Rediscover Wheat - September 2014

The official publication of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and the Kansas Wheat Commission

SEPTEMBER 2014

INSIDE THIS ISSUE -->

Yield Contest Winners K-State Releases KanMark Research Features YIELD REACHES 88 BUSHELS PER ACRE

STRONG, CONSISTENT PERFORMER

KANSAS WHEAT QUALITY LAB HIGH THROUGHPUT PHENOTYPER

New Logo and Tagline REDISCOVER WHEAT

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Volume 1 • Number 1 www.rediscoverwheat.org The official publication of

Contents:

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1990 Kimball Avenue Manhattan, Kansas 66502 (785) 539-0255

KAWG MEMBERSHIP

EDITOR

$100 per year

Marsha Boswell • mboswell@kswheat.com

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Marsha Boswell • mboswell@kswheat.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Marsha Boswell • mboswell@kswheat.com Jordan Hildebrand • jhildebrand@kswheat.com

CEO

Justin Gilpin • jgilpin@kswheat.com

KAWG OFFICERS

PRESIDENT Gary Millershaski • Lakin VICE PRESIDENT Michael Jordan • Beloit SECRETARY/TREASURER Kenneth Wood • Chapman IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT David Schemm • Sharon Springs

KWC OFFICERS

CHAIRMAN Scott Van Allen • Clearwater

VICE CHAIRMAN Jay Armstrong • Muscotah

SECRETARY/TREASURER Brian Linin • Goodland IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN Ron Suppes • Dighton

Rediscover Wheat is published by the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers (KAWG) and the Kansas Wheat Commission (KWC), 1990 Kimball Avenue, Manhattan, Kansas 66502, twelve times per year.

Contents of this publication may not be reprinted without permission.

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Kansas Wheat Yield Contest Winners SCO coverage areas and new tool released Grower elected to KAWG board Commodity Commission Candidates Sought Be a good neighbor, control your volunteer wheat Kansas Wheat Staff Members Attend Wheat Safari K-State Releases New Wheat Variety Signature Scones Recipe News from the Wheat Foods Council The Truth About Gluten Purple Pride Quick Bread Recipe News from the National Association of Wheat Growers News from U.S. Wheat Associates Philippine Trade Team News from Kansas State University Women in Agriculture Kansas Crop Production Report Maltby Market Analysis Research Feature: Kansas Wheat Quality Lab Research Feature: High Tech; High Efficiency Producer Profile: Randy Fritzemeier, Stafford Producer Profile: Kenneth Palmgren, Edson Kansas Wheat launches new logo and tagline Upcoming Events

Kansas Wheat Yield Contest Winners Wheat yields have been a topic of discussion at coffee shops across Kansas for years. But five years ago Kansas Wheat decided to up the ante and see who really had the best yields in the state. This year, Kansas Wheat is proud to announce the winners of the 5th Annual Wheat Yield Contest.

This year’s top wheat yields belong to Butch Harris of Soldier and Levi Felbush, Eastern Region winners; Doug Keas of Plainville, Central Region winner; and Chuck Downey of St. Francis, Western Region winner.

kids wanted to be firefighters and police officers, Keas dreamed of being a farmer.

Butch Harris and Levi Felbush are this year’s Eastern Region winners. It was Felbush’s idea to enter the contest, and he asked if Harris, his father-in-law, would want to join him. Harris then planted and harvested WB-Cedar on a 5.75 acre plot for the contest and consulted with Felbush on maintenance. Felbush then handled the paper trail involved with the contest process. The duo’s prize winning yield was 60.43 bushels per acre at 12% moisture.

Downey said, “Things like this really help you maximize your yields across the board. You’re able to experiment with your contest plot. When something works for your contest plot, it might work for all of your crop, so you have the potential to maximize your profits with new knowledge every year.”

Felbush said, “I really wanted to enter because I really enjoy seeing how far we can push those yields and I think the sky is the limit. I love the hard work that farming brings and the challenge of trying to top out those yields.”

Doug Keas of Plainville is this year’s Central Region winner. Keas planted SY Wolf on a 10.32 acre plot in Rooks County. His winning yield was 78.39 bushels an acre.

Keas said that he always knew he wanted to farm. While other

Keas said of the contest, “I’ve been so competitive all of my life and I love to enter any contest. My agronomist told me that I should enter this one, so I just had to give it a shot.”

From the Western Region, Chuck Downey of St. Francis is this year’s winner. Downey planted WB-Grainfield on 9.12 acres. His prize winning yield was 88.56 bushels an acre.

The 2014 Kansas Wheat Yield Contest is sponsored by BASF, Bayer Crop Science, WestBred, Kansas Wheat Alliance, Limagrain, Plains Gold, AgriPro and Kansas Wheat. Winners of the contest receive a $1,000 prize that will be awarded on September 11

by Governor Sam Brownback at the Kansas State Fair. The contest also has the optional Quality Initiative. Participants collect a sample of their wheat which will then be graded and analyzed for various quality components. The sample with the highest overall quality, mill and bake scores will receive $250. This winner will be announced by Governor Brownback at the State Fair.

Agronomic Information Eastern Region—Butch Harris and Levi Felbush • Date Planted: 10/05/2013 • Variety Planted: WB-Cedar • Planting Rate: 70 pounds per acre • Soil Fertility Info: Pre-plant- 80 pounds N, 40 pounds Ph, 20 pounds K; dry • Topdress- 60 pounds N, 10 pounds S; liquid • Herbicide Info: Finesse and MCPA at greenup • Fungicide Info: Priaxor at jointing Central Region—Doug Keas • Date Planted: 10/09/2013 • Variety Planted: SY-Wolf • Planting Rate: 75 pounds per acre • Soil Fertility Info: Nitrogen 100 pounds, post plant; dry • Fungicide Info: Twinline at flag leaf Western Region—Chuck Downey • Date Planted:10/07/2013 • Variety Planted: WBGrainfield • Planting Rate: 59 pounds per acre, 1.02 million seeds per acre • Soil Fertility Info: 45 pounds an acre of 11-52-0; planting • 18 gallons an acre of 28-0-0-5; Feekes 2 • Trafix Zinc- Helena; Feekes 2 • Nucleus- Helena; Feekes 2

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SCO coverage areas and new tool released Facts out on New Program

The Trigger

Kansas wheat growers are one step closer to accessing a new county-level crop insurance product designed to cover “shallow losses.” In late July, the Risk Management Agency released rules and coverage maps for the Supplemental Coverage Option contract (SCO) which drafted in the 2014 Farm Bill. SCO was created to cover so-called “shallow losses” - revenue losses that are deep enough to cause a loss, but to shallow to trigger an indemnity payment from a producer’s traditional crop insurance coverage.

It is important to note that because of the countylevel nature of SCO both guarantees and losses will be determined by county-level yields. The RMA was scheduled to release an online calculator on August 12th that will allow farmers to explore coverage levels and prices in their own counties. It can be found along with other SCO materials at www.rma.usda.gov/news/ whatsnew.

A Band of Revenue

SCO is available to producers who do not choose to enroll in the 2014 Farm Bill’s Agriculture Risk Coverage program (ARC) as they are designed to cover similar types of risk. We’ll remember that the 2014 Farm Bill set-up two different programs to replace the old suite of direct and counter-cyclical payments – ARC and Price Loss Coverage (PLC), which is a new target price program, but based on base acres and historical yields. A producer can enroll in PLC and SCO, but not ARC and SCO. In the event that a producer initially elects to take SCO coverage this fall, but then decides to enroll in the ARC program, (making them in-eligible for the SCO coverage), they can withdraw from SCO up to December 15th.

SCO is designed to supplement and not replace a producer’s existing yield or revenue insurance. It is chosen as an endorsement and the coverage level follows the underlying policy, meaning that it will cover a band of county-level revenue or yield from 86% down to the coverage level of the producer’s existing insurance. For example, if a producer purchases a 75% revenue protection contract, they could then also purchase an SCO contract to cover expected county revenue from 75%-86%. However, if a producer only purchased farm revenue protection at the 70% level, they could purchase the county-level SCO from 70% 86%.

An Acronym Soup

Interested producers should talk with their crop insurance agents about coverage options before September 30.

Grower elected to KAWG board

The ballots have been counted for KAWG elections. Roger May, of the northwest district, and Gary Millershaski, of the southwest district, will return as members of the KAWG Board of Directors. KAWG is also pleased to introduce Rick Horton, of the west central district, as a first time member of the board. Rick is a farmer from Wichita County. He graduated from K-State in 2005 and came back to farm with his father, two brothers, wife Ashley and now their son Vance and daughter Hayden.

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Commodity Commission Candidates Sought Grain growers in far western Kansas who plan to campaign for a seat on one of the state’s five grain commodity commissions — corn, grain sorghum, soybeans, wheat or sunflowers — should be gathering petition signatures now to meet the Nov. 30, 2014 filing deadline.

The 2015 election will cover districts one, two and three; the western third of Kansas.

District one includes Cheyenne, Decatur, Graham, Norton, Rawlins, Sheridan, Sherman and Thomas counties.

District three includes Clark, Finney, Ford, Grant, Gray, Hamilton, Haskell, Hodgeman, Kearny, Meade, Morton, Seward, Stanton and Stevens counties.

To be eligible to run for any of the five commodity commissions the candidate must have been actively engaged in growing corn, grain sorghum, soybeans, wheat or sunflowers within the preceding three years.

Candidates must gather 20 signatures from eligible voters to

District two includes Gove, Greeley, Lane, Logan, Ness, Scott, Trego, Wallace and Wichita counties.

be included on the 2015 ballot. No more than five signatures from any one county can be used to qualify a candidate. Eligible voters must be Kansas residents who will reach age 18 before the election and who have grown corn, grain sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers or wheat for the last three years.

Candidate registration packets are available from the Kansas Department of Agriculture or the grain commodity commissions.

More information is available from the Kansas Wheat Commission at (785) 539-0255 or www.kswheat.com; or, the Kansas Department of Agriculture at (785) 564-6700 or http://agriculture. ks.gov/ksda-services/kansascommodity-commissions.

Be a good neighbor, control your volunteer wheat Being a good neighbor is a source of pride for many Kansans, but being neighborly extends beyond lending a cup of sugar every now and again. Wheat farmers should also control their volunteer wheat in order to prevent severe problems that could cost both them and their neighbors a pretty penny.

Volunteer wheat carries several risks, such as wheat streak mosaic virus, wheat curl mites, hessian flies, Russian wheat aphids, take-all, barley yellow dwarf virus and many more. Keep in mind that it is critical that all volunteer wheat within a ½ mile be completely dead for at least two weeks prior to planting in the fall, and give yourself enough time to have a second chance just in case the first attempt doesn’t kill all of the plants.

Wheat streak mosaic virus is the most important risk of volunteer wheat, and it has the largest impact.

Based on data from the 2013 crop, the state loss due to wheat streak mosaic would equal about 1.2% of the total harvest. While this may not seem like a large chunk, the 4.25 million bushel loss had an economic impact of $32.6 million dollars.

Barley yellow dwarf can also be prevented by controlling volunteer wheat. In 2013 the state lost .25% of the harvest to barley yellow dwarf. This translates to 875,000 bushels and an economic loss of $8.6 million. While volunteer wheat isn’t the root cause of these issues, it is the first line of defense against them. Destroying the “green bridge,” the grasses that harbor disease ridden insects, and waiting for two weeks ensures that the insects and the diseases they carry, both onto your fields and your neighbors’, are no longer threats to your crops.

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Kansas Wheat Staff Members Attend Wheat Safari On August 6 - 7, twenty-six of the nation’s most influential food and nutrition professionals visited the Fargo area as part of the second Wheat Safari, hosted by the Wheat Foods Council (WFC).

We as an industry have much to gain by working with them to ensure that consumers have the facts about wheat production, harvesting, milling and producing a table food.”

Safari tour guests included prominent food and nutrition bloggers, academics from major universities across the country, newspaper editors and broadcast journalists. Kansas Wheat’s Cindy Falk, nutrition educator, and Marsha Boswell, director of communications, traveled from Manhattan, Kan., to Fargo, N.D., to meet up with the group.

Program speakers included noted carbohydrate expert and nutrition educator Julie Miller Jones, Distinguished Scholar and Professor Emerita of nutrition in the Department of Family, Consumer and Nutritional Sciences at the St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN. Dr. Jones addressed the group on nutrition issues, including how to help consumers identify whole grains in their grocery stores, and why gluten-free diets only make sense for those diagnosed with celiac disease, wheat allergy or non-celiac gluten sensitivity.

“It was a pleasure hosting this prominent group in North Dakota,” said WFC President Judi Adams. “They are important influencers of consumer opinion and take nutrition education of the American public very seriously.

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“People are going on gluten-free diets without a real diagnosis of celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity, and that concerns me, because the gluten-free diet is expensive and most important, can be too low in dietary fiber and whole grains, and high in calories and glycemic carbohydrates,” Jones said in her remarks. “It’s very hard to consume enough fiber on a gluten-free diet. Fiber is listed by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Committee as a nutrient of concern, because low intake of dietary fiber is associated with a number of chronic health issues.

And there is evidence that diets that include grains such as wheat and adequate dietary fiber support healthy gut bacteria. Further, they are associated with improved markers of health. Diets that eliminate grains and gluten are not a proven way to lose weight; in fact, such diets may contribute to weight gain. The only proven weight loss occurs by eating fewer calories.”

Brett Carver, PhD, Wheat Genetics Chair in Agriculture, Oklahoma State University, covered agriculture-related issues, including wheat quality characteristics. “Food begins with the seed. My research specialty is developing new and improved seed of wheat that consumers will continue to eat and enjoy,” said Dr. Carver. “Spending time with these journalists and health professionals gave us a chance to meet on common ground and

learn from each other. Consumers are often misinformed about wheat and wheat foods, and now these influencers are in a position to correct that.�

During their time in North Dakota, the group toured a farm in Portland, N.D., to learn first-hand about the harvesting of the wheat crop. They also visited the North Dakota Mill in Grand Forks, the Conte Luna Foods pasta plant in Grand Forks, and the Northern Crops Institute and Wheat Quality Labs at North Dakota State University.

The Wheat Foods Council is a nonprofit organization formed in 1972 to help increase public awareness of grains, complex carbohydrates, and fiber as essential components of a healthful diet. The Council is supported voluntarily by wheat producers, millers, bakers, and related industries. For more information, visit www. wheatfoods.org.

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A Century of Wheat Research

K-State Releases New Wheat Variety From phonographs to iPods and horse-drawn carriages to fourwheel drives, much has changed dramatically over the last century, the wheat industry included.

Kansas State University released its first variety, Kanred, 100 years ago. Now, a century later, K-State, in conjunction with the Kansas Wheat Alliance, is unveiling its latest variety, KanMark.

KanMark, a direct descendent from Kanred, is the culmination of a century of wheat research in a seed. According to Allan Fritz, a K-State wheat breeder, the new variety’s most desirable trait is its reliability under moderate drought. This variety, which Fritz calls a “workhorse,” results in remarkably consistent yields with less than favorable water inputs, and is targeted primarily toward growers in the western region of the state. Fritz believes that the variety would also perform well in central Kansas, but warns that it is moderately susceptible to acidic soils and susceptible to scab, so farmers in that central region are encouraged to take necessary precautions.

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Since K-State is celebrating a century of wheat variety releases, much thought went into the KanMark name. The moniker pays tribute to that first wheat variety by drawing the Kan, but it also pays respects to the researcher responsible for Kanred. Mark Carleton was a wheat researcher employed by K-State who originally brought back varieties from Russia and used those to breed Kanred. Carleton was also the first president of the American Society of Agronomy. His contributions to the U.S. wheat industry were significant.

