U.S. Wheat Associates say those include two consecutive years of drought in the winter wheat areas, a high crop in Australia, as well as Russia’s war in Ukraine. Drought-limited production put U.S. products at a steep price compared to wheat from other countries in the world market... “Our task is to make our wheat a food ingredient and not just some bulk commodity and that’s how we’re going to succeed going forward. We’re not going to be the largest supplier, but we think we’re going to be the smartest and most efficient providing the best value to customers,” Vince Peterson.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced new members of the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee (ATAC) for Trade in Grains, Feed, Oilseeds, and Planting Seeds. Among the members is Jake Westlin, National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) Vice President of Policy and Communications.

This September, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will collect data from small grain growers in Idaho. The survey will get a comprehensive look into the 2023 production and supply of small grains crops, including wheat, barley and oats. This survey will also provide the data needed to estimate the acreage and production of these crops at the county level.

While Idaho wheat and barley harvests are later than normal due to cool, wet spring weather, the crops seem to be coming in with little issue, participants said during the University of Idaho’s “Ag Talk Tuesday” virtual meeting this week. Yields for winter wheat have been pretty good. Some of the dryland acres are doing pretty well, but yields aren’t yet known because some of the upper elevation areas are only at soft dough, said Juliet Marshall, plant pathologist with the University of Idaho.

Idaho may be known for its potatoes, but its also known for its wheat, which is grown by local farmers and sent all over, including overseas. “They work very hard and very long hours. It's really all up to Mother Nature whether they have success or not,” said Britany Hurst Marchant, executive director of the Idaho Wheat Commission. “So, it's pretty incredible.” Equally impressive is how often they help feed the world; particularly countries hobbled by famine, a pandemic or the current war in Ukraine.

Agricultural stakeholders talked with congressional decision-makers about the importance of the lower Snake River dams even as they awaited the outcome of federal mediation. A coalition of environmental and fishing groups in 2020 sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and Bonneville Power Administration over their operation plan for the dams.

Recently our local papers have been publishing opinion pieces suggesting the possibility or necessity of removing the four lower Snake River dams to protect Idaho salmon runs. And earlier this year the Idaho Press published an article reporting that the Biden administration has released two reports stating that removal of the four dams on the lower Snake River “may be needed to restore salmon runs to sustainable levels.”