When clatter around trade policy gets noisy, Dalton Henry likes to quiet things by breaking down issues affecting the exporting of U.S. wheat into two basic categories. “Everything has potential to be either an opportunity or a distortion,” the Vice President of Policy for U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) explained. “In general, USW’s Policy Team spends every day looking at situations around the world that impact U.S. wheat and sorting out which category they fall under. Then we work on solutions.”

Flooding in eastern Australia is hurting the quality of the wheat harvest in one of the world’s biggest exporters, worsening a global shortage of the high-grade variety used to make bread and ramen noodles. That’s going to put a damper on the international wheat market which was counting on a bumper harvest from Australia to ease tight inventories and cool food costs. While the crop is still likely to be a large one, torrential downpours and floods could turn an unusually hefty chunk of the harvest into grain fit only for animal feed, and reduce the quantity that’s suitable for milling into flour.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) will provide up to $20 million for the Grain from Ukraine initiative, which recently was extended an additional 120 days. USAID will provide its support through the UN World Food Program (WFP) and will help facilitate additional shipments of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.

In the war with Russia, Ukrainian farmers have lost grain storage equal to the Pacific Northwest's entire wheat storage capacity, economic analysts say. Before the war started, Ukraine had 57 million metric tons of storage facilities. Now it has 44 million metric tons of storage, said Antonina Broyaka, a Kansas State University Extension associate. That loss equals about 503 million bushels of wheat — the amount of storage available in the Pacific Northwest. The Pacific Northwest produces 250 million to 300 million bushels each year.

Freshly baked news: the baguette, the long, crusty loaf bread that is a delicious staple of French life, has been awarded special protected status, placing it in a culinary pantheon alongside other regional food delicacies from around the world.

The Senate on Thursday passed legislation to avert a rail shutdown following a grave warning from President Joe Biden about the economic danger posed by a strike. The House passed the tentative rail agreement on Wednesday. T

The first Field-to-Fork Festival will be in Boise on January 19 at Jack’s Urban Meeting Place, 1000 W. Myrtle St., Boise. The free festival is designed as an interactive trade fair. It aims to bring together independent food and beverage industry professionals including farmers and ranchers, food producers and retailers from around the state.