September 2016 Newsletter |
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Welcome New Members! Congratulations to returning Commissioners and Alternates. Welcome to the new representatives. Election results: Officers: Steve Windh - Chairman Bill Cruickshank - Vice Chairman Erik Freese Secretary/ Treasurer District 2: Bill Cruickshank and Larry Hunn were re-elected. District 6: Scott Schmidt was re-elected. District 9: Ron Rubin was elected Commissioner and Roy Motter Alternate. Handler 1: Chris Spurlock was elected Commissioner and Mark Mezger Alternate. Handler 2: J.W. Cope was elected Commissioner and Michael Edgar Alternate. |
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2016 California Wheat Collaborator Meeting |
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Interested in learning about the latest research on California wheat? Join us for our annual California Wheat Collaborator Meeting. The meeting will be October 12, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. at the University of California, Davis Beuhler Alumni Center. |
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Registration is free for anyone that would like to attend. Check out the Agenda and Registration Form below. |
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California Wheat Commission & Arizona Grain Research and Promotion Council Desert Durum® Certification Mark The United States Patent and Trademark Office (U.S. PTO) granted registration and joint ownership of the terms “Desert Durum” as a certification mark to the Arizona Grain Research and Promotion Council and the California Wheat Commission on June 14, 2016. This registration completed a lengthy application and clarification process and now allows the two groups to legally limit use (and prohibit potential misuse) of Desert Durum® to durum grain grown in the two states. Presumably, such a limit will help protect the existing reputation of our durum wheat as a superior source of semolina flour for making pasta. The following points (Click on Read More) comment on the nature of certification marks and on how the AGRPC and CWC, as co-owners of Desert Durum® as a certification mark, are likely to proceed to fulfill their ownership obligations. |
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Trade Issues Wheat Growers Welcome Trade Enforcement Action on Chinese Market Support Programs Joint Statement by U.S. Wheat Associates and the National Association of Wheat Growers September 13, 2016
ARLINGTON, Virginia — U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) welcome the Obama Administration’s new trade enforcement action against China at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The significant investigative effort by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) followed five years of work by USW, NAWG and other industry partners to demonstrate how China’s domestic support policies hurt U.S. farmers.
This enforcement action challenges the level of China’s trade-distorting market price support programs for wheat as well as for corn and rice. In describing its action, USTR said “the level of support provided through these programs in excess of China’s commitment was nearly $100 billion.”
These programs cost U.S. wheat farmers between $650 and $700 million annually in lost income by pre-empting export opportunity and suppressing global prices, according to a 2016 Iowa State University study sponsored by USW. That loss estimate is actually 19 percent more than the losses estimated by a similar 2015 study due to the effect of increasing global stocks and resulting market price decline.
“Wheat production subsidies in China and other advanced developing countries are the single biggest policy issue affecting our farm gate prices and global trade flows,” said USW President Alan Tracy. “In taking this step, USTR and USDA are demonstrating that trade enforcement can ensure that our many trade agreements and a pro-trade agenda really work for American farmers.”
“This enforcement action shows a welcome willingness to defend farmers against governments that blatantly disregard the rules of the road under their trade agreements,” said NAWG President Gordon Stoner, a wheat grower from Outlook, MT. “It comes at a critical time for farmers who have seen market prices collapse to unsustainable levels in recent years.”
A 2014 study by DTB Associates, also sponsored by USW, showed that China’s minimum procurement price of about $10 per bushel for wheat, in addition to other subsidies, violates China’s WTO commitments. That market price support is so high that the Chinese government has to purchase and store enormous stocks of domestic wheat. As a result, USDA estimates that by June 2017, China will hold 44 percent of the world’s wheat stocks, which will be at record levels and further depress market prices. This also hurts Chinese flour millers who are forced to purchase overpriced domestic wheat from these stocks and hurts their customers who pay more for the flour.
Noted Iowa State University agricultural economist Dr. Dermot Hayes conducted the 2015 and 2016 studies of domestic support effects. In reviewing the 2016 study results, which compared a base case including China’s current support to a new scenario in which the factors represented by China’s policies were removed, Dr. Hayes said farmers there would grow less wheat because domestic prices would fall and input costs would increase.
“In our comparison, that would benefit farmers in the United States and other wheat exporting countries as China would need to increase its imports to more than 9 million metric tons,” Dr. Hayes said. “The corresponding lift in wheat exports would increase U.S. farm income from wheat by 19 cents per bushel.”
“China may try to cloak its market price support as necessary to achieve self-sufficiency in wheat production, but this does not justify ignoring its trade commitments,” said Tracy. “Trade plays a vital role in food security, as no country can truly be self-sufficient in food production. The studies we have sponsored clearly show that eliminating its expensive market price support programs and letting the market work to meet their wheat needs would reduce the cost of food for Chinese consumers.”
