The Wide World of Wheat from the Washington Wheat Commission

Anchor: And now from the Washington Wheat Commission comes "The wide world of wheat" grain industry headlines from around the world. Australia researchers are continuing the hunt for a transgenic drought resistance wheat, but they warn it will be a long wait. Preliminary work being conducted Down Under indicates there could be a benefit to growers of between $37 to $284 per acre for a wheat variety with the ability to withstand drought. Move over Egypt—Iran is now the world's largest importer of wheat. Iran will purchase 8.5million tons of wheat in the 2008/2009 crop year due to drought in the country. The total cost of the wheat imports are estimated at upwards of $2.5 billion. A shortage of wheat breeders in India may dampen the country's agricultural growth, a leading scientist has warned. The world's second largest wheat producer—after China—India has about 240 wheat breeders, down from 400 plus during the Green Revolution of the 1960s. Japan is looking to increase its domestic production of wheat and also plans to help local companies invest in agricultural production overseas. Investments in Latin America, Central Asia and Eastern Europe are being planned to help supply the Japanese with wheat, corn and soybeans. I'm Bob Hoff. Anchor: The Washington Wheat Commission wants growers and citizens alike to understand their industry has global reach. A pebble thrown anywhere in the world of grain is felt as ripples by Washington's 13,000 growers and their landlords.