As the year winds down, industry groups are considering policy goals for the new year. The National Association of Wheat Growers has created a wishlist for their priorities.
The 2023 Farm Bill is still a few years away, but the National Association of Wheat Growers is already looking ahead to the legislation. Association President Dave Milligan says that crop insurance is always a top priority, as well as the Grain Standard Act.
“Right now, we are working on the Grain Standard Act trying to get that reauthorized, certainly that’s important to have these inspector services and the standard that we need to provide to make sure we have a quality crop, not only domestically but for trade,” Milligan states.
He says that wheat growers also utilize USDA’s market access program, which is funded in the Farm Bill, to continue expanding trade.
Fifty percent of U.S. wheat is exported with Mexico as the top market.
According to Milligan, “We are seeing Mexico has been a great market for us and USMCA has been a great relationship to help keep that market as our primary top market, so we certainly appreciate that and don’t want anything to happen to that relationship.”
Climate policy is expected to be at top priority in the coming years, and Milligan says that wheat producers are already working to improve conservation.
He notes, “Wheat has probably the biggest improvement of any of the groups in the fact that a lot of no-till has come into widespread use in the wheat growing areas and also newly adopted cover crops.”
The association is also paying close attention to state regulations and was active in California’s prop. 65 lawsuit, which would have labeled any wheat products grown with glyphosate as carcinogenic.
“We got a favorable court ruling on that and I think those kind of rulings, they look at sound science and I think that’s important going ahead into the future and We look on to these regulations,rather than emotions, that people realize the importance of sound science.”
A coalition of ag groups have also launched a website to help educate policy makers and the public about why glyphosate is used in production, click HERE.
For more information from NAWG, click HERE.