KanMark also boasts resistance to stripe rust, leaf rust and soilborne mosaic virus. However, this variety is susceptible to Hessian fly and moderately susceptible to powdery mildew and tan spot.

“I’m excited for this variety because it’s well adapted for a large part of the state,” said Daryl Strouts, president of the Kansas Wheat Alliance. “And this is really the first step in multi-gene resistance to leaf and stripe rust, which is an exciting glimpse into future varieties.”

The new variety’s performance under irrigated conditions is also notable. The two-year irrigated average in western Kansas was 99.4 bushels an acre, but fouryear dryland average in western Kansas was 49.9 bushels an acre.

The three-year average for central Kansas was 49.2 bushels an acre.

“It tends to be toward the top of the tests every time,” said Fritz.

“Maybe not right at the top, but always up there. But it’s very consistent, and I think that’s very valuable.”

KanMark is the product of a three way cross and was originally bred for resistance for leaf and stripe rust. Its pedigree includes lines from Parula, Pastor and Karl 92. Fritz added that this is a very short-statured, upright variety and that the producer may not see much of a canopy, but he warns not to judge it until it comes across the scale.

“I’ve always thought this was an ugly duckling wheat,” said Fritz.

“But we’re not here to release bouquet wheat, we’re here to release varieties that will make money for producers, and I think it will do that.”

KANMARK Optimal economic uses:

xx x

Moderately resistant to stem rust

Grain only

Pedigree: CIMMYT spring wheat, WestBred line, Karl 92 derivative Variety protection status: Applied for Year of release: 2014 Developer: Kansas State University

Grain plus limited grazing Heavy grazing plus grain

Good drought tolerance

Pasture graze-out

NEW RELEASE!

Moderately susceptible to acid soils

Characteristics Barley yellow dwarf: Moderately susceptible Hessian fly: Susceptible Leaf rust: Resistant Powdery mildew: Susceptible Scab: Extremely susceptible Septoria leaf blotch: Intermediate Soilborne mosaic: Resistant Stem rust: Moderately resistant Stripe rust: Resistant Tan spot: Intermediate Wheat streak mosaic: Moderately susceptible Acid soil tolerance: Moderately susceptible Coleoptile length: Medium Drought tolerance: Very good Early spring greenup: Intermediate Fall ground cover capability: Average Grazing potential in fall: Average Height: Medium short Maturity (heading date): Medium Protein: Somewhat higher than most Quality-Baking: Acceptable Quality-Milling: Exceptional Seed size: N/A Shattering reputation: N/A Straw strength: Excellent Test weight: Very good Tillering: Low Winterhardiness: Very good Overall yield record where adapted: Not enough data yet

Comments This new variety (experimental number KS030887K-6) is from Kansas State University. It is targeted primarily for western and central Kansas, especially areas west of Hutchinson and Salina. Its yield record has been best in western Kansas.

KanMark is more of a strong, consistent performer than a racehorse. It has had some very good yields under irrigation, however.

It is a very upright wheat, and often looks thin in the field. It yields better than it looks like it will. It withstands moderate drought well. Although it is a medium-short variety, it held its height reasonably well during the drought conditions of 2014.

Strengths: • Very good drought tolerance, similar to TAM 111 • Consistent performance Weaknesses: • Moderately susceptible to acid soils • Extremely susceptible to scab

Special notes on cultural practices: • Not well suited for planting after corn.

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Signature Scones Ingredients

1 cup white whole wheat flour 1 cup all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon baking soda ½ cup chopped dried or chopped fresh fruit 2 tablespoons granulated sugar or agave nectar ½ cup (5.3 oz.) nonfat Greek yogurt, any flavor ¼ cup vegetable oil or olive oil ¼ cup 2% low-fat milk 1 large egg, slightly beaten Topping: (optional) 1 tablespoon low-fat milk or whipping cream 2 teaspoons sparkling white decorating sugar or granulated sugar

Nutrition

1 lemon ginger scone provides approximately: 176 calories 5 g protein 27 g carbohydrates 2 g dietary fiber 5 g fat (.5 g saturated) 15 mg cholesterol 16 mcg folate 1 mg iron 130 mg sodium

Directions

This signature scone can be customized to your own sweet or savory preference.

See variations below.

1. Heat oven to 350°F. 2. In large bowl, combine all ingredients, stirring just until dough clings together. (Mixture will be sticky; if using fresh fruit extra tablespoons of flour may be needed.)

3. On lightly floured surface, knead lightly for a few turns.

Divide dough in half; pat dough into two 6-inch circles.

4. Cut each circle into 6 equal wedges. Place 2-inches apart on parchment paper-lined or lightly greased baking sheet. Brush surface with milk; sprinkle with sugar.

5. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack; serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 12 scones.

Note: This is one of 12 recipes published in the Kansas Wheat Commission’s 2014 Annual Recipe Book. Get your copy by visiting our booth at the Kansas State Fair, September 5-14, 2014, in Hutchinson, Kansas.

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KWC Test Kitchen Variations: Lemon Ginger (pictured at left): lemon yogurt, 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest plus ¼ - ½ cup finely minced crystallized ginger Double Pineapple: pineapple yogurt with chopped dried tropical pineapple Bacon and Cheese: plain nonfat yogurt, ½ cup finely chopped fully cooked bacon and ½ cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese Pepperoni Pizza: plain nonfat yogurt, ½ cup finely chopped pepperoni, ½ cup pizza cheese plus extra cheese for sprinkling on top of the scone.

News from the Wheat Foods Council Gluten: The Bottom Line on Going GlutenFree Something remarkable has happened on supermarket shelves over the past five years: glutenfree has gone from nutritional obscurity to mainstream.

According to the market research group Packaged Facts, the sales of gluten-free foods and beverages reached $4.2 billion in 2012, a 28 percent increase since 2008, and are projected to approach $6.6 billion by 2017. Many people are convinced that gluten-free products are healthier. This is not surprising since influential celebrities and athletes having been promoting the “purported” benefits of a gluten-free lifestyle.

But, just because “everybody is doing it” doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.

First, a few facts. Gluten is a protein containing gliadin and glutenin. Gluten provides structure for baked products requiring volume such as bread.

However, the gliadin fraction may trigger an auto-immune reaction called Celiac Disease (CD) in certain individuals. These individuals must eliminate glutencontaining grains which are wheat, rye, barley and uncertified glutenfree oats.

Less than 1% of the U.S. population is affected by CD, or about 3 million Americans.

In addition, research estimates about 6 percent of Americans

are sensitive to gluten, but do not have the offending gene needed to develop CD or damage to their intestinal tract.

The bottom line: 93% of the population can include glutencontaining foods such as wheat in their diet.

If you do not have CD and are not gluten-sensitive, going gluten-free might help you lose a little weight (temporarily) as any extreme dietary change will. But, there are some very compelling reasons why keeping wheat in your diet might be a healthier choice in the long run.

For starters, many gluten-free products are highly processed and refined starches that have not been enriched with B vitamins (including folic acid) and iron.

Alternative whole grains are available, but (let’s be honest here) rarely consumed. This means that gluten-free diets may lack various nutrients such as iron, calcium, many B vitamins (including folic acid), zinc, magnesium, and a host of other dietary components such as fiber found in wheat, barley and rye products.

Secondly, for people without CD or severe gluten sensitivity, this diet is restrictive and may actually cause harm by eliminating healthy gut and colon bacteria that are supported by fiber and other components of a gluten-containing

diet. It’s very important to support and keep gut bacteria happy: they are often responsible for intestinal discomfort caused by gas, bloating and cramping experienced by diets that are short on fiber.

Finally, going gluten-free is expensive. According to a 2008 study published in the Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, glutenfree foods, on average, cost about 242% more than their regular gluten-containing counterparts.

Depending on your reasons for going gluten-free in the first place, it might make more sense to invest that additional expense into other healthful pursuits: joining a gym (and going!), hiring a personal trainer, or purchasing more fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

If you think that you might have celiac disease or are gluten sensitive, make sure you get tested for CD and seek guidance from your health care provider or a registered dietitian to make sure you are getting the nutrients you need.

Sources: http://www.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/pubmed/18783640; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pubmed/15825119; http://www. packagedfacts.com/about/release. asp?id=3033 Rediscover WHE AT | SEPTEMBER 2014 11

The Truth About Gluten Gluten-free facts from the experts

FAMILY FEATURES Celebrities, athletes, talk show hosts and nearly 30 percent of people say they are turning to gluten-free diets to solve health issues from “foggy mind” to bloating and obesity. But before you throw out the flour or start embracing all things non-wheat, barley and rye, it’s important to consider that nutrition experts do not advocate a gluten-free diet for most people. In fact, at least 93 percent of people — and probably many more — are completely healthy and happy following a diet that includes wheat and its protein, gluten.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES

According to Dr. Stephano Guandalini, founder and director of the Center for Celiac Disease at the University of Chicago, “There is a popular belief that gluten is bad for everyone. This is not the case. There is no evidence to show that anyone who does not suffer from celiac disease (CD) or nonceliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) benefits from following a glutenfree diet.”

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Gluten: Wheat Protein Explained Gluten is a protein matrix in wheat formed by gliadin and glutenin. It’s also present in barley and rye, and their many ancient grain ancestors. Gluten’s structure forms pockets that trap carbon dioxide released by leavening agents, such as yeast, baking powder or baking soda, giving bread and baked goods their texture. Gluten-free breads and products are denser and heavier because they can’t form air pockets without gluten.

Wheat and Gluten Facts Celiac disease, an autoimmune disease, is very real and affects about 1 in 141 people — less than 1 percent of the population. For people who have celiac, even a small amount of gluten is unsafe.

When they eat it, their bodies immediately react, damaging the lining of their intestinal tract.

The damage allows many proteins and other substances to enter the blood stream that should not, setting up physical reactions and digestive problems with serious health consequences.

Incidences of all autoimmune diseases are on the increase, with CD four times more common than it was 60 years ago.

Research is being

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conducted by a number of leading medical and scientific institutions to investigate if changes in our gut bacteria might be the cause.

“It’s very important that people who have celiac get diagnosed and tested so that they can begin following a gluten-free diet as soon as possible. And, it’s something they have to stay on for the rest of their lives,” said Dr. Joseph Murray, celiac disease researcher at the Mayo Clinic.

“There is a popular belief that gluten is bad for everyone. This is not the case.”

A Rare Condition Non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) is the other condition that proponents of a wheat-free life style say affects everyone when in fact, research indicates that it, too, is quite rare. According to Dr. Guandalini, “Around 0.5 percent of people react to gluten in a way that is not a food allergy but is also not celiac.”

Dr. Alessio Fasano, one of the world’s top scientists in celiac disease and director of the Center for Celiac Research at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Mass., explained, “Some people simply don’t react well to gluten and feel better when it’s removed from the diet.

Unfortunately, there is no test for NCGS and this is part of why going gluten-free has become ‘the’ answer to all that ails us digestively and other wise. It’s unfortunate because there are a lot of causes besides gluten for digestive issues.”

Understanding Gluten-Free Diets “Following a gluten-free diet is very difficult and one must know how to read labels. Foods such as broths, soups, gravies, sauces, seasoned rice mixes and seasoned tortilla or potato chips may contain small amounts of gluten,” said Tricia Thompson, registered dietitian and founder of the Gluten Free Watch Dog. “The new FDA labeling rules define ‘gluten-free’ foods as having less than 20 parts per million of gluten. This is extremely helpful for people with celiac disease or NCGS who must avoid all gluten, even in tiny amounts.”

The Topic of Weight Management According to the NPD Group, a leading market research firm that has followed nutrition trends for more than 20 years, the biggest driver behind the gluten-free trend is weight loss. In addition, glutenfree products can be significantly more expensive — one study showed an average of 242 percent higher in cost.

“Eliminating wheat products (bread, rolls, cereals, pasta, tortillas, cakes, cookies, crackers) will result in fewer calories, but important nutrients like B-vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and folic acid), and iron and fiber will also be lost,” said Pam Cureton with Boston’s Center for Celiac Research and chair of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ sub-practice group, Dietitians in Gluten Intolerance Diseases (DIGID). “Grains provide 43 percent of the fiber in the U.S. diet and wheat is

approximately three-quarters of the grains eaten in the U.S. Nutritionally, many glutenfree products are not equal replacements for their wheatcontaining counterparts.” Cureton recommends that anyone thinking about starting a gluten free diet see a skilled dietitian first to be sure it is nutritionally sound and to help guide them through the difficulties of the diet.

Facts About Wheat Breeding Some promoters of the glutenfree lifestyle say that recent wheat breeding practices have led to higher, more “toxic” types of wheat. They believe that such practices are increasing the rates of celiac and gluten sensitivity, even though you must have a gene to develop celiac disease.

evidence supporting increased gluten content due to wheat breeding over the past century.

Dr. Guandalini, like many other celiac speci al ists, is frustrated by the myths about wheat that are promoted by talk show hosts, articles and websites.

“Genetically modified wheat is not commercially available any - where in the world,” said Guandalini. “Wheat has been, and continues to be, a life-saving and nutritious grain for most people.”

Gluten-Free: The Bottom Line Most of us can eat and enjoy the many varieties of wheat foods available to us. And, luckily, for the few of us who can’t, there are gluten-free options.

“The increased awareness by the food industry of the need “Wheat, like all other food plants for gluten-free foods has helped we eat, has undergone farmer provide many selection and options for those traditional breeding “Grains provide 43 on gluten-free percent of the fiber in over the years,” states Brett Carver, the U.S. diet and wheat diets. There are PhD, wheat genetics is approximately three- more choices and better chair in Agriculture quarters of the grains tasting products at Oklahoma State every day,” said eaten in the U.S.” University. “The Amy Jones, hybridization that dietitian at Mary Rutan Hospital, led to bread wheat occurred 8,000 Bellefontaine, Ohio, and chairto 10,000 years ago. All cultivated elect of DIGID. wheat varieties, both modern and heirloom varieties, have these hybridization events in common, so the kinds of protein (and gluten) present in today’s varieties reflect the proteins present throughout the domestication process of wheat.”

In case there is any doubt of this, scientists have carefully reviewed available data back to 1925 and have not found any

But for the vast majority of us, going gluten-free can be expen sive, less nutritious and just plain unnecessary. The bottom line: gluten is a complex plant protein found in some of our favorite foods, and most of us have been tolerating it for thousands of years.

For more information, visit www. wheatfoods.org.

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Purple Pride Quick Bread Ingredients

1 large egg ½ cup granulated sugar 1 cup 2% low-fat milk 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 3 teaspoons baking powder 2¼ cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon orange or lemon zest ½ cup fresh blueberries Topping: (optional) 2 tablespoons granulated or sparkling white sugar

Nutrition

One slice provides approximately: 200 calories 6 g protein 37 g carbohydrates 1 g dietary fiber 3 g fat (1.5 g saturated) 19 mg cholesterol 55 mcg folate 2 mg iron 115 mg sodium

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray with nonstick cooking spray the bottom only of 8 ½ x 4 ½-inch loaf pan.

2. In large mixing bowl, whisk egg; stir in sugar, milk, butter, baking powder, flour and orange or lemon zest. Mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Blend in blueberries.

3. Spread batter in pan. If desired, sprinkle sugar on top of batter.

4. Bake loaf 50 to 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean.

Cool 10 minutes; remove bread from pan. Serve warm, fresh from the oven.

