A deal allowing Ukraine to export grain via the Black Sea will expire at the end of Monday after Russia said it will suspend its participation. The deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July, aimed to alleviate a global food crisis by allowing Ukrainian grain blocked by the Russia-Ukraine conflict to be exported safely. Ukraine is a major producer of grains and oilseeds and the interruption to its exports at the outbreak of war pushed global food prices to record highs.

Join NAWG’s advocacy campaign to engage with legislators on increasing Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) programs authorized in the Farm Bill. MAP’s authorized funding has not changed since 2006 and FMD funding has remained the same since 2002. Inflation and sequestration have significantly eroded our ability to compete with other countries who are steadily investing more in their agricultural export promotion efforts. Please visit NAWG’s website to participate in the grassroots efforts to make your voice heard.

Twenty trade associations representing various agricultural, food and environmental interest groups are urging Congress to pass a new farm bill this year. On Wednesday, the groups launched a campaign called “Farm Bill for America’s Families: Sustaining Our Future.” The campaign’s website includes information about the legislation and a call for the public to get involved. The farm bill is one of the most impactful pieces of legislation when it comes to protecting our food supply and food security, advancing conservation and environmental stewardship, and ensuring the men and women who produce our food are able to feed a growing population.

The Idaho Wheat Commission (IWC) takes a wheat variety survey twice a year, spring and winter, to gather data on variety usage. Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey. Your responses are anonymous and aggregated across multi-county reporting districts.

Most reports on wheat and barley crops in Idaho are positive, but yields will be down in northern Idaho due to drought. Winter wheat is in the final stages of grain fill, and growers are trying to make sure irrigation is cut off at the soft dough stage with a full soil profile, said Juliet Marshall, plant pathologist with the University of Idaho and plant sciences department head at Idaho Falls Research and Extension Center.

Cliff Tacke, Greencreek, has been appointed by Governor Brad Little to serve as a commissioner with the Idaho Wheat Commission (IWC) representing District 2. Tacke replaces Bill Flory, Winchester, who was appointed to the Commission in 2010.

As mid-year approaches, volatility and uncertainty are the key characteristics of dry bulk shipping markets. International grain supply chain stakeholders can expect more of the same during the rest of 2023. Geopolitical turmoil continues to cast a dark cloud over shipping (and grain) supply and demand forecasts. Certainly, relations between the United States and China remain harried, at best, while Russia’s destructive and tragic invasion of Ukraine shows no sign of being resolved any time soon.