Breads made with U.S. wheat caught the attention of the U.S. Ambassador to Chile during September’s Espacio Food and Service trade show in Santiago. It set in motion a series of discussions that led to Amb. Bernadette Meehan touring a top Chilean flour mill arranged by the U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) South American regional team The bread Meehan raved about at the show was baked in the USW wheat flour and baking laboratory on the campus of Universidad Mayor.

Looking ahead to a contentious political year, the American Farm Bureau Federation plans to insist lawmakers don’t leave key agricultural policies on the back burner any longer. “We need to get even louder,” said Zippy Duvall, AFBF’s president, told members during the group’s annual convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. After postponing action on a new farm bill in 2023, Congress must now make complex decisions about crop insurance, conservation programs and food assistance amid the tumult of a national presidential election.To ensure lawmakers keep their eye on the ball despite these distractions, the nation’s largest agriculture organization will need farmers to continue demanding the legislation be a priority,

As most every farmer knows, trade remains vital to US agriculture. Undersecretary of Agriculture Robert Bonnie, telling an audience the other day that his use of that word “vital” is probably an understatement because About 20% of all US agricultural production is exported to world markets. And that’s one reason the US Department of Agriculture puts out so many reports lots of reports on us ag exports sales and US imports as well. The USDA has just put out its monthly ag trade update report in it. We have the complete ag trade numbers for the first 11 months of 2023.

It’s taken a bit longer than we’d hoped to roll out a monumental, CALS-led sustainable agriculture program, funded by the largest grant in University of Idaho’s history. Yet it’s already clear that Innovative Agriculture and Marketing Partnership for Idaho (IAMP) will live up to the hype and will be well worth the wait. IAMP, formerly known as “Climate-Smart Commodities for Idaho,” will receive up to $55 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture over five years, building cropping systems that are more resistant to changing climates and paying more than half of the funding directly to Idaho agricultural producers. The program will incentivize the state’s producers — with a focus on barley, beef, chickpeas, hops, potatoes, sugar beets and wheat.

Total net farm income in Idaho dropped by an estimated $400 million in 2023, an 11 percent decline compared with 2022. While total farm revenue in the state last year came close to matching the record set in 2022, total farm and ranch expenses in Idaho hit another record in 2023. That included a huge increase in interest expenses paid by the state’s almost 25,000 farms and ranches. Net farm income – revenue minus costs – is the farmer or rancher’s bottom line. Idaho set a record for total net farm income in 2022, at $4.2 billion. Increased production expenses, coupled with slightly lower total revenue, resulted in an 11 percent decrease in total net farm income in the state in 2023.

Farmer leaders of U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) are meeting in Washington, DC, Jan. 23 to 26, 2024, for a joint board of directors meeting. Activities included a plenary policy session, separate meetings with members of Congress, and consideration of USW’s producer-funded operating budget for fiscal year 2024/25. At the policy session, USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agriculture Alexis Taylor expressed excitement about seven U.S. agricultural trade missions planned for 2024 including the first to Angola in which USW Vice Chairman Clarke Hamilton will participate.

U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., intends to question federal officials on the future fate of four Lower Snake River hydroelectric dams in Washington state during a congressional hearing later this month. “The Columbia River System and the Lower Snake River dams are the beating heart of the Pacific Northwest, yet that hasn’t stopped the Biden administration from apparently colluding with special interest groups to lay the groundwork to remove them.