Makes 1 loaf, 16 slices.

K-State Research and Extension Tip: Another way to test for doneness is by checking the internal temperature using a food thermometer. Here are some suggested temperatures for some baked goods:

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Quick bread: 210°F Layer cakes: 205-210°F Yeast bread: 195-210°F Yeast rolls: 190-195°F Muffins: 210°F

News from the National Association of Wheat Growers NAWG Weekly Update: July 31, 2014 USDA Urged to Immediately Restore Grain Inspection Service at Port of Vancouver NAWG along with 21 other associations signed a letter to Secretary of Agriculture and other key administration officials stating concerns of a notice by the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) that it no longer would fulfill its obligation to provide official grain inspection and weighing services at the Port of Vancouver.

“To our knowledge, this latest announcement by a designated state agency declining to provide official services is unprecedented,” the groups wrote in their letter.

“We believe WSDA’s actions create an extremely troubling precedent that will cause irreparable damage to the integrity and reliability of the nation’s official grain inspection system.” The organizations also cited the “uncertainty” already created within the export industry, as well as among agricultural producers and international buyers of U.S. commodities, regarding potential future disruptions of official services at facilities operating at other U.S. export ports. “In the absence of WSDA’s reliable performance of its duties, Federal Grain Inspection Service must intervene and make the necessary arrangements to provide the mandatory official (inspection) services.”

“This issue is of great concern to the wheat farmers in Pacific Northwest as well as around the country,” said Paul Penner, NAWG President and wheat farmer from Hillsboro, Kan. “If Washington state inspectors are unable to perform their duties, then the time has come for federal grain inspectors to step in and do their mandated jobs to get grain flowing out of the port of Vancouver.

With the wheat harvest season already underway in the Pacific Northwest and Northern Plains regions, which export upwards of 80 percent of the wheat that they produce, we simply cannot afford to have this port shut down due to government inaction.”

House passes Regulatory Reform Bill On July 31, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 935, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act by a vote of 267 to 161. Earlier in the week the House voted on the bill under suspension of the rules, but the bill failed to reach the two-thirds majority necessary for passage. The July 31 vote required a simple majority to pass. NAWG has supported passage of H.R. 935 and its preceding legislation H.R. 872 for several years and is pleased its passage. H.R. 935 eliminates the need for a duplicate permit for pesticide applications. As a result of a legal decision in 2009, EPA began requiring National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for pesticides near waters of the U.S. in 2011. The NPDES permit is

needed in addition to the pesticide application regulation under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act that has been in place for over 30 years. The passage of this bill is a positive step toward reducing unnecessary regulations, but now moves to the Senate, where H.R. 872 stalled during the 112th Congress.

NAWG urges the Senate to take up H.R. 935 prior to adjuring this fall.

USDA Releases More Farm Bill Information On July 29, USDA released more information on implementation of crop insurance provisions in the farm bill. The Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) will be available through the federal crop insurance program and will be available for sign up for the 2015 crop year. This new program was part of the 2014 farm bill and was created to help protect producers from yield and market volatility. This provision is one of many that will expand and strengthen the crop insurance program for growers. SCO will be available for corn, cotton, grain sorghum, rice, soybeans, spring barely, spring wheat and winter wheat in selected counties in 2015.

RMA does plan to make SCO more widely available by adding more counties and crops for the 2016 crop year. SCO will provide county level coverage in addition to an underlying crop insurance policy and was designed to cover a portion of losses not covered by the underlying policy. If a producer elects to participate in Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC), Rediscover WHE AT | SEPTEMBER 2014 15

they are not eligible to take SCO for the crop and farm participating in ARC. For more information on SCO for 2015 winter and spring wheat, you can visit the Risk Management Agency’s (RMA) website. According to RMA, SCO information for other commodities will be released later this summer.

Bipartisan Support for TPP Urges President to be Harsher on Market Access On July 30, 140 members of the U.S, House of Representatives sent a letter to President Obama expressing their concerns over the current negotiations regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and its effect on agricultural markets. The letter urged President Obama to pursue a high standard, 21st Century agreement. If the U.S. would agree to the terms offered by Japan, they would considerably undermine Congressional support, as well as limit the ability for farmers and ranchers to access foreign markets.

The letter states, “we urge you to hold Japan to the same high standards as other TPP nations.”

NAWG supports a comprehensive agreement that provides improved market access.

NAWG Thanks Leaders for Their Support of Biotechnology In mid July NAWG added their name to a group of agricultural businesses and organizations thanking former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and both the Chairman and Ranking member of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Horticulture, Research, Biotechnology and Foreign Agriculture, Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) and Rep. 16

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Kurt Schrader (R-Ore.), for their support of agricultural innovation. With the global population continuing to increase by 200,000 people every day and a projected population of over 9 billion people by 2050, the need for biotechnology to improve agriculture production is vital in order to provide the world with the necessary food, fiber and fuel. The letters can be viewed online.

NAWG Weekly Update: Aug. 7, 2014 Grain Inspection Still Stalled at Port of Vancouver Despite ongoing attempts from NAWG, U.S. Wheat Associates and many other concerned groups, officials at the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have yet to take any action to deal with the stoppage of grain exports from the Port of Vancouver, Wash. On July 1, 2014, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) decided it would no longer fulfill its obligation to provide official grain inspection and weighing services at the Pacific Northwest port. Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration officials have cited alleged safety concerns for their workers at the port, which is being picketed by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union as part of an ongoing labor dispute.

NAWG, USW and other industry groups affected by the stoppage have shared with USDA that the damage this issue has already caused in lost confidence with foreign buyers, will only be intensified when the summer wheat harvest in the region reaches its zenith in the oncoming

days. “The ongoing lack of response by USDA, in addition to their refusal to act upon their congressionally mandated responsibility and obligation to provide official inspection services is both unprecedented and unacceptable,” said NAWG President Paul Penner, a wheat farmer from Hillsboro, Kan., “If this problem is not solved immediately, countless farmers that export grain through the Port of Vancouver could be dumping their wheat on the ground.” NAWG and USW believe that under the U.S. Grain Standards Act, Congress vested in the Secretary of Agriculture the obligation to provide official inspection services at export locations to facilitate efficient and cost-effective marketing of U.S. grains and oilseeds — even if an authorized state agency fails to do so.

USDA to Send Acreage History and Yield Reports to Farmers On August 1, USDA sent out a press release announcing the Farm Service Agency (FSA) has started sending notices to farmers updating them on their current base acres, yields and 2009-2012 planting history. The key to sending these reports is to make sure farmers and ranchers have this information as they get closer to making a decision on what farm programs they will participate in. FSA encourages farmers to cross check the information with their own records and contact their local FSA county office as soon as possible if they find the information to be incomplete or incorrect. NAWG also encourages farmers to review this information thoroughly as it will help in

making further decisions within the farm programs. To read the full release you can visit USDA’s website.

NAWG Officer Featured in AgriPulse’s 50 Under 50 As part of their six-week series, “Packing Political Punch in Rural America,” Agri-Pulse featured 50 farmers and ranchers under the age of 50 who are getting involved in leadership organizations and associations throughout the agricultural industry.

One of the individuals showcased is NAWG’s current SecretaryTreasurer David Schemm, a wheat grower from Sharon Springs, Kan. The article mentions, “Upon graduating from college, David saw the need to return to his rural roots, and continuing the family’s farming operation. He believes people should step outside their comfort zone and expand their social networks in order to create lasting impacts in agriculture.”

According to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, the average farmer is 58.3 years old, and it is encouraging to know there are numerous young farmers and ranchers stepping up to leadership roles and making a difference for future generations. Read the whole Agri-Pulse article to learn how young people are making a difference in their communities and the agriculture industry.

USDA Releases Greenhouse Gas Report The USDA has released a report regarding the methods for quantifying greenhouse gas sequestration from agriculture and forestry activities. USDA’s work in this area is based on direction provided to the Department in the 2008 farm bill. The report, Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Agriculture and Forestry: Methods for Entity Scale Inventory provides the science behind changes in greenhouse gas emissions and carbon storage on farms, ranches and forest operations. USDA’s web-based farm level carbon assessment tool COMET-Farm, will be updated to include the new information from this report. COMET-Farm allows producers to evaluate soil carbon benefits from various conservation and tillage practices.

Senator Roberts Wins Primary Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) defeated his tea party challenger, Milton Wolf, in the Kansas primary election. Roberts received 48 percent of the vote to Wolf’s 41 percent while two other opponents received a combined 11 percent of the vote. The seasoned Senator from Kansas reiterated in his victory speech that the Republican party needs to be united, stating he will work to “unite Republicans in Kansas behind a common cause.” Roberts will move on to the general election this fall facing Democrat Chad Taylor, a local district attorney, and independent candidate, Greg Orman.

NAWG Weekly Update: August 14, 2014 Please note, there is no NAWG Weekly Update for August 21-28.

Grain Inspection Resumes at Port of Vancouver Grain inspections at the Port of Vancouver, Washington officially resumed on August 12 after a tentative labor agreement was struck between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and several grain shipping companies in the region. Grain inspections had been stalled in the port since early July, when the Washington State Department of Agriculture decided it could no longer fulfill its obligation to provide official grain inspection and weighing services at the Pacific Northwest port, citing safety concerns after Washington Governor Jay Inslee ended state police escorts. USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration also cited safety concerns related to the labor issue as the reason it would not replace state grain inspection officials with Federal Grain Inspection Service inspectors.

NAWG, U. S. Wheat Associates and other industry groups affected by the stoppage shared with the U. S. Department of Agriculture that closing a major export location hurt farmers and their overseas customers and risked damage to U.S. wheat’s reputation as the world’s most reliable supply. “NAWG is pleased that grain is moving and a tentative agreement has been reached by both sides of the labor dispute, but we are still frustrated by the lack of involvement by USDA Rediscover WHE AT | SEPTEMBER 2014 17

throughout the process, and most importantly, their refusal to act upon their congressionally mandated obligation to provide official inspection services during the stoppage of inspections,” said NAWG President Paul Penner, a wheat farmer from Hillsboro, Kan. NAWG and USW believe that under the U.S. Grain Standards Act, the Secretary of Agriculture should have fulfilled the obligation to provide official inspection services at export locations to facilitate efficient and cost-effective marketing of U.S. grains and oilseeds — even if an authorized state agency fails to do so.

USDA Releases Information on STAX and SCO On August 12, USDA released information on the Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) for cotton producers announcing that STAX would be available through the federal crop insurance program starting with the 2015 crop year. STAX is a brand new risk management option created in the 2014 farm bill that will help protect cotton producers. Along with the STAX program USDA launched a website with a Crop Insurance Decision Tool that will help producers understand how the STAX and the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) will interact with traditional crop insurance. This tool is to be used for educational purposes and does not provide an exact quote but will give the producer a general idea on what each program will provide and ultimately help producers make a decision. USDA asks that producers continue to consult

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their crop insurance agent for more detailed information for a producers individual operation.

USDA also notes on the decision tool that currently realistic data is provided only for winter wheat; all other crops provide default values only. To check out the decision tool you can visit USDA’s website.

NAWG Participates in Discussion on Biotechnology NAWG first vice president, Brett Blankenship, participated in a panel discussion on biotechnology on August 13, during the D.C. Biotechnology Round Table hosted by Illinois Soybean Association and the American Soybean Association. Blankenship participated in a farmer panel that also included a corn and soybean farmer. The one-day event brought together farmer-leaders, regulators, trade negotiators and industry representatives to discuss biotechnology and its importance in meeting the growing world demand for food. Darci Vetter, U.S. Chief Agricultural Negotiator presented the keynote address.

“Events like this are important to bring stakeholders together to discuss our growing need for more innovation, research and more a more stream-lined, science based approval process. If we are going to feed 9 billion people by 2050, we need to start getting more serious about gaining acceptance both at home and abroad,” commented Blankenship. Though there is currently no biotech wheat in commercialization, NAWG supports biotechnology and encourages the use of innovation to explore the emerging biotechnology industry.

2014 WILOT Applications Due September 19 The National Wheat Foundation is accepting applications for the 2014 Wheat Industry Leaders of Tomorrow (WILOT) program that is scheduled for November 15 – 20 in St. Louis, Mo. WILOT is an annual program designed for wheat farmers looking to become more involved in the wheat industry through association and commission leadership.

The program is sponsored by Monsanto and gives growerparticipants the opportunity to visit Monsanto labs and discuss wheat projects with their scientists. Interested candidates can submit applications to Jinger Eberspacher at jeberspacher@ wheatworld.org by September 19.

Continue the conversation about agriculture and the wheat industry. Like NAWG on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to stay informed on everything from biotechnology, industry happenings and much more!

News from U.S. Wheat Associates Wheat Letter - August 7, 2014 Record Rail Freight Costs Behind Increasing Basis Levels

By Casey Chumrau, USW Market Analyst Regular readers of the U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) Price Report have clearly seen “basis� levels increase sharply for wheat originating in the northern plains over the past year. For reference, basis is the difference between the relevant futures price and the price quoted at a specific time and location, which usually reflects the transportation and elevation costs to move grain to that location.

For shipments from the northern plains to export terminals, the basis has been increasing primarily due to record high rail freight costs. A significant increase in crude oil shipments from the region, severe winter weather and expectations for large grain crops, have all stressed rail capacity and pushed freight prices higher.

Capacity issues have affected hard red spring (HRS) and northern durum prices the most. Basis levels has swung widely because of the volatile rail market. As of Aug. 1, the basis for September HRS averaged $3.50/ bu ($129/MT) for shipment from the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and $3.00/bu ($110/MT) for shipment from the Gulf of Mexico. That is more than double the basis levels for the same week last year at both ports. While not

fully offsetting the higher basis, lower futures prices have helped keep HRS export prices in a competitive range with wheat from other origins. The Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX) HRS September futures contract closed at $6.16/bu ($226/MT) on Aug. 1, $1.26/bu ($46/MT) lower than a year earlier.

Durum prices are reported on a cash basis as there is no corresponding futures market.

The average bid for durum from the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 1 was $12.33/bu ($453/MT), compared to $10.83/bu ($398/MT) last year.

Bids from the Great Lakes are up 54 cents per bushel ($20/MT) from last year to $10.61/bu ($390/MT).

Farmers’ ability to control durum supply with on-farm storage has also contributed to higher durum export prices.

The skyrocketing cost of shuttles trains, which move grain from inland elevators to export terminals, is primarily responsible for higher grain export prices.

There is a published, standard shuttle train tariff established by railroad companies, but the majority of shuttle trains are traded in a secondary market.

According to Mike Krueger, president of the advisory firm The Money Farm, shuttle trains historically have traded between $500 per car under the tariff and $1,000 per car over the tariff.

For reference, Krueger estimated that a rate of $1,000 per car over tariff typically adds about 29 cents per bushel to the cost. However,

Krueger reported the cost per car in the last year has averaged between $4,000 and $5,000 over tariff, adding significant cost.

The unprecedented demand for engines and track use to transport crude oil from the Bakken oil fields of western North Dakota is the main cause of these unusually higher secondary market prices.

According to the North Dakota Industrial Commission, Oil and Gas Division, crude oil production began rising in 2012 and daily output has more than tripled since then. Almost all of the oil is shipped to refineries outside the region. It has been challenging for railroads to adjust to the unprecedented demand, which has pushed railcar prices ever higher and tested the limits of the track capacity. Shippers of other commodities, including wheat, that also rely on rail to move their stocks to port are fighting for capacity and paying a heavy price.

