Club wheat supplies to remain tight

Farm and Ranch September 28, 2009 The price premium for club wheat over common soft white is certainly an incentive for farmers to plant club wheat this fall.

Bailey: “Well the $3.50 premium gets everyone’s attention. We have seen a lot more club wheat go out the door this year in seed that we did a year ago. I‘d say we are well over 50% club to white wheat in our further south area, around the Odessa area. As we get closer to Highway 2 then it tapers off.”

That’s Keith Bailey of AgVentures NW, a country elevator industry representative on the Washington Grain Commission. The winter club planted now will not of course increase supplies until next July. Tom Mick, CEO of the Grain Commission, says the tight supply has the major club wheat buyer, Japan, concerned.

Mick: “Japan has been in contact almost on a daily basis, what is the situation, trying to monitor it. Last year we were also in a tight situation and the idea of lowering their percentage of club from 20 to 15 percent was mentioned. We would hate to see that because I think if they go to 15% they would never go back up to 20.”

That 20 percent is the amount of club blended with soft white for western white shipments to Japan.

Mick says the commission thinks club wheat demand can be met but adds, “It will be a flip of the coin.” Meanwhile Keith Bailey says farmers in his area have been selling their club from this year’s harvest.

Bailey: “Of the grain we have purchased to date from this year‘s harvest, the preponderance of it has been club wheat.”

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.

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