March 1996
Gleanings From the 1995 Wheat and Barley Convention
By Tracy Sayler
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Prairie Grains is the
official publication of
the Minnesota
Association of
Wheat Growers,
North Dakota Grain
Growers Association,
South Dakota Wheat,
Inc., and the
Minnesota Barley
Growers Association.
Wheat plantings, premiums
Weather, the farm program, and commodity prices are three factors which will weigh heavily on planting decisions in the Northern Plains this spring. Preliminarily, however, the North Dakota Wheat Commission, Bismarck, is assuming that spring wheat plantings will increase by between 5 and 10 percent in 1996, with durum plantings increasing by the same percentage, according to Neal Fisher, NDWC deputy administrator.
"We are the source for high protein quality wheat now, and increased privatization is going to increase the demand for quality wheat more and more," he said. The South Americans, for example, have a concern about who will supply their needs; Fisher said that the U.S. is well-suited, able to supply a selection from six different wheat classes.
The supply of high protein wheat is not high this year, which means there is still room for premiums to appreciate, Fisher said. The best chance may be the April-May period, when spring planting results in less grain being moved to market.
Visit with your federal crop insurance provider before the start of the 1996 growing season, because there may be changes, said Doug Hagel, with the regional Federal Crop Insurance Corporation office in Billings. Catastrophic coverage may not be required for program participation; if that's the case growers may need to sign a waiver that would absolve the federal government from providing financial assistance in the case of a crop disaster.
Malting barley may be recognized as an add-on insurance option, and other crops may receive coverage as well, including dry peas and lentils in western ND.
A good example of a bi-partisan legislative effort is the Minnesota Legislature's approval last year of about $1.5 million in scab research funding over the 1996-97 biennium, said Gene Hugoson, former state legislator and now commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. The bill was authored by Sen. LeRoy Stumpf (DFL-Thief River Falls) and Rep. Tim Finseth (R-Angus).
Hugoson gave good grades to the MAWG's state legislative representative, Bruce Kleven. "Lobbyists are only as good as their credibility, and Bruce has done a good job in that respect." He said that MDA's legislative agenda during the abbreviated 1996 session will focus less towards new initiatives and more on fine-tuning existing programs.
For example, Hugoson wants more funding for the MDA's Rural Finance Authority, which in turn funds loan programs such as the Beginning Farmer Loan Program and the Agricultural Best Management Practices Loan Fund. Hugoson also wants support for a new initiative called "model farming systems," where preferred farm management techniques are adapted for different soil types and landscape conditions in the state.
Hugoson said that he fully supports the state getting more involved in creating value-added agricultural ventures, including tax incentives and perhaps a sales tax exemption. Livestock should be a consideration; "every bushel that goes through a cow or pig increases the value of the grain seven to 10 times, and every bushel that goes into livestock is one bushel less that has to be hauled out of state," he said.
"You're an active group," Hugoson told members of the Minnesota Wheat and Barley Growers. "And hopefully your efforts will pay off down the road."
Dean Folkvord and his family used to be traditional wheat producers and sellers on their 7,000-acre farm near Three Forks, Montana. That changed significantly within the last five years, as the Folkvords turned their farm into a vertically-integrated business called "Wheat Montana Farms and Bakery." Now, the Folkvords mill the wheat they grow, and the flour is used for making 85 wheat products sold through their company, which has shipped its products to all 50 states, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.
Wheat Montana is listed by Farm Futures Magazine as one of the top 50 farming operations in the country. Less than three months ago, Wheat Montana attracted national media attention and made the Guinness Book of World Records by turning standing wheat in a field into loaves of bread within 8 minutes and 13 seconds, breaking the world record.
In the future, he hopes to contract production with other growers. With milling capabilities, "We hope to become the most unique operation in the United States."