The strain on capacity was complicated by one of the coldest and snowiest winters on record in the region. Weather-related delays caused a significant backlog of trains in early 2014 and railroad companies are still working to catch up. Harvest is just beginning for what could be a large spring wheat crop, followed closely by large predicted corn and soybean crops, putting even more stress on the rail capacity. The backlog is even worse in Canada, where the government just announced an extension of its regulation requiring Canadian rail companies Rediscover WHE AT | SEPTEMBER 2014 19

to ship a minimum of 1.07 million metric tons (MMT) of grain each week or face financial penalties.

Farmers and country elevators in the region are pushing hard for a fair shot at available rail capacity.

While it is unlikely the congestion problem will be completely resolved in the next year, rail companies say they are working to create more capacity. BNSF, the dominant freight railroad in the northern plains region, says it has invested $180 million in 2014 to date to expand track lines and hired 2,000 additional employees.

As always, we encourage wheat buyers to contact their local USW representatives at any time for more information and trade service support.

U.S. Wheat Industry Urges USDA to Maintain Grain Inspection Services at Port of Vancouver USW is very concerned about the current disruption in wheat exports from the Port of Vancouver, WA, and has coordinated with other organizations calling on USDA to resolve the situation immediately.

At issue is the suspension of official grain inspection and weighing services at United Grain Corporation’s export elevator in Vancouver, WA, as of July 7, 2014. Because of an ongoing labor dispute between International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) workers and United Grain, Washington Governor Jay Inslee had ordered state police to escort grain inspectors across union picket lines to work. Then,

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with little notice, the governor withdrew the police escort. The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA), which is delegated the authority by USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) to inspect and weigh grain in the state, suspended those services reportedly because it was concerned about the safety of its employees.

USW and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) believe that under the U.S. Grain Standards Act, Congress vested in the Secretary of Agriculture the obligation to provide official inspection services at export locations to facilitate efficient and cost-effective marketing of U.S. grains and oilseeds — even if an authorized state agency fails to do so.

“If Washington state inspectors are unable to perform their duties,” said NAWG President Paul Penner, a wheat farmer from Hillsboro, KS, “then the time has come for federal grain inspectors to step in and do their mandated jobs to get grain flowing out of the Port of Vancouver.”

“With the wheat harvest well underway and the importance of exports to our producers and customers, this situation is unacceptable,” said USW President Alan Tracy.

This issue also has the potential to create up-country backlogs in an export system already dealing with rail capacity issues that have pushed up basis levels (see story above). Reducing capacity by removing an export shipping

point makes it more challenging to facilitate efficient marketing of the U.S. wheat crop as well as the large predicted corn and soybean crops.

Citing the “extremely troubling precedent” being set, USW and NAWG coordinated with 20 other organizations to send a letter on July 14 urging USDA to immediately restore inspection and weighing services at United Grain. The organizations expressed concern about how this situation may disrupt official services at other U.S. grain export locations. Just this week, USW and NAWG expressed their concerns again at a face-to-face meeting with USDA. “Independent inspection and certification by the Federal Grain Inspection Service or authorized state agencies is fundamental to the integrity and reliability of the nation’s grain export system,” Tracy said. “With half of all U.S. wheat exported, exports are the key to producer prices. Shutting down a major export elevator for any period seriously disrupts our system, short-changes our customers who rely on us for their supplies and costs farmers money.

The Secretary needs to put federal inspectors on the job — and he needs to do it now.”

Teams from Italy and the Philippines Conclude Summer Trade Team Season USW is winding down the annual summer trade team season.

These intensive visits provide international customers with a field-to-vessel look at the U.S. wheat supply system and facilitate discussions with wheat breeders,

inspectors, traders and export officials. The long-time favorite stop, however, is in the wheat field — maybe even taking a spin on the combine. Talking directly with farmers helps prove the reliability, versatility and high quality of the U.S. wheat crop that our customers depend on year after year.

Six Italians completed visits to Montana, Minnesota and North Dakota to investigate this year’s HRS crop. Italy is Europe’s largest importer of HRS wheat, used for pizza crust and high loaf volume bread as well as pandoro and panettone, two types of bread made and consumed during the Christmas season.

Five milling industry customers from the Philippines took a 10day tour of HRS, soft white (SW) and hard red winter (HRW) production regions in Oregon, Washington, North Dakota and Kansas. The Philippines is the fifth largest market for U.S. wheat and purchased nearly 2.2 MMT (80.8 million bushels) in marketing year 2013/14, including the largest amounts for both SW and HRS. That is the most U.S. wheat sales since 1999/00 and the second highest on record.

USW is sponsoring a total 11 trade teams for calendar year 2014.

The last trade team of calendar year 2014, from Japan, will visit Montana, Idaho and Oregon in September. Thank you to our state wheat commission members and educational partners that collaborate and help organize this valuable effort.

India’s Rejection of WTO Agreement Deals a Blow to Global Economic Growth

multilateral trade negotiations back to a place from which it will be very difficult to recover.

By Shannon Schlecht, USW Vice President of Policy

The fact that India notoriously flouts its refusal to report on its domestic support to WTO adds insult to injury. As USW noted last April, publicly available information provides a compelling case for why India does not want to share that information. A recent Cairns Group study indicated that India doubled its trade distorting support between 2001 and 2008 from $8.2 billion to $16.4 billion.

Specifically for wheat, India has significantly increased minimum support prices for their farmers since the Doha Round was launched.

Last December, World Trade Organization (WTO) trade ministers agreed to an outcome on trade facilitation, public stockholding and several other development issues through long, painstaking negotiation in Bali, Indonesia. Prior to these meetings, India had already backed away from an earlier pledge to support the text. Then India, which already provides subsidies above its WTO commitments, forced a compromise allowing developing countries to exceed their Uruguay Round domestic support commitments without challenge until a permanent “solution” could be achieved.

Still, the ministers had reached a multilateral trade facilitation agreement (TFA) that has eluded the organization for nearly 20 years and renewed hope for a successful conclusion of the WTO Doha Round of negotiations. WTO members were to adopt the TFA protocol by July 31, 2014.

But, wait. Once again, India’s government decided not to honor its commitments to its trading partners. Claiming lack of progress on food security for developing nations, India refused to adopt the agreement. This latest blow has serious implications for the WTO and billions of people around the world. Sadly, the now lost TFA had the potential to reduce trade costs by 15 percent and increase global economic output by $1 trillion. India’s temerity pushes

Food security is a complex topic and USW respects India’s concerns for millions of its people who struggle in poverty. USW agrees with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who said, “We do not dismiss the concerns India has about large numbers of poor people who require some sort of food assurance and subsistence level, but we believe there’s a way to provide forward that that keeps faith with the WTO Bali agreement.”

Yet, India has chosen to lead the WTO backwards and block the benefits that would have accrued to billions of people across 160 WTO member countries, including their own citizens.

Despite this major setback, USW remains committed to the WTO and is encouraged by the call from most other countries to improve transparency and provide a clear picture of actual world agricultural policies. Only Rediscover WHE AT | SEPTEMBER 2014 21

then will WTO members be able to make meaningful progress toward reducing trade barriers and increasing trade for all member countries.

Wheat Organizations Support Congressional Call for Comprehensive Market Access in TPP USW and NAWG are very pleased that 140 members of the U.S. Congress recently urged President Barack Obama to pursue a high standard, 21st century Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.

In a letter to the President, a bipartisan group of members expressed deep concern that Japan is seeking to exempt numerous tariff lines from complete tariff elimination under the agreement, including on wheat and wheat product imports. Allowing Japan or other TPP member countries to claim numerous exceptions for sensitive products opens the door for other countries to do the same, a situation that could unravel the talks and threaten the completion of a comprehensive agreement.

TPP was proposed as an ambitious model for all future U.S. free trade agreements. A weak TPP agreement would negatively affect our ability to reach acceptable agreements with the European Union in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations.

USW and NAWG agree with the members of Congress who urged President Obama to hold Japan to the same high standards envisioned by other TPP partners.

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meaningful agricultural market access in the agreement, we believe TPP negotiations should also be suspended with those countries until they are ready to conclude a truly comprehensive agreement.

Wheat Letter - August 21, 2014 Large World Wheat Supply is Certain; Quality is the Question

By Casey Chumrau, USW Market Analyst Northern Hemisphere farmers are close to finishing their winter wheat harvest and beginning to cut spring wheat. While persistent drought reduced hard red winter (HRW) production in the southern plains, it is evident that betterthan-expected yields around the world so far will likely lead to a record wheat crop. USDA significantly increased its 2014/15 world production projection by 10.9 million metric tons (MMT) to 716 MMT in its August World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report. If realized, it would be the fifth record-breaking crop in seven years. While there is little doubt that world supplies will be plentiful, the quality of the world crop has been variable.

The Black Sea region accounts for most of the increased world production forecast. Reports of very high winter wheat yields led USDA to push the 2014/15 Russian production forecast up 6.0 MMT to 59.0 MMT and boost expected Ukrainian output 1.0 MMT higher to 22.0 MMT. If realized, it would be the second bumper crop in a row for both countries. While Russian quality

is mostly good, excessive rain considerably diminished wheat quality in Ukraine. Analyst group ProAgro estimates about 35 percent of the total wheat harvest in Ukraine will not meet food quality levels, up from 25 to 30 percent last year. However, a local flour milling association estimates the percentage of feed wheat will be much higher, going as far as sending a letter on Aug. 14 to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko asking him to stop wheat exports temporarily to protect the domestic market.

USDA projected Ukrainian exports will reach 9.0 MMT. That would be down from 9.65 MMT last year but well above the fiveyear average of 7.18 MMT. Concerns regarding wheat quality are also high in France, the EU’s largest wheat producer and exporter. In July, frequent and abundant rain just before harvest resulted in sprouting and reduced test weight. Reports suggest the country’s overall protein content will average around 11.0 percent, which would be the lowest since 2001. Higher than average protein levels in the northern regions helped to offset very low protein in the south. It is still unclear what percentage of the estimated 37.3 MMT crop was affected, but fears that less exportable milling quality wheat will be available has weighed heavily on European markets. In its August report, the group estimated France’s milling wheat at 62 percent, down from 88 percent in July. Strategie Grains also cut its French wheat export projection by nearly 3.0 MMT to 8.81 MMT, citing an inability to meet minimum quality requirements of many of its regular customers.

Worries about the Canadian crop quality have diminished with favorable late summer weather. Considerable rain in June and July put crop development behind schedule and looked to hurt quality potential. Warm, dry August weather seems to be putting Canada back on track to harvest its second-largest crop in six years. USDA estimated 2014/15 Canadian production will hit its five-year average of 28.0 MMT, down from the record-breaking 37.5 MMT last year. Analysts expect some crops will need an extended growing season to fully mature, so the race is on to beat the first frost, which usually occurs mid-September.

Reports concerning U.S. crop quality have been as diverse as the growing regions. In many parts of the southern plains, severe drought conditions stunted HRW development, but resulted in high protein, and untimely harvest rains added to the woes by affecting quality in some cases.

The northern plains HRW crop improved the average quality for the class, despite suffering some late disease pressure. White wheat protein levels are also running higher this year — not ideal for low-protein uses. Drought conditions and hot weather stressed winter white wheat, which accounts for 83 percent of all white wheat acres this year. In the early stages of spring wheat harvest, USDA rated 68 percent of the crop in good or excellent condition and just 6 percent poor or very poor.

Hard red spring (HRS) protein levels have been lower than normal in early tests, likely due to summer rains and mild temperatures.

Wheat quality variations can have a serious impact on the milling and baking qualities of the commodity, but the geographic diversity of U.S. wheat growing regions helps to balance out regional fluctuations. USW strives to keep customers informed and updated on U.S. wheat crop developments. Read the most current data in the USW Harvest Report released each Friday during the harvest season. As the harvest season ends, final crop quality data will be available for each class, including the following story on the 2014/15 U.S. soft red winter (SRW) quality.

Variable Quality in the 2014 U.S. SRW Crop Is Manageable USW’s quality survey of the 2014/15 U.S. SRW wheat crop is complete and the full report is available at http://www.uswheat. org/cropQuality. Great Plains Analytical Laboratory in Kansas City, Missouri, collected and analyzed 527 samples from 18 reporting areas in the nine states that typically account for 60 to 70 percent of total SRW production.

USW and USDA Foreign Agricultural Service fund the annual survey.

USW will also soon share this data with hundreds of overseas customers at several events, including USW’s annual crop quality seminars. Buyers are encouraged to construct specifications carefully to be sure that they receive qualities that meet their needs either for traditional soft wheat products or for blending with higher protein wheat.

The 2014 SRW production, estimated at 12.5 MMT, is down nearly 3 MMT from the large 2013 crop but is about 1 MMT larger than the previous five-year average. If there is a defining factor for SRW quality this year, it is the timing of rainfall. Moisture was ample, or even excessive, for most of the SRW area throughout the growing season, but regional differences are striking. While USW did not sample wheat from far southern Gulf tributary states, there is evidence that SRW grown from Arkansas south avoided moisture at flowering but had rain at harvest, which affected soundness. In contrast, wheat farmers in Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky experienced more rain at flowering than they did at harvest so DON (vomitoxin) levels in that wheat is higher. Ohio and East Coast tributary states including Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina had adequate moisture throughout the growing season and good harvest conditions.

The overall average SRW grade for 2014/15 is U.S. No. 2, though the overall average test weight just barely meets the No. 2 grade requirement. Average protein is slightly lower than last year and the five-year average. Average dockage and total defects are both below last year and the five-year averages, indicating that the crop has relatively few visual defects.

Falling number values are again below the five-year average, though somewhat better than the very low values of the 2013 crop. The samples from Gulf Port states show the adverse effects of excessive moisture during growing and harvest while the East Coast states largely avoided these conditions.

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The overall average test weight of 58.0 lb/bu (76.3 kg/hl) is 0.4 lb/bu (0.5 kg/hl) below 2013 and 0.6 lb/bu (0.8 kg/hl) below the five-year average. The Gulf Port average test weight of 57.8 lb/bu (76.1 kg/hl) is below the five-year average for these states, while the East Coast average of 58.7 lb/bu (77.3 kg/hl) is 1.5 lb/bu (2.0kg/ hl) above last year and similar to the five-year average. The average total defects value of 1.8% is 1.0 percentage point lower than last year and 0.4 percentage point below the five-year average. Both the Gulf Ports (2.0%) and East Coast (1.1%) have average total defects below the respective fiveyear averages.

While wheat protein content of 9.8% on a 12% moisture basis is slightly below the fiveyear average of 10.1%, overall sedimentation and wet gluten averages are similar to the respective five-year averages.

Wheat falling number of 304 seconds for the Gulf Ports is similar to the low value of 2013 and well below the five-year average. Grain handlers and others are reporting very low falling numbers in wheat from far southern Gulf Port states.

In contrast, the average falling number of 340 seconds for the East Coast states is well above the five-year average. The overall DON average of 2.2 ppm is higher than 2013 and the five-year average. The DON average for the six Gulf Port states is 2.5 ppm, well above 2013 and the five-year average. DON levels are highest in wheat from southern Illinois and Indiana and eastern Kentucky.

However, industry sources indicated last week that buyers should be able to source SRW 24

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with less than 2.0 ppm DON. The DON levels are completely different in the three East Coast states with an average of 0.6 ppm, which is below 2013 and the fiveyear average.

Flour and Baking Data.

