U.S. wheat growers have been involved in international market development for more than 40 years,
going back to the regional associations of Great Plains Wheat and Western Wheat. These two groups merged together in1980 to form U.S. Wheat Associates (USW), which now has 17 offices around the world to develop
and expand markets for six classes of U.S. wheat on behalf of U.S. wheat growers.
USW is jointly funded by farmers through state checkoff programs (including Minnesota's, administered by the Minnesota Wheat Research
and Promotion Council), and the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service's Foreign Market Development program. USW conducts a variety of market development activities, including trade servicing, technical assistance,
market analysis and consumer promotion.
On any given day, USW personnel from Japan to Egypt to Chile to South Africa to many other countries are hard at work dealing with wheat buyers, flour millers and others
to provide education and other information about U.S. wheat.
So just what do these buyers and millers and hundreds of other individuals that USW services on a regular basis think about the group's
efforts? Are they worthwhile?
When asked this question, many buyers and millers and other end users are enthusiastic about the service they receive from USW, and highly value the information provided to them by
USW, including information about the current U.S. wheat crop, trends in the U.S. wheat industry and related information.
Ricardo Ferraz, manager of J. Macedo Alimentos, the second largest milling company in Brazil,
says that "USW keeps us up to date on the U.S., the major wheat exporter in the world. They are always up to date on new trends, new ideas, and this is very valuable to us."
Many millers, bakers, noodle
manufacturers and others have benefited from extensive technical assistance from USW, which helps them improve production of their product or develop ways to produce new products.
According to representatives from the
Korean wheat foods products industry, "many Korean milling industry and wheat-based food processors have been educated by USW about technical considerations, and new product development and marketing, which has been
very beneficial for our business." These same representatives say "USW has contributed to the improvement of technology in the Korean milling industry and wheat-based food processors."
Says one Korean miller:
"USW is the only organization from whom we can obtain various and valuable information on U.S. wheat."
Helmy Nayel, general manager of the Egyptian Millers Company, said his company's "unique relationship (with USW)
has proven to be very beneficial and helpful for us, as we have received tremendous assistance from the organization in both flour milling techniques as well as wheat purchasing methodology."
Millers in Egypt have
enthusiastically embraced USW's "American Quality Seal" program, which allows American wheat users there to utilize promotional materials produced by USW and benefit from national quality seal advertising.
Nayel says the Egyptian Millers Company was the first business partner in the Quality Seal program and he calls it a success. He says through it and other programs offered by USW, "we have been successful in
our purchasing from the U.S."
John Oades, a long time staff member of USW based in its Portland office, says that education about purchasing and other aspects of buying has become increasingly important to wheat
buyers and others as countries shift purchasing from the government to the private sector. This means a whole new crop of individuals have entered the wheat buying picture, many of them unfamiliar with the U.S.
wheat industry and the various aspects of buying U.S. wheat.
Some of USW's educational work is done one-on-one. However, many 
individuals receive this information through USW's Crop Quality Seminars held each year in countries throughout the world. As privatization has occurred, Oades
says USW has seen a big increase in attendance of these seminars and has expanded the number of seminars held in response to increased demand from customers.
Ferraz has participated in such seminars in Latin America and he calls them "fantastic." He also has attended other USW-sponsored seminars bringing
grain suppliers, traders and others together, which he says "are great as well."
Some end users of U.S. wheat think USW serves an important role in dealing with trade or other issues involving the U.S. and foreign
governments, including government backed credit programs.
According to Korean end users: "USW functions as a bridge connecting the Korean government, the U.S. government and Korean millers, and has
been very effective for millers in terms of political decisions involving the Korean government."
These same end users in Korea also say that USW has been instrumental in
helping them utilize the GSM-102 credit program to purchase American wheat.
Oades says buyers also view USW as valuable in wheat export trouble-shooting, preventing small problems from becoming bigger. Oades
says customers will very often come to USW to help resolve situations, such as a customer feeling a cargo isn't exactly what they ordered, because
they view USW as a "neutral party." Oades says that by stepping in early to solve a situation may help prevent lost sales.
The question some farmers may have: Does the assistance and information
provided by USW make these countries more likely to purchase wheat from the U.S.?
"I think so," says Ferraz. "I think this kind of representation helps you to sell your grain."
Oades says the effect of U.S. wheat promotion on U.S. wheat sales can be difficult to measure, because so many other factors also come into play, such as global grain production and supply, and the trading practices of
U.S. wheat export competitors. Clearly, however, USW's promotional work around the world is highly valued and appreciated, and Oades points out that satisfied customers usually return to purchase more.
"We help customers understand what's available, and how and why they want to use U.S. wheat," says Oades. "It's a service that is very useful to the industry."