“Trade agreements cannot meet their promise if other countries ignore the rules, no matter if the agreements are multilateral, bilateral or regional like the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” said Stoner. “That TPP has improved enforcement mechanisms is one more reason we strongly support its passage. Our grower organizations fully support this new trade enforcement action with China, and we will continue to work with our government and industry partners to address other trade distorting issues.”
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National Association of Wheat GrowersAdvancing Wheat Through Innovation and Advocacy. NAWG unites U.S. wheat growers to create beneficial policies for wheat growers; effective relationships with industry; and profitable opportunities through research and technology. |
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Meet New Farm Advisor for Yolo, Sacramento, and Solano Counties |
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Hello Ag Community/ Stewards of the Land I’m Konrad Mathesius (pronounced: “Muh-tay-zee-us”), the new Agronomy Advisor for UC Cooperative Extension Capitol Corridor covering Yolo, Sacramento and Solano counties. I’m sending out a brief note to introduce myself and discuss some of the possible projects coming down the pipeline. |
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Contact: I’m based in the Yolo County office in Woodland at 70 Cottonwood Street. Feel free to email me at kpmathesius@ucanr.edu or call the office directly (530) 666-8704. I look forward to working with all of you. |
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New Wheat Varieties Available for California Growers |
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The information provided on the following varieties is not an in-depth analysis, but an overview of the varieties' characteristics. There are many excellent resources available to determine if a variety is worth considering, including breeders, county farm advisors, seed dealers, and grain handlers. An excellent source of information about agronomic characteristics of new California wheat varieties is the University of California - Cooperative Extension. They conduct regional cereal evaluation tests in the intermountain valleys of northeastern California, the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Imperial Valleys and in the south central coastal region. The results of these trials are available from county farm advisors or the California Wheat Commission. |
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New UC Davis Hard Red Spring wheat variety ‘Yurok’ |
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Yurok is a Hard Red Spring hexaploid wheat variety developed by the University of California wheat breeding program and tested in Regional Yield trials as experimental line UC1745. Read more about Yurok: | | |
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New UC Davis Hard White Spring wheat variety ‘Patwin-515HP’ |
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Patwin 515HP is a Hard White Spring hexaploid wheat variety developed by the University of California wheat breeding program and tested in Regional Yield trials as experimental line UC1743. Read more about Patwin 515HP: | | |
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UC Davis Desert Durum® varieties |
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The Foundation seed program has Foundation Seed available for the durum varieties Desert King (well adapted to the Imperial Valley), Desert King-HP (a high-protein version of Desert King that performs very well in the San Joaquin valley) and Miwok (a new low cadmium variety, well adapted to both regions). |
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A low-cadmium Desert Durum®: Cadmium is a heavy metal that may have negative impacts on human health if consumed at high levels for long periods of time. The high level of cadmium in durum wheat is associated with a defective Cdu1 gene. The incorporation of the functional Cdu1 reduces the levels of cadmium in the grain. “Miwok’ to 44% of the levels observed in Desert King and 38% to the levels in Kronos (Fig. 1). | | |
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Commission Lab Activities |
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Testing for the 2016 Wheat Crop Quality is concluding. This year we hired four Interns from UC Davis. The four students are majoring in Food Science. Meet our interns (Picture shown); from left to right: Isaac Yee, Janie Ke, Amy Tam, Teng Vang (Lab Manager), and Karen Hoang. |
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In the twelve weeks of work, the interns have developed the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to evaluate and understand wheat quality. They have learned about grain analysis, wheat milling, flour analysis, and final product analysis and evaluation. Furthermore, they have learned the end product characteristics of quality for bread, tortilla, cookies, and pasta. Thank you to our Summer Interns who worked hard during our 2016 Crop Quality season! We will soon post our 2016 Crop Quality Reports. |
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Article about California Wheat |
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Have you checked our article featured on Bread Lines Magazine of Bread Bakers Guild of America? Please click below if you want to read the Article! | | |
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Financial Report Report of Independent Certified Public Accountants To the Board of Commissioners of California Wheat Commission We have audited the accompanying financial statements of the California Wheat Commission which comprise the statements of net position as of April 30, 2016 and 2015, and the related statements of revenues, expenses and changes in net position, and cash flows for the years then ended, and the related notes to the financial statements. In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the California Wheat Commission as of April 30, 2016 and 2015, and the changes in financial position, and cash flows for the fiscal years then ended in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. DAMORE, HAMRIC & SCHNEIDER, INC. Certified Public Accountants August 31, 2016 |
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