Buhler laboratory mill flour extraction and flour ash are similar to the five-year averages overall for both East Coast and Gulf Port states, suggesting that the crop has typical SRW milling characteristics. The dough properties suggest the crop is somewhat weaker than recent crops. Farinograph peak, stability and absorption values, especially for the Gulf Ports states are somewhat lower than the fiveyear averages. Alveograph P, L and W values for Gulf Ports and East Coast are somewhat lower than five-year averages. However, cookie spread ratios and loaf volumes are all higher than last year and the respective five-year averages.

The data showed that excessive moisture in many areas during flowering or during harvest adversely affected DON levels or falling numbers, primarily in the six Gulf Port states. SRW importers should pay close attention to their specifications to receive the wheat they need. As always, local USW representatives are ready to assist.

Vessels Loading Again at United Grain; U.S. Wheat Industry Remains Vigilant

By Shawn Campbell, USW Assistant Director, West Coast Office On Aug. 12, Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) grain inspectors

reported to work for the first time in 37 days at the United Grain export terminal in Vancouver, Washington. The elevator is once again loading vessels with official inspection services. USW will continue to push for the free flow of grain to our overseas customers.

Early last month, WSDA pulled its inspectors from the elevator, citing safety concerns after state police stopped escorting the inspectors across International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) picket lines under orders from Washington’s governor Jay Inslee. USDA’s Grain Inspection Packers & Stockyards Administration decided not to provide Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) inspectors to the facility as replacements, citing the same safety concerns. As a result, United Grain did not have official inspection services and was unable to load grain for export, except in a few specialized cases, sparking concerns across the U.S. grain sector and from traditional PNW customers.

The struggle over official inspection services should prove to be the final issue in a 23-month conflict between the ILWU and the Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association (PNGHA), whose members include United Grain, Columbia Grain and Louis Dreyfus. The union and PNGHA finally reached a tentative labor agreement near midnight Aug. 11.

ILWU members must still ratify the contract, with voting results expected as soon as Aug. 25. With the tentative agreement in place, WSDA grain inspectors returned to the United Grain facility to provide official inspection services and resume normal grain export loading operations.

U.S. federal law requires that FGIS or a delegated state agency inspect all grain for export. This has been a major benefit of the U.S. wheat export system. Having a neutral third party certify that contract specifications are met is a critical component of U.S. wheat quality and value. However, the unusual circumstances at the Port of Vancouver demonstrates a need to remain vigilant and ensure official mandated services are followed to provide for the free flow of grain.

Thankfully, the dispute likely did not last long enough to cause severe harm to farmers or the overseas customers who depend on them.

USW and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) worked closely throughout this situation with other stakeholders to advocate the importance of official inspection services and exports for farmers and their customers.

Both organizations will continue doing all they can to avoid similar disruptions into the future.

U.S. Farmer Organizations Discuss Regulatory Environment for Biotechnology Several organizations teamed up in Washington, DC, to bring together more than 100 farmers, researchers, agricultural organization leaders and federal officials to discuss the worldwide benefits of agricultural biotechnology, with a focus on discussing how to accelerate government approval of biotech seed.

The D.C. Biotechnology Roundtable was organized to help

advance a more science-based biotech approval process and to reinforce the proven safety of agricultural biotechnology, which farmers around the world use to enhance the yields and quality of soybeans, corn and other crops.

While there is no biotech wheat planted commercially, Washington wheat farmer Brett Blankenship said at the event that he needs innovation to produce more and better wheat with less impact on the environment.

Precision farming, minimum tillage systems and improved varieties are already helping achieve that goal, but he said new technologies, including biotechnology, hold promise to help farmers meet the growing demand for wheat in more sustainable ways. Blankenship, NAWG first vice-president, agreed with other farmers saying biotechnology should be viewed as a viable choice for those who see its benefits, including consumers and farmers. NAWG helped sponsor the event.

“It is critical that agriculture lets policymakers and regulators in Washington know how much farmers need biotechnology to sustainably produce food for the world’s population,” said Bill Raben, a soybean farmer from Ridgway, IL. “Scientists and regulatory agencies have established that agricultural biotechnology is safe for humans, animals and the environment.

It is a crucial science that helps farmers use fewer resources to produce more food.”

Robert Paarlberg, renowned author and advisor to numerous food and agricultural organizations worldwide,

reiterated the proven safety of biotechnology. A professor of political science at Wellesley College and public policy at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Paarlberg observed that opposition to biotechnology comes from environmental and anti-globalization groups in more affluent countries, particularly the European Union. He said the current state of worldwide regulation deprives people of food by preventing use of biotechnology by farmers in poorer countries who are growing food crops such as wheat, rice and potatoes. Additionally, he observed, regulatory hurdles limit the technology to farmers in affluent countries, such as the United States, who raise biotech crops primarily for livestock feed.

NAWG and USW have established a joint position on biotechnology and published “Principles for Commercialization” of biotech traits in wheat. Read more at http://www.wheatworld.org/ issues/biotech/ or http://www. uswheat.org/biotechnology.

Wheat Industry News Dow Launches Updated Website. Dow AgroSciences redesigned their U.S. website to improve functionality and mobile optimization. The site adds links to technology pipelines among other resources. Check the new site out at http://www.dowagro. com/en-us/usag.

CropLife International Takes Over Biotech Database.

CropLife International has taken responsibility for http://www. biotradestatus.com/, the only Rediscover WHE AT | SEPTEMBER 2014 25

website that provides information on the commercial status for approved CropLife member products, including BASF Plant Science, Bayer CropScience, Dow AgroSciences, Monsanto Company, Pioneer and Syngenta Seeds.

NCI Grain Procurement Management for Importers Course. The Northern Crops Institute in Fargo, North Dakota, will hold its Grain Procurement Management for Importers short course Sept. 15 to 24, 2014. For more information or to register, visit http://www.northern-crops. com/.

IGP Milling Courses. The International Grains Program in Manhattan, Kansas, will have its Buhler-KSU Executive Milling Course in Nov. 10 to 14, 2014. For

26

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more information or to register, visit http://www.grains.ksu.edu/ igp/.

GEAPS and K-State Add Grain Processing Management Program. GEAPS and Kansas State University will now offer online courses and a credential in grain processing management.

Additional processing courses, specialist credentials and will add a master’s credential later. For more information, visit http://bit. ly/1AUYSjD. Whole Grains Council Organizes First Conference.

The Whole Grains Council is organizing its first ever international conference, titled “Whole Grains: Breaking Barriers,” scheduled for Nov. 9 to 11, 2014 in Boston, Mass. For more information or to register,

visit http://bit.ly/1qWZxPv. Congratulations to Mark Fowler, who has joined NCI as a milling consultant. Fowler will also continue his duties as IGP associate director. For more information, visit http://bit. ly/1swGcCQ. Condolences to Ron Suppes, former USW chairman, and his family on the death of his father, Primus Joseph “Prim” Suppes. For more information, visit http://bit. ly/1qWFH27.

Condolences to the family of Stan Timmermann on his passing on Aug. 11. Timmermann was a long-time farmer and agricultural leader in Oregon and served as USW Chairman in 1993/94. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/timmermann.

Philippine Trade Team Wheat buyers from the Republic of the Philippines long ago discovered the quality, value and reliability of U.S. wheat. Trade relationships with Philippine buyers have been maintained for over 50 years and have resulted in the Philippines being the United States’ fifth largest market for wheat. In order to maintain this relationship, the U.S. Wheat Associates brought five Philippine milling industry customers to the United States from Aug. 6-16.

These managers have a diverse range of responsibilities and experience, said Manila-based Joe Sowers, USW assistant regional director for South Asia, who traveled with the team.

“U.S. wheat has been a big part of the Filipino milling and baking industry for more than 50 years,” Sowers said. “Coming to the United States helps these new customers understand the work farmers, grain handlers and USDA put in to produce and deliver highquality wheat and services that can help them grow their businesses.”

Kansas made up the last leg of the tour for the trade team. Over the last two days of their trip, they spent time visiting facilities in that state that showcased the professionalism and quality of the U.S. wheat industry. Their first stop in the state was visiting the Federal Grain Inspection Service Tech Center to learn about the inspection process. Next, the team visited Best Harvest Bakery, one of the bakeries that

creates buns for popular fast food restaurants like McDonald’s out of Kansas grown hard red winter wheat. The team then toured the International Grains Program and learned about the programs and courses the IGP Institute offers.

The team also visited the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center to talk with staff and to learn about the research that is driving innovation in the wheat industry.

Team participants also visited other locations around the country, including stops in Oregon, Washington and North Dakota. Because of the many tours and stops the team took they were able to get a field-tovessel look at the country’s wheat industry. Many different topics were covered throughout the trip, including breeding, production, transportation, inspection

and certification services and innovative uses.

The Republic of the Philippines started off as a small customer of U.S. wheat in 1961 by purchasing 200,000 metric tons (7.35 million bushels). But over the last 53 years their demand has increased to nearly 2.2 million metric tons (80.8 million bushels) in this last marketing year. The U.S. supplied over 93% of the Philippines’ wheat imports last year. The Philippine milling industry is a dynamic, and growing, market. After not seeing a new entrant in the commercial flour market since 1990, two new mills entered the market last year and two more are under construction. After years of stagnant growth in the Philippine milling industry, the flour market is expected to grow significantly.

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News from Kansas State University Preemergence herbicide use on wheat

by Dallas Peterson, Weed Management Specialist • dpeterso@ksu.edu Preemergence herbicides with residual activity are used routinely in most crops, including corn, grain sorghum, and soybeans.

They have not, however, commonly been used in wheat.

There are five ALS-inhibiting herbicides labeled for preplant or preemergence use in wheat: Amber, Finesse, Maverick, Olympus, and Pre-Pare.

The newest product in the preemergence wheat market is Zidua. Zidua has a different mode of action than the other preemergence herbicides in wheat and should only be applied as a delayed preemergence or early postemergence treatment.

In wheat, preemergence herbicides are often used in notill situations where they can be tankmixed with glyphosate during burndown applications just prior to or at planting. The addition of one of the preemergence herbicides at the time of the final burndown application can give residual control or suppression of susceptible broadleaf and grass weeds.

Preemergence treatments in wheat can be inconsistent in effectiveness. They require rainfall to be activated. If weeds emerge 28

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before the herbicide is activated, control may be poor, especially the grasses. But when there is enough rain to activate the herbicide before weeds emerge, control or suppression can be good.

However, all else being equal, most of the herbicides labeled for preemergence applications will be most consistent when applied as fall postemerge treatments. The one exception is Zidua, which has minimal activity on emerged weeds.

The labels of these herbicides differ somewhat in what is allowed with a preemergence application.

Finesse allows for a higher use rate when applied preemergence than when applied as a postemergence treatment. This can provide for good seasonlong control of susceptible broadleaf weeds, unless they are ALS resistant. However, it does not allow for a follow-up postemergence treatment later with Finesse, although a followup treatment with Olympus or PowerFlex is allowed.

With Amber, the top-end of the range of rates allowed is a little higher for preemergence applications than with postemergence applications. As with Finesse, if Amber is used at the higher rates preemergence, producers cannot come back later in the season with another application of Amber, although a followup treatment with Olympus or PowerFlex is allowed.

With Olympus, the allowable rate as a preemergence application is 0.6 oz/acre, which is lower than the rate allowed if Olympus is used as a postemergence treatment.

However, producers are allowed to follow up later with another 0.6 oz/ acre of Olympus if needed.

Maverick has a single standard rate for all application timings.

Pre-Pare is marketed primarily in the northern plains and has not provided very good preemergence cheatgrass control in research at K-State.

Zidua has a different mode of action than the other preemergence wheat herbicides and may be especially helpful to manage ALS-resistant weeds.

Zidua is very effective for control of Italian ryegrass, but can also provide suppression of winter annual brome species and some broadleaf weeds. Zidua should not be applied until 80% of the germinating wheat seedlings have a shoot at least ½ inch long. It can also be applied early postemergence to wheat, but primarily has preemergence activity and generally will not control emerged weeds.

Application rates of Zidua range from 0.7 to 2 oz/acre depending on application timing and soil texture. Zidua should not be applied preplant to wheat and wheat should not be seeded more than 1.5 inches deep prior to a delayed preemergence application. Zidua can cause some temporary stunting of wheat if

soils are excessively wet during the early seedling stages of wheat development.

to conduct their own germination test, but home tests may not tell the whole story.

Test wheat seed germination if harvest aid herbicides were used

Whether seed germination has been harmed by a herbicide is really only part of the story. Seed germination is relatively easy to conclude from a germination test.

What is not quite so obvious is the potential damage may have been done to seed even though it appears to germinate.

by Steve Schuler, Executive Director, KCIA • sfskcia@kansas. net and Eric Fabrizius, Associate Director and Seed Testing Manager, KCIA • efkcia@kansas. net

The trained analysts at KCIA evaluate each seedling in a test to

make sure it has all the essential structures to establish a plant in the field. The lack of roots or a damaged coleoptile resulting from a herbicide application may have a profound effect on that seed’s ability to establish itself when planted.

It would be good if every producer plant Kansas certified seed, which has been professionally cleaned and tested, but if a producer has a legal right to use saved seed, we think it is

Welcomed, but perhaps untimely rains delayed wheat harvest in some areas of Kansas to the extent that herbicide applications had to be made to burn down weeds prior to harvest. Farmers intending to hold back some of their harvest for use as seed this fall should have that wheat tested for germination.

Some herbicides, such as glyphosate, are not recommended on wheat to be saved as seed.

Most, if not all, of the common herbicides used as pre-harvest aids in wheat require that the grain be below 30 percent moisture before application. At or below this moisture content, the grain is post-physiological maturity and unlikely, or less likely, to be adversely affected.

Seed germination can be greatly inhibited if pre-harvest herbicide applications are made at an improper stage of grain maturity.

The only way to be sure that germination has not been harmed by herbicide application is to have the seed tested by a professional laboratory such as Kansas Crop Improvement Association’s (KCIA’s) Seed Quality Testing Lab. A producer may be tempted Rediscover WHE AT | SEPTEMBER 2014 29

a prudent step to have that seed professionally tested.

Information on KCIA seed laboratory services can be found at www.kscrop.org/labservices.aspx or call 785-532-6118.

Correlation of soil test nitrate level, N rates, and wheat yields

by Dave Mengel, Soil Fertility Specialist • dmengel@ksu.edu and Ray Asebedo, Agronomy Graduate Student • ara4747@ ksu.edu Soil testing for nitrate-N in the fall for making nitrogen (N) recommendations on winter wheat is a valuable practice, particularly when using 24-inch profile sampling. Unfortunately, few farmers utilize this tool, and its value has been questioned in some areas due to the potential for overwinter N loss. However, with the exception of sands, N losses over winter in Kansas are normally quite low due to our low rainfall in December, January, and February.

To evaluate the relationship between wheat yield and fall soil nitrate-N -- and to determine if it is still a viable practice to utilize in N management of wheat -- we summarized data from 26 different N management experiments conducted across Kansas from 2007 through 2014. Most were from 2010 through 2013.

The driving force behind this study is the growing interest in improving N management in winter wheat production. Recent efforts have been focused on improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), or the portion of the 30

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fertilizer N we apply which is used by the plant. This has resulted in the creation of N fertilizer products designed to reduce N loss, optical sensors that can evaluate wheat’s N status, and changes in methods and timing of N applications. With so many new practices incorporated into N management systems, older practices are starting to be considered dated and discarded.

Taking fall soil profile-N samples has been a recommended practice for making an N recommendation for winter wheat for many years.

However, due to the mobility of nitrate-N in the soil, soil test values observed in the fall may be completely different than values observed in the spring, particularly on soils prone to leaching. Because many producers wait until spring greenup to make their N application, does soil sampling in the fall for nitrate-N really provide useful information for N management in wheat?

