Various trade groups have been laying out what they would like to see in the upcoming Farm Bill. Wheat growers say that one of their biggest concerns right now is that historically high wheat prices are canceled out by sky-high input costs.
Ag leaders are focused on the upcoming Farm Bill and a plethora of challenges that face the industry.
“The overflowing impacts that the Russian-Ukraine war is having on the growing season here in our U.S. wheat growers, as well as the continued winter drought, and so, between the USDA, the EPA, and supply chain issues, there is still a lot of stuff for us to cover in Washington D.C.,” NAWG CEO Chandler Goule explains.
He says that the main thing he hears is that growers must be making good money since wheat prices are so high.
“Actually, that couldn’t be further from the truth. With the increased cost in input prices, fertilizer, fuel, and the fact that we are also not selling wheat right now and having to explain that 70 percent of our wheat is winter wheat, it’s already in the ground, and it’s going through a drought... this $10 dollar wheat we are seeing right now is not actually getting back to the individual wheat grower.”
He talks about priorities for his members in the 2023 Farm Bill: “Definitely crop insurance is still going to be our main cornerstone of that risk management tool, but also equity and Title One. And so, my quick example is, and I’m making these numbers up just to be clear, but every time we did raise reference price-- corn went up 5 cents, soy would go up 4 cents, wheat would go up 1 cent. So, the equity in that Title One is not really distributed or the way it should be, I think, based on acreage. So, I know that’s something we’re going to continue to look at.”
He adds that they would also like to see new research on other uses for wheat besides feed and fuel.
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A plethora of issues are causing concern for U.S. wheat growers during #Plant22
