Weekly Update for
October 1

On September 30, the 2018 Farm Bill extension expired with no new Farm Bill or additional extension in place. In response, the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) issued a statement urging Congress to act on both a long-term Farm Bill and immediate economic assistance to help keep family farms in business. “America’s wheat growers are out of runway,” said Jamie Kress, NAWG President and Idaho farmer. “Congress allowed the farm bill to expire four years in a row. Our farmers are paying $7 for diesel, watching input costs climb while grain prices won’t cover the cost of growing the crop, and absorbing losses for the third and fourth year straight. You cannot run a farm — or lend to one, or build a rural community around one — on expired policy and broken promises. Congress needs to get this done.” While USDA can continue administering some Farm Bill programs through the end of the year, NAWG emphasized that farmers, lenders, and rural communities need the certainty provided by a five-year Farm Bill as they make decisions for the next growing season. The organization is calling for a comprehensive Farm Bill that strengthens the farm safety net, along with near-term economic assistance to help growers manage continued high input costs and low commodity prices.

On September 29, NAWG issued a press release welcoming President Donald J. Trump’s nomination of Greg Ibach to serve as Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Ibach is a lifelong farmer and experienced leader whose background gives him a unique, firsthand understanding of the importance of securing additional market opportunities for American growers. He previously served in the first Trump administration as Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. “Congratulations to Greg Ibach on this well-deserved nomination,” said Sam Kieffer, NAWG CEO. “Wheat growers rely on programs like the Market Access Program, Foreign Market Development Program, and Foreign Food Assistance Program to expand markets and help get U.S. wheat to customers around the world. Greg understands the importance of these programs and has a proven record of working to expand market opportunities for American producers. We look forward to working with him and urge the Senate to advance his nomination promptly.”

This week, NAWG, along with several other agricultural organizations, submitted comments to USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) on proposed revisions to the National Handbook of Conservation Practices. The comments generally support the proposed updates while urging NRCS to maintain flexibility for site-specific conditions and avoid placing unnecessary burdens on producers. The letter raises concerns about proposed changes to nutrient and pest management, including annual risk assessments, weather-based application restrictions, enhanced-efficiency fertilizer requirements, and additional pesticide planning and recordkeeping. The groups also offered recommendations on several other conservation standards affecting agricultural operations and called for continued dialogue with NRCS before the proposed standards are finalized.

This week, NAWG submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on its proposed Innovation Challenge for alternatives to conventional crop desiccants. NAWG emphasized that chemical desiccation is uncommon in wheat, as most wheat naturally reaches harvest moisture in the field, while limited pre-harvest pesticide applications are generally used for weed control. The organization encouraged EPA to recognize the diversity of U.S. cropping systems and ensure that new technologies complement, rather than restrict access to, existing safe and effective crop protection tools. NAWG highlighted practices such as varietal selection, harvest timing, natural drying, and, in some regions, swathing or windrowing as examples of non-chemical approaches already used by wheat growers. The letter also identified wheat breeding and genetics—including research on pre-harvest sprouting resistance and uniform maturity—as promising areas for reducing chemical use and encouraged EPA to partner with breeding programs, land-grant universities, and other agricultural stakeholders. NAWG stressed that any new alternatives must be reliable, affordable, scalable, and compatible with existing equipment and farming practices while providing meaningful agronomic or economic benefits to growers. Finally, NAWG encouraged EPA to establish a flexible, phased Innovation Challenge that supports collaboration, real-world testing, and measurable progress toward technologies that can be successfully adopted across diverse American farms.

The USDA’s latest Grain Stocks and Small Grains reports highlighted a significantly smaller 2026 U.S. wheat crop, while also providing updated information on corn and soybean supplies. All-wheat production for 2026 was estimated at 1.534 billion bushels, down approximately 23% from the revised 2025 production of 1.985 billion bushels. The decline was driven by both fewer harvested acres and lower yields, with harvested wheat acreage falling to 31.9 million acres from 37.2 million acres last year and average yield declining to 48.1 bushels per acre from 53.3 bushels. Winter wheat accounted for much of the reduction, with production estimated at 1.019 billion bushels, down from 1.402 billion bushels in 2025. Hard red winter wheat production saw an especially sharp decline, falling to 466 million bushels from 804 million bushels last year. Meanwhile, Sept. 1 wheat stocks totaled 1.846 billion bushels, down 14% from a year earlier and nearly in line with trade expectations. Overall, the USDA report points to a substantially smaller wheat crop in 2026, with the declines in acreage, yield and winter wheat production standing out as the most significant wheat-related developments in the report.

Brian Sorenson was interviewed on Farm Talk (890am Fargo, ND) this week and discussed the quality of the Minnesota spring wheat crop. Farm Talk Podcast | KQLX Minnesota Wheat is a partner in the National Wheat Yield Contest. Good luck in the 2026 contest to all the Minnesota contestants, remember the harvest data is due October 1, by midnight Eastern Time.

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 they host the National Wheat Yield Contest winner’s reception.

The National Wheat Foundation along with our partner, BASF, offer 2 scholarships for college students. The deadline to submit the application is December 1, 2026. For more information about the scholarships and the application, please visit the Foundation’s website.