That’s a legitimate question.

The objective of our study was to evaluate the relationship between N fertilizer response by wheat and fall soil nitrate-N and determine if it is still a viable practice to utilize in N management of wheat.

Procedures Data were drawn from 26 dryland wheat experiments conducted in 2007 through 2014 throughout Kansas in cooperation with producers and Kansas State University experiment stations.

Locations included Manhattan, Tribune, Partridge, Johnson, Randolph, Rossville, Ottawa, Sterling, Pittsburg, Silver Lake, Solomon, and Gypsum.

Soil samples to a depth of 24 inches were taken prior to planting and fertilization. Samples from 0 to 6 inches were analyzed for soil organic matter, phosphorus, potassium, pH, and zinc. Soil profile 0- to 24-inch samples were analyzed for nitrate-N, chloride, and sulfate. Fertilizer needs other than N were applied in the fall at or near seeding.

Results

1) Analysis of yields taken from plots that received no N fertilizer shows a strong positive relationship with fall soil profile nitrate-N (Figure 1). Wheat yields increased rapidly as soil N levels increased to about 80 pounds soil N per acre, and then leveled off.

Figure 1.Relationship between fall soil profile nitrate-N level and wheat yield with no N fertilizer applied 2) We then converted check plot yields to a relative yield, or percentage of the maximum fertilized yield obtained at each location (Figure 2). The results reveal not only the yield of the check plot, but also the N

responsiveness of the site. This shows that at low soil nitrate levels, sites respond well to applied fertilizer. When fall soil profile nitrate-N levels are greater than 80 to 100 lb/acre, relative yield is approaching 100%, and it is unlikely the site will respond to additional fertilizer N applied in the spring.

Figure 2. Relationship between fall soil profile nitrate-N and Relative Yield, or percent check plot yield of the maximum obtained with fertilizer at each site.

3) A third way to show this relationship between fall soil nitrate and N response is to calculate the Delta Yield, or the increase in yield obtained from the addition of fertilizer at each site. This is a good measure of N

responsiveness of an individual research site. The relationship between fall profile N level and Delta Yield is shown in Figure 3.

It is clear from this graph that at low soil nitrate levels in the profile, sites respond well to applied nitrogen fertilizer. However, as the profile N level increases beyond 75 to 80 pounds N per acre, little or no N fertilizer response was found.

Figure 3. Increase in yield due to N fertilization, Delta Yield, as a function of soil N level

Summary

4) A commonly used way to measure the efficiency of N use is to determine the amount of N fertilizer required to produce one additional bushel of yield. This relationship is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Pounds of N fertilizer required per bushel of yield increase at different levels of N responsiveness, or Delta Yield.

On highly N-responsive sites, those with a large Delta Yield, the amount of N required to increase yield by one bushel is relatively low, near the 2.4 pounds N per bushel used in the K-State fertilizer recommendations. However, as the yield response decreases, the amount of N required to obtain that response increases dramatically. This relationship provides a good explanation of why fertilizer recommendations are generally made not to obtain the maximum yield, but rather the economic optimum yield.

The efficiency of squeezing out those last one or two bushels is just too low. The cost of the added fertilizer will exceed the value of the extra grain produced. A number of additional conditions such as drought, disease, and poor root growth can influence this relationship. Many of the new technologies being developed to enhance N management and NUE, should help reduce the pounds of N fertilizer required to obtain a bushel of N response.

Wheat yield with no N fertilizer applied was compared with fall nitrate-N levels and a strong relationship was established.

Although new practices have been developed to improve N management in winter wheat, soil sampling in the fall for nitrate-N remains an important practice to manage N efficiently and can result in considerable savings for producers.

When soil sampling for N is not done, the K-State fertilizer recommendation formula defaults to a standard value of 30 lb/acre available N. In this particular dataset, the average profile N level was 39 lb N/acre. However the N level at individual sites ranged from 11 to 197 lbs N/acre.

Most recommendation systems default to a standardized set of N recommendations based on yield goal and/or the cost of N. Without sampling for N or using some alternative method of measuring the soil’s ability to supply N to a crop, such as crop sensing, the recommendations made for N will be inaccurate, resulting in a reduction in yield or profit per acre and increased environmental impact.

Due to the drought of the past three years, there have been many situations where large amounts of N have been present in the soil at planting of wheat or summer crops such as corn or grain sorghum.

Early samples requesting soil N tests from western Kansas coming to the lab are already showing high soil N levels from some areas.

Failure to account for that valuable Continued on page 32 Rediscover WHE AT | SEPTEMBER 2014 31

resource can result in excess foliage, increased plant disease, inefficient use of soil water, and reduced yield.

Soil sampling in fall for nitrate-N can have a significant impact on N recommendations for winter wheat, thus improving N management, and is still strongly recommended.

Volunteer wheat control: Protecting the state's wheat crop

By Dallas Peterson, Extension Weed Management Specialist, dpeterso@ksu.edu, Jeff Whitworth, Extension Entomologist, jwhitwor@ksu.edu, Erick DeWolf, Extension Plant Pathologist, dewolf1@ksu.edu, and Jim Shroyer, Extension Crop Production Specialist Emeritus, jshroyer@ksu.edu The wet weather in much of the state in June caused quite a bit of volunteer wheat to emerge and grow rapidly. Any volunteer wheat should be controlled soon to protect the state’s 2014/15 wheat crop that will be planted this fall.

Volunteer wheat within a halfmile of a field that will be planted to wheat should be completely dead at least two weeks before wheat planting. This will help control wheat curl mites, Hessian fly, and greenbugs in the fall.

The most important threat from volunteer wheat is the wheat streak mosaic virus complex.

These virus diseases cause stunting and yellow streaking on the leaves. In most cases, infection can be traced to a nearby field of 32

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Figure 1. Wheat streak mosaic. Photo by Erick DeWolf, K-State Research and Extension. volunteer wheat, although there are other hosts, such as corn, millet, and many annual grasses, such as yellow foxtail and prairie cupgrass. Control of volunteer is the main defense against the wheat streak mosaic virus complex.

Wheat streak mosaic virus is carried from volunteer to newly planted wheat by the wheat curl mite. These tiny, white, cigarshaped mites are too small to be seen with the naked eye. The curl mite uses the wind to carry it to new hosts and can travel up to half a mile from volunteer wheat.

The wheat curl mite is the vector for wheat streak mosaic, the High Plains virus, and triticum mosaic virus. In addition, the mite can cause curling of leaf margins and head trapping.

Hessian flies survive over the summer on wheat stubble.

When the adults emerge, they can infest any volunteer wheat that may be present, which will keep the Hessian fly population

alive and going through the upcoming crop season. We have found that Hessian flies have an adult emergence “flush” after moisture events all summer and even into November, depending upon temperatures. So it seems it is really more of a continuous potential for infestation, making it even more critical to destroy volunteer in a timely manner. If there is no volunteer around when these adults emerge they will not be able to oviposit on a suitable host plant. If the volunteer is destroyed while the flies are still larvae, this will help to reduce potential problems.

Hessian flies often cause significant damage, especially in the eastern two-thirds of the state.

Hessian fly larvae attack young wheat plants near the soil line.

Tillers may be stunted and later may lodge. In heavy infestations, the whole stand may be lost.

Volunteer wheat is a host of barley yellow dwarf virus, and the greenbugs and bird cherry oat aphids which carry it. So in

that respect, destroying volunteer helps reduce the reservoir for the barley yellow dwarf viruses. The aphids have to pick up the BYD virus from an infected host plant first in order to become a carrier that can transmit the disease to wheat. Host plants that can carry the disease include volunteer wheat, corn, and others. However, destroying volunteer will have little effect on aphid populations in the fall and spring since the aphids migrate into the state from southern areas.

Russian wheat aphids may also live over the summer on volunteer wheat. While this insect has wings and can be wind borne for hundreds of miles, the vast majority of fall infestations in Kansas appear to originate from nearby infested volunteer.

A number of other pests are also associated with the presence of volunteer wheat. An example in western Kansas is the Banks grass mite. During some years, infestations become established during late summer and early fall on volunteer wheat. Later, as the quality of the volunteer deteriorates, mites move from the volunteer into adjacent fields of planted wheat or other small grains. Occasionally mites will survive the winter and continue to spread into the planted wheat following greenup in the spring.

A concern in the eastern part of the state is the chinch bug.

Occasionally, adult bugs will fly from maturing sorghum fields in late summer to nearby fields where volunteer wheat is growing.

Where infested volunteer is allowed to grow right up until seedbed preparation just prior to planting, early planted continuous

wheat is likely to become infested.

Similarly, volunteer that is allowed to grow through the fall and into the following spring may also serve as an attractive chinch bug host.

Another reason to control volunteer is that volunteer and other weeds use up large amounts of soil moisture. When water storage is important, such as in summer fallow, volunteer must be destroyed.

Destroying volunteer after the new wheat emerges is too late.

Producers should leave enough time to have a second chance if control is incomplete. Tillage and herbicides are the two options available for volunteer control.

Tillage usually works best when plants are small and conditions are relatively dry. Herbicide options depend on cropping systems and rotations. Glyphosate can be used to control emerged volunteer wheat and other weeds during the fallow period in any cropping system. However, it has no residual activity and will not control later germinating volunteer wheat or weeds.

If glyphosate is used too close to planting time, volunteer may stay green long enough to transmit diseases and insects to the new crop. It may take as long as one week following glyphosate application before the wheat will die, so that needs to be considered when timing the application to break the bridge for insects and diseases. The optimum time to treat with glyphosate is when most of the volunteer has emerged and is healthy and actively growing. Glyphosate can effectively control volunteer wheat that has tillered.

Atrazine is a relatively inexpensive treatment for volunteer wheat control that can be applied anytime in the summer or fall, if rotating to sorghum or corn. In the September to October time period, using atrazine plus crop oil alone can often control small volunteer wheat that has not yet tillered, as well as lateremerging volunteer wheat and other weeds.

If the volunteer has tillered, most of the roots will have grown deep enough to be out of the reach of atrazine. This is when it helps to add glyphosate to the atrazine plus crop oil. Glyphosate is translocated from the leaf tissue throughout the plant.

The combination of glyphosate and atrazine will provide a good combination of burndown and residual control on both volunteer that has tillered and lateremerging volunteer. Atrazine rates need to be adjusted to soil type and pH, and may not be appropriate for all areas.

In summary, the most important reasons to control volunteer wheat are: • Wheat curl mite/wheat streak mosaic virus • Hessian fly • Russian wheat aphid • Take-all • Bird cherry oat aphid/ greenbug/barley yellow dwarf virus • Banks grass mite • Chinch bug • Reduces moisture loss Rediscover WHE AT | SEPTEMBER 2014 33

Some basic points on using anhydrous ammonia for wheat production

By Dave Mengel, Soil Fertility Specialist • dmengel@ksu.edu As producers start thinking about anhydrous application for wheat this fall, there are a few basic points which they should keep in mind, especially regarding safety. Ammonia is a hazardous material and safety should be the highest priority of the operator.

Safety practices • Always have your personal safety equipment available and use it. The word “anhydrous” means without water.

Ammonia reacts rapidly with the water in tissue if it comes into contact with skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. It is extremely important that when working with ammonia farmers and fertilizer plant employees use all the appropriate personal safety equipment. As a minimum this includes wearing tightfitting chemical goggles to protect your eyes, chemicalresistant gloves, and a long sleeve shirt or jacket. People working with ammonia should also carry a plastic eyewash bottle of water with them at all times, in addition to having access to safety water tanks on both the ammonia tank and the tractor/applicator.

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• Check over the equipment carefully before starting work.

Make sure all hoses are in good shape, and valves and break-away disconnects are in good operating condition.

Application methods and ammonia retention When using ammonia as an N source, there are a number of reactions which come into play that will affect ammonia retention in soils, N response and efficiency. These include chemical reactions, physical factors relating to soil conditions, and how deeply the ammonia is applied. One important question many years in Kansas concerns dry soils. Will a dry soil be able to hold anhydrous ammonia or will some or most of the ammonia be lost shortly after application?

• Chemical reactions of ammonia in soil. Ammonia (NH3) needs to react with water shortly after application in order to convert into ammonium (NH4+), which is the molecule that can adhere to clay and organic matter in the soil. Ammonia is very soluble in water. After it is placed in the soil, NH3 reacts with water in the soil to form ammonium-N (NH4+), which is retained on the soil cation exchange sites. This process takes a little time – it does not occur immediately upon contact with the soil.

The main controlling factors in the conversion of NH3to

ammonium-N are soil temperature, soil moisture, and soil pH. The higher the soil temperature and the wetter the soil, the more rapid the conversion occurs. If the ammonia does not react with water, it will remain as a gas that could escape from the soil. Also, equilibrium between NH3 and NH4+ is affected by soil pH. More NH3 will remain unconverted in the soil longer at higher application rates and at higher soil pH levels.

• Physical factors that influence sealing and ammonia loss.

Dry soils may be cloddy, with large air spaces where the soil has cracked. Getting the soil sealed properly above the injection slot can also be a problem in dry soils. This can allow the gas to physically escape into the air before it has a chance to be converted into ammonium. On the other hand wet soils tend to smear, leaving application channels open to the surface and providing a pathway for ammonia loss also. It is very important to make sure at the time of application that the slot created by the shank is sealed shut and that there is adequate soil moisture present for the NH3 to be retained in the soil. If the soil is too dry to retain NH3, or is not sealed well, gaseous NH3 can escape into the atmosphere and be lost for crop use. At today’s

high N prices, this can quickly become very expensive.

• Importance of application depth. The deeper the ammonia is applied, the more likely it is that the ammonia will have moisture to react with, and the easier the sealing. Anhydrous ammonia can be applied to dry soils, as long as the ammonia is applied deep enough to get it in some moisture and the soil is well sealed above the injection slot. If the soil is either dry and cloddy, or too wet, there may be considerable losses of ammonia within just a few days of application if the soil is not well sealed above the injection slot and/ or the injection point is too shallow. A recent study near Topeka found little or no direct ammonia loss in the week after application when ammonia was applied at 5- or 9-inch depths under good soil conditions. However, under wet conditions, losses as high as 15% of the applied N were seen with shallow application.

Application rate and shank spacing will also have a strong influence on sealing and potential loss. Lower N rates and application with narrow spacings reduces the concentration of N at any one delivery point and reduces the risk of loss.

The human nose is a very good ammonia detector. Producers should be able to tell if anhydrous is escaping from the soil during application or if the ammonia isn’t being applied deeply enough.

If ammonia can be smelled, the producer should either change the equipment setup to get better sealing or deeper injection, or wait until the soil has better moisture conditions.

Shank spacing What about shank spacing for wheat? A number of studies have been done looking at the spacing of anhydrous application on wheat yields. The results have been somewhat erratic, but in general, yields tend to be reduced at shank spacings wider than 20 inches.

The differences seem to be greater at higher yield levels, on sandy soils, and at lower N rates.

Recent studies in Kansas showed a 5% yield difference between 15- and 30-inch spacings over 5 experiments. One general observation is that a wavy appearance will be common in fields fertilized with ammonia, with plants near or directly over an ammonia band being taller, and those between bands shorter.

At low N rates, this will likely lead to a small yield reduction. But at rates more than 100 pounds of N, yields will likely not be impacted, especially on silt loam or heavier soils.

Summary In short, ammonia is an excellent N source for wheat, but producers need to consider some basic issues to be able to apply it safely and to gain good efficiency.

