From staff reports OKLAHOMA CITY – U.S. Wheat Associates President Vince Peterson gave an update on U.S. Wheat during the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting earlier this month.
Regarding falling wheat prices, Peterson said, “There’s still huge competition out there in the marketplace. I think, overall, we are starting to turn the corner a little bit. We are having a much healthier start to the export business this year, and I think the second half of the year is going to be a better one for us.”
Due to competition between crops, wheat acreage has been reduced. However, Peterson insisted there is an opportunity for growth in foreign markets, even close by in Latin America.
“There is probably 10 to 15 million tons of export growth that is going to be in the next 25 years. The market is there for us, we just have to meet it with the production to do it,” he said.
Since the 1950s, U.S. Wheat has represented American wheat farmers through widely fluctuating markets.
“We took a look at how we are meeting today’s challenges with our resources and the mission that is ahead of us,” Peterson said.
Regarding U.S. Wheat’s ongoing research, Peterson said, “We can always use more funding and more resources into that effort. There is still so many other things out there, whether it is gene editing, hybrid wheat, or other things, the opportunities are great. We really need the technology badly, because our yields have been dragging behind the increases in the other crops.”
Peterson said that export competition is one of the biggest challenges U.S. Wheat is currently facing. “China is one of the biggest importers of wheat right now and Russia is one of the biggest exporters, so there are some dynamics that go together with that.The potential impact in the Asian Pacific in terms of transportation and market access is a concern.”