As I write this, Montana Wheat & Barley Committee (MWBC) Executive Director Kent Kupfner is at US Wheat Associates’ world staff meeting. Keven Bradley of Cut Bank, and MWBC district three director, is also attending. No doubt, current affairs such as the Farm Bill are top of mind with producers which will assuredly come up at this meeting. They’ll likely be talking about improved wheat prices, which were hovering around $6-$7 as I pen this, and the abundant global stocks, all while they build next-step strategies to market US wheat around the globe. Meanwhile back home, I have been dubbed responsible for June’s Montana Grain News update. So let’s get to it. | |
Sample slides from MWBC durum presentation | |
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April Showers Bring May Visitors
Pasta Montana returned to Great Falls with six businessmen representing their administration, accounting, flour business, international affairs departments as well as their vice president. Pasta Montana stops by regularly, but this time we were fortunate to have Mike Giroux, MSU Plant Science & Plant Pathology department head, jump on to include MSU’s latest grain research. He encouraged Pasta Montana to communicate their end-use wishes to assist in MSU’s breeding effectiveness. We covered durum to great length for an always-dynamic conversation with these longtime Montana durum buyers and friends.
MWBC and the Montana Pulse Crop Committee (MPCC) sat down with Agrocorp International specific to their Cut Bank operation. They are dominantly involved in pulse crop purchasing but shared interest in furthering wheat and barley business. Sam Anderson (MWBC) and Liz Edmundson (MPCC) gave brief presentations, but perhaps more important was a healthy discussion of business opportunities for Agrocorp. They conduct a large amount of business in Canada and Montana Dept. of Agriculture Deputy Director Zach Coccoli, who also attended the meeting, offered some possibilities worthy of exploration. Companies often share their eagerness to learn about Montana business opportunities with questions about labor, commodity supply levels and shipping.
On the barley side, we entertained two virtual meetings with Mexican brewers. Technology does allow for meeting more frequently, which is great for maintaining communication and tight budgets.
|  | Kent Kupfner, second from left, and Liz Edmundson, fourth from right, in Lethbridge, AB. | |
Speaking of Canada
Liz and Kent returned home from Lethbridge, AB after attending a series of cross-border trade meetings organized by Economic Development Lethbridge and Great Falls Development Alliance. They visited Market Place Commodities which helps facilitate trade between Montana grain companies and growers, while opening business opportunities for Lethbridge’s feed market. Market Place has experienced a growing demand for feed barley and feed wheat. Other tour stops included Agri-food Hub and Trade Center, Canary Biofuels, CARIE, Whole Leaf Greenhouse and Maple Leaf Pork.
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A Theme of Learning
As MWBC’s mission does include a slice of education, the month of May brought a couple experiences which fit this directive. MWBC staffers traveled to Bozeman to support the “wheat” booth for three days at the Gallatin Valley Farm Fair. With help from MSU plant sciences students, 1,000 fourth graders learned about the life of wheat. Lots of wide eyes, ooh’s and aah’s occurred when learning how much a combine costs. One thing was certain, Bozeman teachers had their students well prepared for the subject matter – it was very impressive.
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A few years ago, MWBC began hosting a “day in the field” for MSU plant sciences students. Sue Mondal, winter wheat breeder, organized the trip to Great Falls for a sizeable group. Mike Giroux attended as well--a great chance for everyone to think critically about the life cycle of farming from what they understand in the lab to what is happening in real time. Launching at EGT’s Tunis location, we experienced the office and scale followed by several trucks unloading. One of the grad students said, “I have never seen a grain truck up close before,” and another commented, “I had no idea how wheat actually came into the elevator.” Their reactions to wheat coming off the truck might have served as many wide eyes as we saw at Gallatin Farm Fair.
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Next, we stopped at Bandel’s farm and walked through a strong stand of winter wheat where there was good discussion about plant and root health, disease and the variety, Bobcat. This stop gave the students a chance to see equipment up close and again, many of them had not witnessed the size or capacity of today’s farm implements. We wrapped up with stops at the Montana State Grain Lab and Grain Craft.
Upcoming Activities
The board of directors is looking forward to their summer board meeting June 24, reserving time to discuss options for ag education planning. Denise Conover, Broadview, will retire from her service of three terms (nine years) as an MWBC director. Look for celebration information and special Denise memories on our website in the coming month. We are seeking a replacement for district six which is an odd-shaped geography running from Billings to the Flathead. This region is noted in the next map.
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June brings the start of field days at MSU’s research centers, an awesome chance to catch up with growers across the state. We’ll attend a meeting and a tour in Colorado focused on hard winter wheat; Kent will travel to Japan on behalf of US Wheat Associates. Directors Charlie Bumgarner and Lee Dahlman will be attending the National Barley Growers Association national meeting. I head to Kansas for Wheat Food Council’s summer meeting. And of course let’s not forget about the MGGA Golf Tournament which almost guarantees another rain shower.
Happy trails everyone!
Lori Wickett
Communications Director, MWBC
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Governor Gianforte Visits Dailey, Angvick During Tour | |
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Governor Greg Gianforte stopped by two MWBC directors' operations in May during his 56-county tour. Brett Dailey of district seven and Terry Angvick of district one received the Governor as a guest in April and May. "We had a great visit," Brett said. "We talked about rural issues that are important to our communities. Rural health, rural banking -- it's all very important for our way of life."
The Governor recently shared his visit via video, as did KFYR-TV out of Bismarck, ND. You can find that news story here.
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Congratulations Sam Anderson! | |
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Market Development Director Sam Anderson has accepted an offer with Malteurop as their Raw Materials Officer. He will be overseeing varietal selection and sustainability farming programs for North America. We are sad to see him go after five years of dedicated service to MWBC, but we wish Sam many blessings in his new chapter!
We think he owes us one last great article before he goes? Thank you Sam!
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Director Denise Conover loves TikTok! She shared great photos recently while seeding on her farm near Broadview, MT which we promptly posted as a Re | |
While we do not use TikTok, we DO use Instagram Reels and have found this a super way to communicate with a wider grain audience.
We need your help -- send us four or five farm shots including a couple from the field and a couple quick sentences of farm update. Cover anything you wish...how your crop looks, a recent rain, your dogs helping you get your job done, or family action shots working the Big Sky life.
Text your content to Lori: 406-570-6807
Or share with her on WhatsApp to Lori Wickett.
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Russia, India Set to Spark Major Swing
Reuters.com
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On Tuesday, Russian consultancy Sovecon cut its 2024-25 harvest estimate for the top wheat exporter to 82.1 million metric tons from 85.7 million previously. That followed IKAR’s reduction on Monday to 81.5 million tons from 83.5 million, well below Russia’s previous harvest of 92.8 million tons and its record 2022-23 crop of around 104 million.
Meanwhile, second-largest wheat consumer India is likely to scrap wheat import duties after June due to low state reserves, potentially spurring imports this year between 3 million and 5 million tons from just 120,000 tons a year earlier.
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Barley Crop Condition Good Across Several States
American Malting Barley Association
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The most recent USDA crop condition and progress data released May 28 showed barley consistently rated good across several barley producing states at a point in the season when most barley is in the ground and emerged. This barley has been typically met with ample moisture as well, showing signs of continued drought recovery. The most recent drought monitor from May 21 illustrated just seven percent of the primary barley growing region experiencing drought conditions. | |
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Zucchini is coming and we cannot stop it; so is rhubarb. To deal with the mountain of gathering you are about to do, here are some recipes to help you consume it all. The rhubarb recipes have passed the inspection test in Lori's household:
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