• Make sure the application equipment is in good condition, that water tanks on the nurse tanks and the applicator/tractor are full of clean water, and that they use their personal safety equipment and have a personal eye wash bottle with them at all times.

• Apply anhydrous ammonia at the proper depth to ensure good sealing.

• Where possible use a narrow shank spacing, less than 20 inches.

• Use covering disks behind the knives or sealing wings (“beaver tails”) on the knives of conventional applicators.

• Apply anhydrous ammonia at least 1 to 2 weeks before planting. This waiting period should be even longer if soils are dry.

Rediscover WHE AT | SEPTEMBER 2014 35

Women in Agriculture The Farmers Daughter A Women in Agriculture Series Date: Friday, September 19 Time: 9 a.m.

Location: Johnson County Extension Office, 11811 S Sunset Drive, Olathe Fee: Free, but please register by calling 913-715-7000

The Farmers Daughter

The share of U.S. farms operated by women nearly tripled, from 5 in 2007.

Agriculture Series percent in 1978 toA14Women percent in In the latest census, the share of women farmers hasn't 19 changed dramatically. In 2012 it was still 13.7% Date: Friday, September compared to 13.9% five years earlier. And whether you’re the principal Time: 9 a.m. operator, have inherited farm ground, married into a farm family, or forLocation: a host of otherCounty reasons, women find11811 themselves a position Johnson Extension Office, S Sunsetin Drive, Olathe that requires knowledge of managing a farm operation with little background Fee: Free, but please register by calling 913-715-7000 experience or training to do so.

The share of U.S. farms operated by women nearly tripled, from 5 percent in 1978

The Daughter” educational designed to hasn't provide to 14 “Farmers percent in 2007.

In the latest census, the series share ofiswomen farmers information and training a wide variety of farmtomanagement changed dramatically.

In 2012on it was still 13.7% compared 13.9% five yearstopics earlier.

And whether you’re the principal operator, have inherited farmany ground, that will be catered directly to farm women. Women with level of married into a farm family, or for a host of other reasons, women find themselves experience in farm management or with any degree of farm involvement in a position that requires knowledge of managing a farm operation with little arebackground invited to attend. or There will something for everyone to learn. experience training to be do so.

The first session will educational be Friday,series September 19 toatprovide the Johnson County The “Farmers Daughter” is designed information and training onOffice. a wide variety of farm management that will be coffee, catered directly Extension The program will starttopics at 9 a.m. with juice and to farm Women anylong levelprogram of experience farm management rolls.

Thewomen. first hour andwith half willinfocus on a recaporofwith the any degree of farm involvement are invited to attend. There will be something for current wheat harvest, a review of farm management information from everyone to learn. the “AG Manager” web site and finish up with some brainstorming for The first session dates, will be Friday, 19 at the Johnson County Extension future meeting topicsSeptember and times.

Office. The program will start at 9 a.m. with coffee, juice and rolls. The first hour and half long program will focus possible on a recap with of the support current wheat harvest, a review This free program is made from Johnson County of farm management information from the “AG Manager” web site and finish up Farm Bureau, K-State Research and Extension, and Frontier Farm Credit. with some brainstorming for future meeting dates, topics and times.

To register, please call 913-715-7000.

This free program is made possible with support from Johnson County Farm Bureau, K-State Research and Extension, and Frontier Farm Credit. To register, please call 913-715-7000.

Save the Date: Women Managing the Farm February 5-6, 2015 A comprehensive program for farm owners, partners and rookies awaits women involved in agriculture February 5-6, 2015 in Manhattan, Kan. Women have always been an integral part of American agriculture but never more than today. The Women Managing the Farm Conference, February 5-6, 2015, in Manhattan, Kan., will provide educational and networking opportunities for women involved in all facets of the nation’s most essential industry.

With an agenda as diverse as women in agriculture themselves, the conference will be held at Manhattan’s Hilton Garden Inn.

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Kansas Crop Production Report from National Agricultural Statistics Service Based on August 1 conditions, Kansas’s 2014 corn crop is forecast at 544 million bushels, 7 percent above last year’s production, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Area to be harvested for grain, at 3.75 million acres, is down 6 percent from a year ago. Yield is forecast at 145 bushels per acre, up 18 bushels from last year.

Sorghum for grain in Kansas is forecast at 187 million bushels, up 13 percent from last year. Area for harvest, at 2.6 million acres, is down 7 percent from 2013. Yield is forecast at 72 bushels per acre, up 13 bushels from last year.

Kansas’s soybean production is forecast at 151 million bushels, up 18 percent from last year. Area for harvest, at 4.19 million acres is 18 percent above 2013.

Yield is forecast at 36 bushels per acre, unchanged from last year.

Winter wheat production is forecast at 235 million bushels, down 26 percent from last year’s crop and lowest in 25 years (1989). Area for grain, at 8.4 million acres, is unchanged from last year. Yield is forecast at 28 bushels per acre, 10 bushels below last year and lowest since 1995.

Cotton production is forecast at 60,000 bales, up 46 percent from last year. Acreage for harvest, at 42,000

acres, is up 16,000 acres from 2013. Yield is forecast at 686 pounds per acre, down from 757 pounds per acre last year.

Oat production is forecast to be 1.80 million bushels, more than double last year. Harvested area for grain of 30,000 acres is up 50 percent from a year earlier. Yield per acre, at 60 bushels, is up 18 bushels from a last ago.

Dry edible bean production of 130,000 hundredweight is up 51 percent from last year. Yield of 2,000 pounds per acre is 210 pounds above 2013 Potato production of 1.32 million hundredweight is down 12 percent from a year ago. Yield of 315 hundredweight per acre is down 35 hundredweight from last year.

Alfalfa hay production of 2.04 million tons is forecast to be 6 percent above last year. All other hay production of 3.40 million tons is forecast to be down 26 percent from a year ago.

Access the National publication for this release at: http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/nass/ CropProd//2010s/2014/CropProd-08-12-2014.pdf Find agricultural statistics for your county, State, and the Nation at www.nass.usda.gov

Rediscover WHE AT | SEPTEMBER 2014 37

Maltby Market Analysis

Maltby Market Analysis is provided weekly to members of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers via email. To become a KAWG member and subscribe, please contact Dalton Henry at dhenry@kswheat.com.

Kansas Wheat market update #133 danmaltby.riskmgmt@gmail.com 08/29/14 pg. 1 Hello Kansas Wheat.

In America, Labor Day un-officially marks the end of summer, and “back to school” which means “football is back”.

And that always makes me think of cheerleaders with their megaphones, just like this KC WEEKLY Dec14 wheat chart.

I can see the megaphone formation bounded by a blue line and red line, although I can’t actually see the cheerleader…

“What did the market do?” can only be answered by asking a question “Which market?”, whereas the question “What is the market going to do?” has the same answer for all markets… “Huh?” KC Dec 14 wheat futures, on any Friday, have closed 2c/bushel either side of $6.45 seven out of the last eight weeks.

Thus one might answer the first question, “what did the market do?” by saying “nothing.”

For the last 2 months, USA hard red winter wheat futures have done nothing.

With corn now probing the lower end of a 20c range, and beans probing the bottom of a 50c range, two more months of “doing nothing” might become a victory…

Because whenever I see a megaphone chart pattern formation, it tells me one thing: the market is going to break out of the recent range, and MOVE. Of course, I assume most wheat farmers would like to see the breakout to the upside, but this pattern only says a move is coming. It might not be a “good” move.

Charts and discussions follow, with the goal of giving you useful information to help you with your business. My disclaimer remains the same: these are my sometimes rapidly changing opinions; the markets are quite treacherous; and past performance is no guarantee…dm This week’s futures table shows new 11 week closing lows for soybeans. It also shows corn only 3c above the last red number, $3.62 back at the start of August

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CLOSE 08/29 08/22 08/15 08/08 08/01 07/25 07/18 07/10 07/03 06/27 06/20 06/13

KWU14 $6.26 $6.34 $6.20 $6.29 $6.33 $6.31 $6.34 $6.36 $6.87 $7.22 $7.18 $7.16

KWZ14 $6.43 $6.44 $6.34 $6.43 $6.44 $6.45 $6.46 $6.47 $6.97 $7.27 $7.23 $7.24

KWN15 $6.46 $6.44 $6.38 $6.47 $6.51 $6.51 $6.44 $6.47 $6.98 $7.13 $7.09 $7.15

CZ14 $3.65 $3.72 $3.77 $3.64 $3.62 $3.72 $3.79 $3.85 $4.15 $4.47 $4.52 $4.48

CN15 $3.93 $3.99 $4.06 $3.92 $3.91 $3.98 $4.07 $4.12 $4.41 $4.71 $4.76 $4.71

WZ14 $5.64 $5.62 $5.64 $5.66 $5.53 $5.60 $5.56 $5.48 $6.04 $6.13 $6.16 $6.17

MWU14 $6.15 $6.27 $6.12 $6.19 $6.16 $6.28 $6.30 $6.28 $6.73 $6.93 $6.95 $6.92

MWN15 $6.60 $6.61 $6.54 $6.58 $6.55 $6.62 $6.69 $6.78 $7.04 $7.26 $7.25 $7.20

SX14 $10.24 $10.42 $10.52 $10.85 $10.59 $10.84 $10.85 $10.75 $11.34 $12.28 $12.32 $12.21

SN15 $10.50 $10.63 $10.82 $11.13 $10.88 $11.08 $11.17 $11.25 $11.65 $12.47 $12.53 $12.42

Chicago Dec wheat has closed 2c either side of $5.64 for a month, although a daily Chicago Dec wheat chart suggests the intra-week range between daily highs and lows is more like 40c.

USA HRW export sales were better this week than last week’s, with Brazil and Nigeria both taking another 90,000 tonnes. Brazil now owns a million tonnes of USA HRW. Current shipping pace would be a small boat weekly for the next 10 weeks. A million tonnes is a fourth of last year’s USA HRW Brazilian wheat sales. No one expects last year to be repeated this year, and most analysts think the million tonnes will be the limit. IF Brail decides they want more USA HRW for quality reasons, and drops the 10% tariff, that would be a bullish surprise which would move KC wheat futures higher.

I doubt that will happen any time soon, frankly, but that quality thing is more of a wild card than some suspect.

Consider this table of very recent posted USA domestic milling quality spring wheat basis values compared to USA domestic milling quality winter wheat posted values: Table 1

KC ords KC 11 HRW KC 12 HRW KC 13 HRW KC 14 HRW Mpls 12 Mpls 13 Mpls 14 Mpls 15 HAD

08/29/1 08/29/1 low side high side 90 100 90 100 115 125 115 125 125 135 85 100 235 475

85 170 310 550 $

08/01/1 08/01/1 low side high side 90 100 90 100 130 140 115 125 110 120 60 130 175 410

130 210 220 435 $

diff

0 0 -15 0 15 0 25 -30 60 65

diff

0 0 -15 0 15 0 -45 -40 90 115

08/29/1 08/01/1 KC Z KC U diff $ 6.43 $ 6.33 $ 0.10

08/29/1 08/01/1 Mpls Z Mpls U $ 6.30 $ 6.16 $

0.14

$

Rediscover WHE AT | SEPTEMBER 2014 39

Quite generally…if posted high sides are used to price flour, and posted low sides are more likely to price wheat… one would say 12 pro winters and 12 and 13 pro springs wheat prices (low sides) haven’t moved a lot (done nothing?), but higher protein flour prices (high sides) have definitely moved (gone up).

This implies to me that if a flour needs a certain “quality”, then prices will reflect the ease of availability, certainly, and also the degree of inelasticity of the flour specifications.

This table shows “bread flour” made from winter wheat, or a winter wheat/spring wheat blend, is now a relative bargain, compared to a spring wheat flour that specs say has to be from 14 pro springs: Table 2 bulk, fob car KC bakers

Mpls spring std

NewYork wtr/spr

NewYork spring std

08/01/14 08/08/14

std patent $ 18.75 $ 18.05

patent $ 18.80 $ 18.65

blend $ 21.25 $ 20.55

patent $ 21.50 $ 21.35

08/15/14 08/22/14 08/29/14

$ $ $

$ $ $

$ $ $

$ $ $

17.65 18.20 18.75

17.30 18.35 20.65

20.15 20.70 21.25

19.80 20.90 23.55

I think both of these tables are supportive to USA hard red winter. (Those flour prices are $/cwt.)

USA hard red was very good quality this year. It’s too early to tell what Table 1 will look like a month from now, but Table 2 suggests to me some buyers perceive HRW has relative value.

“Relative value” alone will not move KC wheat too far above Chgo futures (KWZ-WZ here):

And if spring wheat harvest ultimately shows 13 protein springs are good enough quality, then KC futures won’t be allowed to move to a huge premium over Mpls (KWZ-MWZ):

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although maybe both charts might suggest KC could do a little running here, if needed…

The problem is it’s not entirely clear the USA HRW is really all that “needed”. This week, against the expiring KC Sept 14 futures, we saw 800 contracts (4 million bushels) delivered. I’m not sure “800 deliveries” is exactly screaming “I need you right now!” But I do think it said “go big, or go home!”

The KC U/Z lost 6c virtually immediately…

And thus we see confusion in this week’s posted country bids, as even though the milling basis was firm, posted against the December futures, some of the export bids and terminal bids were still against the September futures, and lagging. These basis bids are shown as if they were against the KC Dec: Date

Dodge

Colby

Goodland

Protection

Scott City

Sublette

08/29

$6.06

$5.96

$5.92

$5.86

$5.85

$5.96-$6.03

$5.83

$5.83

$5.80

$5.80

$5.79

$5.83-$5.90

08/22 08/15 08/08 08/01 Date

08/29

$5.97 $5.92 $5.97

Concordia $6.03

$5.97 $5.92 $5.96

Salina $6.01-$6.08

$5.93 $5.90 $5.93

Hutchinson $6.12-$6.23

$5.94 $5.99 $6.03

Wichita $6.16-$6.22

$5.93 $5.88

$5.94-.99 Ark City

$5.94

$6.04-$6.09

$6.13-$6.24

$6.23-$6.24

$6.13

08/08

$5.89

$5.97-$6.04

$6.08-$6.19

$6.18-$6.19

$6.10

08/01

$5.80

$5.88

$5.95

$6.03-$6.08

$5.99-$6.10

$6.12-$6.23

$6.09-$6.10

$6.22-$6.25

$5.92-$5.99 $5.98-$6.06

$6.12

08/22

08/15

$5.97-$6.04

$6.01

$6.14

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BASIS

Dodge

Colby

Goodland

Protection

Scott City

Sublette

08/29

-37

-47

-51

-57

-51

-37

-37

-40

-40

-41

-47, -40

-37

-37

-40

-40

-41

-37, -30

08/22

08/15

08/08

08/01

Date

-37

-36

Concordia

-37

-37

Salina

-39

-40

Hutchinson

-30

-30

Wichita

-41

-36

Ark City

08/29

-40

-42, -35

-31, -20

-27, -21

-31

08/22

-40

-30, -25

-21, -10

-11, -10

-20

08/08

-40

-32, -25

-21, -10

-11, -10

-19

08/15 08/01

-40 -45

-25, -25 -30, -25

-21, -10 -21, -10

-11, -10 -11, -08

-37, -30

-37, -30

-35, -27

-19 -19

Why are Dodge City and Concordia bids so much different from all the other bids this week? I do not know, but I can only suspect next Friday’s basis bids will more in agreement…

So if “quality” is mainly “relatively supportive”, can geo-political events move the wheat markets? So far, the answer is “in the short term, yes”. Longer term, though, the answer seems to be more along the lines of “just a little”.

