Grainnet

This July marks 50 years of market development and promotion for the North Dakota Wheat Commission (NDWC). 

The Commission was created by the North Dakota Legislature in 1959, allowing producers to become more actively involved in market development at a time when wheat production in the state averaged 100 million bushels and U.S. wheat exports totaled 500 million bushels.

Today North Dakota wheat production averages 300 million bushels.

Total U.S. exports are at 1.3 billion bushels, and North Dakota producers have built a strong performance reputation and customer base for their wheat often capturing a premium in the world market.

Many changes have taken place in the domestic and international wheat industries over 50 year.

Shifts in major competitors, consolidation in the U.S. grain handling, export and domestic milling industries, advances in crop production technology and increased farm size have provided both challenges and opportunities. 

North Dakota producers have also survived significant challenges such as devastating diseases like stem rust and Fusarium Headblight, droughts, floods, fad diets, and unfair trade policies. 

The NDWC, funded and directed by producers, has been a steady force through these changes and challenges, helping to create opportunities to maintain wheat’s viability and profitability as the largest crop in our state. 

The fact that wheat is still the dominant crop and North Dakota has a world-wide reputation for superior quality and performance traits is due to the visionary leadership which has guided the NDWC over the past 50 years and to the resiliency and innovative nature of the producers it represents.

Administrator Neal Fisher explains “wheat is as important, if not more important, today to our state as it was fifty years ago.

"The wheat industry continues to lead our great state as a primary industry through continued growth and diversification, in generation of new wealth, in total economic activity, and in overall contribution to North Dakota’s economy.

"We owe a great debt of gratitude to the collective efforts of many who have shaped and led this worthwhile endeavor.” 

U.S. hard red spring and durum wheat are exported to more than 80 countries annually. 

Exports account for 50 percent of the annual demand for HRS and for more than one-third of the durum demand. 

Since the Commission was started, the volume of HRS exports has grown by nearly 7 times, and durum exports have tripled. 

Our customer base includes growth markets in Asia, Latin America and Europe. 

Expansion into even more markets is promising with the rapidly increasing incomes in developing economies around the world.

The NDWC partners with U.S. Wheat Associates to expand global market share for U.S. wheat, promoting quality, consistency and performance.

Three North Dakota producers have served as chair of U.S. Wheat Associates and its time-proven market development programs have always been a top Commission priority. 

U.S. Wheat Associates and the NDWC provide a direct link between producers and customers, emphasizing the performance advantages of our wheat each crop year, addressing concerns and serving as a proactive information source on policies that impact market access and our ability to compete fairly and effectively in the global market. 

International market development is just one of the core program efforts undertaken by the NDWC on behalf of producers.

The Commission also invests in domestic promotion organizations such as the National Pasta Association and the Wheat Foods Council which help expand consumption of wheat foods such as bread and pasta.

In addition producer check-off funds have bolstered key wheat research efforts and helped address critical needs in rail transportation, trade and domestic policy.

Chairman Harlan Klein, who also serves as chair of the International Trade Policy Committee for U.S. Wheat Associates and National Association of Wheat Growers, says “with the expansion of trade agreements in recent years it has become increasingly important for producers to be involved in the development of trade policy that provides U.S. wheat producers the competitive advantage and continued access to the markets we have developed.”

Priorities have shifted with changing needs over the years, but successes in each of the five key program areas have produced tangible results for North Dakota producers. 

A few examples include lower rail rates and improved service to make North Dakota wheat more competitive in domestic and export markets, countering poor U.S. trade policy decisions such as the Soviet grain embargo, securing tariffs on unfair imports of Canadian wheat and providing research funds to help develop new wheat varieties and address yet unforeseen agronomic challenges such as Fusarium Heablight which occurred in the 90s. 

Fisher explains that the Commission’s core program areas work together to achieve a collective purpose.

He says, “the goal of the Wheat Commission and its partners is to provide producers with the tools and opportunities to produce a high quality product in an environment that allows access to customers willing to pay premium prices.” 

That sentiment is captured in part by the Commission’s catch phrase Building Bigger Better Markets.

The NDWC is looking forward to many more years of service to North Dakota wheat producers, building on the success of the first 50 years. 

According to Chairman Klein “The Commission has always served producers and I believe has become an even stronger organization over the years.” 

The Commission will recognize the anniversary with current and former commissioners and staff on July 8, 2009 in Mandan.

  A 50 year commemorative booklet has been prepared to summarize some of the highlights and key events of the NDWC. 

It can be downloaded from the website.

   Members of the media who would like to visit directly with board or staff members of the Commission are invited to do so at the conclusion of the NDWC meeting which will be held from 8:30 -12:30 on July 8 at the Seven Seas in Mandan.

For more information, call 701-328-5111.

See Related Websites/Articles:

• North Dakota Wheat Commission

more GRAIN NEWS...