8-19 FB Japan Wheat Execs

 A team of five milling executives from Japan is visiting the United States as part of an annual educational tour sponsored by U.S. Wheat Associates (USW).  The team, which represents some of the largest and oldest milling companies in Japan, will travel across the country from Washington, DC, to Boise, ID, and Portland, OR, to gain first-hand knowledge of current winter wheat crop conditions as well as issues affecting overall wheat supply and demand. The Japanese team will have discussions with representatives from nearly every sector of the wheat industry on a variety of topics, including increasing investment in wheat research, soft white (SW) wheat supply and rising production costs.  Here is Tereasa Waterman of the Idaho Wheat Commission: “One of the reasons that we host  foreign trade teams is to review the wheat crop in our state. These are the top executives in Japan and they are interested in trying to find out what the crop quality is and what our production is going to be this year.”

U.S. wheat farmers have maintained this close connection since 1949, when the Oregon Wheat Growers League (OWGL) organized a trade delegation to Japan. Following that trip, a variety of marketing and educational activities were started in Japan to promote U.S. wheat, including a school lunch program and a “Kitchen on Wheels” that travelled through rural Japan from 1956 to 1960.