I saw this Bloomberg headline yesterday, 8/31/14: Ukraine Vessels Attacked as EU Readies Sanctions on Russia Apparently those were two “coastal guard” vessels, and were not “grain boats”.

IF for some bad reason grain boats are attacked and prevented from loading wheat, then the market’s reaction would not move “just a little”. But I really don’t think (hope?) that is going to happen.

How about a USA drought this fall wheat planting season? Hmm, these guys (Telvent) aren’t predicting one.

A big wheat production drop in another country could also move this market substantially higher up through the megaphone, but the International Grains Council issued their August update Friday, and they aren’t seeing a big drop in Australia, still projecting a 26.5 million metric ton wheat crop, and left Canada at 28 mmt. They increased China 3 mmt to 125, and took Russia up to 60 mmt, up from 55, and raised European production almost 4 million tonnes. They did drop Argentina, but only by a half million tonnes. SO no wheat production disasters are currently on the radar.

Should we be concerned then about a possible breakout to the downside of that megaphone?

Well…if a feller thought this fall’s winter wheat was going to get planted and emerged in decent shape, and he pretty much was resigned to a 14 billion bushel corn crop coming like right NOW, and then he started wondering “what if all that happens again in 2015?”, then yes, he would have some concern about prices down the road.

KC futures seem to have drawn a red line in the sand at $6.00…which implies sell-stops probably exist somewhere.

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The average bid in Kansas this week on Friday was $6.04, down a penny from last week, on average offering 96% of the cost of wheat production, so if futures drop 45c, prices could reflect 90% of production costs, certainly not encouraging wheat expansion, unless the alternatives are worse.

And planting nothing is more than likely a much worse alternative.

Most corn articles talk about corn prices being unprofitable at current land rents, implying the easy solution is to pay less rent, but that seems a bit unrealistic to me, yet none of the articles ever have said corn plantings will be down sharply next year.

Anyway, the point is even at these prices downside risk exists, so sell-stops are necessary.

Is there no hope?

How about a “maybe”?

This is a KC daily Dec wheat chart. This may be one of the lamest buy-signals ever…, but the 8 day moving average has crossed the 13 day moving average. Therefore, I can sit on my remaining 50% of my wheat a little longer.

A 23.6% correction would get KC Z up to $6.75, which was the close to the $6.7425 daily high on 8/6/14. The area from $6.70 to $6.80 looks like a good pricing target to me on a 10% tranche, but I have to use a Plan B sell-stop of some type somewhere. $6.18 might be the right spot, but for now, I’m using a close below $6.00. Yuk. In actuality, since I’m noting “the blue line crossed the red line” as a bit of a “buy signal”…, IF in the future (more like WHEN) the blue line crosses the red line lower, then that may very well be a failed buy-signal becoming a strong sell-signal, and if that happens, the stop-less should then be changed, to “just hit the bid”.

I read a story this week about a large farming operation (31,000 acres) in South Dakota, west of Fort Pierre. He used 26 combines to bring in his winter and spring wheat, and then apparently decided to store his crops (besides winter and spring wheat, they grow field peas and milo) in storage bags.

The article said they have 72 bags and each bag holds about 13,000 bushels, so if all of this is wheat, they would have about 936,000 bushels lying around on the ground, in bags.

Theoretically all of this wheat was sold a few months ago a couple of bucks higher, and they will be delivering it to the grain elevator maybe this spring when they figure the basis will be better, and they are geniuses. All I know for sure is this is another example of “go big, or go home”. Quite interesting. We’ll see how this plays out, and as I have some old crop remaining, I hope he hits the ball out of the park. But in my opinion, he better have a Plan B.

Rediscover WHE AT | SEPTEMBER 2014 43

Kansas Wheat Quality Lab Providing data to make genetic wheat decisions

The Wheat Quality Lab provides Kansas wheat breeders with timely quality data that will augment their selection of experimental wheat varieties.

Wheat breeders at Kansas State University continually work to improve the agronomic traits of Kansas wheat varieties. In addition to agronomic traits, successful varieties should be marketable. Dr. Rebecca Miller, director of the Wheat Quality Laboratory, and student employees provide evaluations of physical and chemical kernel characteristics, milling yield and flour and baking properties of promising experimental wheat lines.

The mixograph is used to determine mixing time and how much water will be needed for bread baking.

Because the mixograph requires only a few grams of wheat and provides a significant amount of data about the variety, Miller and her students are able to run these tests early in the breeding process. When K-State wheat breeder Allan Fritz sends samples to the Wheat Quality Lab, he is 44

Rediscover WHE AT | SEPTEMBER 2014

able to eliminate about half of the potential varieties based on the data from the mixograph. Those varieties that move on through the process come back to the lab in a couple years when there is enough flour to conduct a baking test.

“I think of all the tests we do, the protein and probably the baking volume are the best indicators of quality and the most important that breeders are using for their selections,” said Miller.

End-use quality and agronomic performance are both important considerations when selecting wheat varieties for commercial production. When producers are choosing between varieties that have similar agronomic characteristics and potential grain yield, they should select those with better end-use quality to improve the overall quality and marketability of Kansas wheat.

The Wheat Quality Lab also tests wheats for the Wheat Quality Council. These samples have been in a breeder’s program for 10-12 years, and are the premier lines that are either very close to release or have already been released. These tests are open to all public and private breeders who may submit a check sample, which is the baseline or control sample, and one or two premier varieties. New varieties should meet or exceed the check. The samples are sent to several labs which use their own procedures to test how the flour performs.

Genetic Mapping Researchers have been collecting genetic mapping of the genes that affect agronomic traits, but little has been done on mapping genes that affect quality. They can map genes and test quality so they can identify which genes control bake volume, mix time, water absorption, etc.

The wheat samples change every year because of the environment.

The Wheat Quality Lab is already doing tests on samples that have good agronomic characteristics, but they’re never testing those with poor agronomic traits because they are discarded before being sent to the lab.

There may be varieties with excellent bread baking qualities but poor agronomic characteristics. A new project, funded by the Kansas Wheat Alliance, tests some of these “rejects,” as Miller calls them, in order to assist in mapping genes that affect quality. They need to test as many samples as they can in order to have a more complete data set.

In the future, breeders may be able to use this data to select genes that provide excellent baking qualities in addition to pest resistance, drought tolerance, yield and any number of other agronomic traits.

Visit our website for more information about the Kansas Wheat Quality Lab, including screening varieties for their tortilla making qualities.

High Tech; High Efficiency New technology leads to wheat genetic improvement For some, the last three years have progressed slowly. But for researchers working on groundbreaking technology, the progress made in the last three years has made time pass in the blink of an eye. Researchers from around the nation have been assembled at Kansas State University to work on the high throughput phenotyper project.

At first glance the high throughput phenotyper is a gangly looking machine crawling across the test plots at about two miles per hour. It has long arms attached to a self propelled, cabless contraption that is painted a dark gray. On the front there is a folded white sheet that tends to flap in the Kansas wind. But, it’s not the appearance that makes this machine beautiful, it’s the technology and the effect that it can have on wheat producers.

Attached to the arms are sensors that that measure the phenotype (appearance) of the plant. Data recorded includes

the height, temperature and biomass of the wheat plant via sonar wavelengths at a rate of 10 measurements per second. But the data that is gathered for a specific area after the ride isn’t lost in the waves of grain. The phenotyper also relies on two GPS tracking devices that will correspond with a time-stamped record of data so the user can know exactly where the phenotyper was in the field when that data was collected.

“Every reading we get is matched with a timestamp and GPS, every single one,” says Joshua Sharon, the agricultural science technician on the project.

“So you can go back and know that it’s this plot and if you want you can go out to the exact part of the field and look at it you can.”

The high throughput phenotyper utilizes a high definition camera, focused directly at the plants from above, which continuously takes photos throughout field. In order to capture consistent photos, the camera needed a shade, which is the purpose of the white sheet. Over the course of the two hours it takes to analyze the plot, the

camera itself will gather around 90 gigabytes of data. Next year the project team members hope to add another high definition camera in order to create a threedimensional image of the field.

“We are getting much more precise measurements and we’re also able to measure much faster,” says Dr. Jesse Poland, the research geneticist on the project. “On average you can measure a plot every one to two seconds.”

While this project may seem lofty, it will have very practical effects for wheat growers. The project enables researchers to weed through non-efficient wheat varieties. For example, based on the data the phenotyper has gathered, they can monitor if the greener varieties could possibly produce more grain.

This information can help wheat breeders decide which variety of wheat will work best for their needs, which will ultimately result in more productive varieties for wheat growers.

“Wheat variety development is a numbers game,” said Justin Gilpin, CEO of Kansas Wheat.

“This is exciting technology because of its ability to produce rapid data more efficiently for breeders and geneticists across the region.”

The high throughput phenotyper is an ongoing research project supported by the National Science Foundation, Kansas State University, United States Department of Agriculture, Kansas Wheat Commission and the Kansas Wheat Alliance and has been recognized internationally for its merits.

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Producer Profile Randy Fritzemeier, Stafford

There are some people whose smile and laugh are contagious to everyone in a room. Randy Fritzemeier, a wheat producer from Stafford, is one of those people. Somehow, you can catch him with a grin even when his day is clouded by a loss from his beloved K-State Wildcats.

Fritzemeier, a fourth-generation farmer, has nearly 1,400 acres of wheat in Stafford and Reno counties. He also raises alfalfa, corn, sudangrass and cattle.

Fritzemeier and his wife, Kim, are active in advocating for agriculture. This year Randy has presented a workshop on the history of wheat to the students at Stafford Elementary School. In addition to being a Membership Director for District 6 of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, Randy has served on the Stafford County Farm Bureau Board, been a mentor to students as a 4-H leader, worked with the Stafford Education Foundation and been an active member in the Stafford First United Methodist Church. Randy and Kim have also been honored as a Kansas Master Farmer and Master Farm Homemaker for 2013.

Randy isn’t the only agvocate in the family. Kim is the central Kansas reporter for KFRM 550

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AM and also operates her own blog called Kim’s County Line, where she posts everything from the routines of farm life to fun recipes.

Harvest time in the Fritzemeier household has shifted in the last few years. The Fritzemeier children, Jill and Brent, are now grown and have moved away from the farm. Jill is the Team Nutrition Project Director for the Kansas State Department of Education, and Brent has recently become the communications coordinator for the K-State College of Business Administration. While their two children are grown and away from the farm, Randy and Kim enjoy having a little farm helper in their granddaughter whenever she visits.

Fritzemeier attributes his passion for agriculture to his education.

“I love farming and doing what I do because of my education both in high school and in college,”

Fritzemeier said. “It always interested me because I loved that I could apply what I learned in the classroom.”

Although Randy is an amateur magician, he couldn’t work any magic on the state of his wheat for this harvest season.

“This year’s crop is about half of what I had last year,” said Fritzemeier. “The yields are coming in at anywhere between 15-30 bushels an acre and the test weights are about 59 pounds per bushel.”

With a passion for his farm, Randy isn’t about to leave the ag life anytime soon.

“I love of being outdoors and watching the natural cycle of my crops,” Randy said. “It’s why I do what I do.”

Producer Profile Kenneth Palmgren, Edson

When Kenneth Palmgren, a wheat farmer from Edson, talks about young people, you can practically hear the smile on his face. Palmgren loves to talk about the adventures that his young grandchildren have on the farm.

The grandkids love to interact with newborn calves and help their grandmother, Virginia, around in the kitchen. But, the grandchildren aren’t the only young people that Palmgren is excited to talk about.

Kenneth Palmgren, a farmer from Edson, loves the wheat industry and what he does.

“I love to see young people heading back to the farm,” said Palmgren. “They want to move back and raise their kids in the lifestyle that they grew up in, and that’s so exciting. You didn’t see young people move back for a long time, but now, for some reason, you see it quite a bit.”

Palmgren operates a farm with land in both Sherman and Thomas counties. He has been farming full time since 1975 after previously being a math, physical education, driver’s education teacher and

coach at the local high school.

Palmgren has been active both in his community, by serving at his local church and working with county FFA chapters, and in the agricultural industry. He has worked extensively with the International Grains Program in the past, promoted the short courses at the institute during his travels to Cuba and Brazil and has encouraged the folks he meets to learn more about the industry.

“Agriculture is very valuable to the state of Kansas,” said Palmgren. “I’m always interested in learning more about wheat and technology.”

Palmgren has seen the wheat industry change through the many years he has been farming.

“Just in the last ten years so much has changed,” Palmgren said. “There is so much technology that makes farming easier and more efficient. I’m excited to see what comes next.”

Palmgren fired up his combines on July 3 hoping to have a straight shot to finish harvest. However, a small Sunday shower put his harvest on hold.

“So far my average yield is at about 40 bushels per acre. It’s good quality stuff, just a little lower than average quantity,” said Palmgren. “Some of my neighbors have gotten 60 bushels per acre, and some have gotten 6.

It all depends on where the rain landed.”

As Palmgren reflected on his love for farming and why he chose to come back, he spoke words that describe many farmers from his generation. “I suppose I came back because no matter how hard you try, you can’t take the farm out of the boy.”

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Kansas Wheat launches new logo and tagline

The Kansas Wheat Commission and the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers have unveiled their new brand mark — the EAT Wheat symbol.

In addition, the organizations are also introducing a new tagline, Rediscover Wheat. The branding changes coincide with Kansas Wheat’s focus on helping consumers rediscover wheat in their diets, developing a renaissance in wheat research, and concentrating research efforts on exploring the genetic diversity and complexity of the wheat plant.

The new Kansas Wheat symbol represents the positive and innovative changes that the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center has had on the wheat industry. Wheat provides around 20% of global calories for human consumption, and the work being done in Kansas continues to ensure that the world has enough to eat.

The $11 million facility was built by the Kansas Wheat Commission, through the Kansas wheat checkoff. It represents the single largest investment by wheat farmers in the nation. The facility was opened in November 2012 and houses the two Kansas Wheat organizations in addition to other industry organizations, 15,000 square feet of research laboratories, and 10,000 square feet of greenhouses.

“In recent years, consumers have increasingly followed fad diets such as the low-carb and gluten-free crazes.

Our new tagline invites them to rediscover wheat foods, which have positive effects on the diet,” said Kansas Wheat CEO Justin Gilpin. “The new brand mark signals a clear purpose for our brand, which is investing in the future through wheat genetics research. By rediscovering genetics in ancient wheat ancestors we hope to unlock the true potential of modern day bread wheat.”

The brand mark and tagline were developed by the Manhattan-based firm, 502 Media Group.

Upcoming Events SEPTEMBER 2014 • Kansas State Fair, September 5-14, Hutchinson, KS • Home Baking Association Annual Meeting, September 28-30, 2014, Stevenson, Washington OCTOBER 2014 • Entries accepted for National Festival of Breads baking contest, October 1, 2014-January 16, 2015 • Kansas Wheat Board Meetings, October 22, 2014, Kansas Wheat Innovation Center, Manhattan, KS • U.S. Wheat Associates/National Association of Wheat Growers fall board meeting, October 29November 1, 2014, Albuquerque, New Mexico 48

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NOVEMBER 2014 • IAOM Latin America District annual technical conference, November 7-8, Dominican Republic • Wheat Industry Leaders of Tomorrow, November 15-20, St. Louis, Missouri • National Science Foundation Industry & University Cooperative Research Program (I/UCRC) meeting, November 18-19, Fort Collins, Colorado DECEMBER 2014 • IAOM annual Mideast and Africa conference and expo, December 3-6, Cape Town, South Africa