangements with our allies and partners, we will continue to pursue an agenda that will deliver sustainable and inclusive economic prosperity for all,” said USTR Ambassador Katherine Tai.

On March 1, the full Senate Agriculture Committee held a hearing on the Conservation and Forestry Programs included in the Farm Bill. “I view this reauthorization of the Farm Bill as an opportunity to renew our commitment to working lands conservation, where local resource concerns and producer-focused programs are the priority. Conservation needs and the needs of our producers are as diverse as the crops they grow and the land they grow them on,” said Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR). The committee heard testimonies from NRCS Chief Terry Cobsy, FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux and U.S. Forest Service Associate Chief Angela Coleman.

Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR) announced a hearing on the Commodity Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC). The hearing will be Wednesday, March 8, 2023. The CFTC Chairman, Rostin Behnam, will represent the commission before the committee.

Yesterday, the House Agriculture Committee announced two upcoming hearings for next week. First, on Wednesday, March 8, the Subcommittee on Forestry will hold “A Review of Title VIII: Forestry Stakeholder Perspectives” that will examine the Forestry Title included in the Farm Bill. On Thursday, March 9, the full House Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing titled “Rising Risks: Managing Volatility in Global Commodity Derivatives Markets”.

The USDA’s National Soil Conservation Service (NRCS) announced the availability of inflation of reduction Act funding for climate-smart agriculture nationwide. The additional funding will help climate migration and provide an expansion to financial and technical assistance for a producer to help advance conversation for farm, ranch, or forest land. “The Inflation Reduction Act provided a once-in-a-generation investment in conservation on working lands, and we want to work with agricultural and forest landowners to invest in climate-smart practices that create value and economic opportunities for producers,” said Vilsack. NRCS accepts producer applications for the conservation program all year, but EQIP or CSP should apply by their state ranking dates to be considered. The dates listed are not limited to the application for the program funded through IRA. NRCS accepts applications year-round. If you apply after the ranking dates for NRCS your application will be considered during the next cycle.

On March 1, a national survey was launched to collect insight for farmers that plant cover crops and those who don’t. It’s an anonymous survey that takes 10- 15 minutes to complete. Since 2012, the National Cover Crop Survey has been extremely valuable in helping guide research priorities, direct communications, and education efforts, provide data to researchers and illustrate the effects of policy on cover crop use and adoption," says Dr. Rob Myers, regional director of extension programs for North Central SARE and director of the University of Missouri Center for Regenerative Agriculture. This is the seventh National Cover Crop Survey conducted by the USDA-NIFA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC), and the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA).

A series of Pacific low pressure and frontal systems moved across the western contiguous U.S. (CONUS) during this U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) week (February 22-28). The weather systems dropped copious amounts of rain and snow across the West, especially over the Sierra and coastal ranges and Rocky Mountains. The weather systems re-intensified as they crossed the Plains and into the Midwest, tapping Gulf of Mexico moisture to spread several inches of rain over northeast Texas to the Appalachians and Ohio Valley, with several inches of snow falling in the below-freezing air across the northern tier states from the Dakotas to New England. A high-pressure ridge over the Gulf of Mexico generated a southerly flow that spread warmer-than-normal air from the Gulf Coast to southern Great Lakes. It also pushed the low-pressure systems along a storm track that went northeastward from the southern and central Plains to the Great Lakes. Temperatures averaged cooler than normal across the snowy northern states, across the central to northern Plains, and over the West. Little to no precipitation fell across the Gulf Coast, western portions of the southern and central Plains, and over the northern Plains near the Canadian border. It was also drier than normal over parts of the Pacific Northwest, northern New England, and the Mid-Atlantic states. Wetter-than-normal conditions were widespread across the rest of the West, parts of the northern and central Plains and Northeast, and much of the Midwest. Drought or abnormal dryness expanded where it continued dry in parts of Texas, Florida, and other Gulf Coast states. Drought or abnormal dryness contracted or reduced in intensity where it was wet across much of California and other parts of the West and Plains, as well as part of the Great Lakes region.

The Foundation manages the leadership programs to help wheat growers from across the nation be spokespeople when the media wants to speak with farmers. Bayer Leadership Program has three phases and we have completed phase 1 and 2. This year, ten grower leaders from ten different states participated in the Bayer Leadership Program this year. We want to thank Bayer for their support of this critical program. “The media training was instrumental in helping me gain confidence in myself. I feel honored and humbled to have participated in the program,” said Noel Cole, wheat farmer from Idaho. Syngenta holds Leadership at its Best, and wheat had four growers participate. States represented at this were Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and Oregon. “It was a great week. I had two productive meetings with our congressman’s staff on Thursday, and I really felt like the training that we had throughout the week helped make those better. The media training was useful in how to talk about agriculture positively and proactively,” Wade Bingaman wheat grower from Oregon remarked. Thank you, Syngenta, for hosting Leadership at its Best! Applications for next year’s programs will be available in August. Check the wheatfoundation.org website or contact your state executive for more information.

Grain Quality Sensing On-The-Go. There’s a lot to manage to produce the highest grain quality at an optimal cost and a tight harvest window means time is everything. Imagine being able to monitor protein and grain constituents from the combine, in real time. John Deere has a solution that does just that. The Harvest Lab 3000 Combine Grain Sensing system, currently available for John Deere S700 Series combines, this technology uses a near-infrared sensor attached to the clean grain elevator to detect protein levels by measuring a sample every second on-the-go at harvest. In Operations Center™, growers can utilize connected software companies (3rd party) to create insights such as nitrogen removal, or yield/protein quadrant maps. Multiple trials were conducted leveraging John Deere’s LEAD Network on-farm trial approach, utilizing Grain Sensing technology to demonstrate how both yield and protein, were influenced by nitrogen rates. The trials were able to determine how differing levels of nitrogen affects both yield and quality of grain at harvest. Data collected from the Harvest Lab 3000 sensor was able to generate map layers with Operations Center third-party connected software company PCT Agcloud. The Harvest Lab 3000 Grain Constituent Sensing technology creates new opportunities for growers to maximize their yield potential and grain quality. This analysis will help growers make actionable insights with their data and enable them to create variable rate nitrogen prescriptions based on desired performance for next year’s crop. Analyzing ways to achieve optimum grain quality is the goal, and the Harvest Lab 3000 technology is the answer.

GrainChain is a coalition of grain groups representing the industry, from growers to millers and bakers. Currently, this group is tracking the progress of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The new DGA will come out in 2025. You may be familiar with the old DGA recommendations, the food guide pyramid or My Plate. The Foundation and NAWG are both involved with the GrainChain to represent wheat as the new guidelines are being developed. Check out the coalition at www.gograins.org or the USDA DGA information at Home | Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Please join the National Wheat Foundation at Commodity Classic next week in Orlando, Florida. Our annual meeting is Tuesday from 5:00 – 8:00 pm eastern time at the Rosen Plaza, and the Winners Reception for the National Wheat Yield Contest is Wednesday from 7:00 – 9:00 pm eastern time.

Nitrogen applications help winter wheat fields by providing nutrients for the plant to establish biomass and creating tillers before winter dormancy. Optimize your use of nitrogen by tank mixing the solution into crop protection tools to manage weeds, diseases and insects. FMC has reliable options for growers to get the most out of their applications: - Weed Control: Harmony® Extra SG herbicide with TotalSol® soluble granules controls wild garlic populations and the annual winter weed complex. - Disease Control: Topguard® fungicide is used to start with a clean seedbed and will manage foliar diseases up until flowering. - Insect Control: Mustang® Maxx insecticide affects the overall insect complex for many pests found during scouting.