Wheat in a COVID Market Pt 3

Wheat in a COVID Market Pt 3

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
I’m Bob Larson. As wheat harvest gets underway in several Washington regions, the coronavirus continues to throw challenges in the path of growers.

Michelle Hennings, Executive Director at the Washington Association of Wheat Growers, says wheat prices are not looking great right now, with many just hoping they’ll reach the break-even point …

HENNINGS … “Yes, we really need to get that wheat price at break-even to help these farmers. I mean, it’s difficult to farm. It’s not rosy at all, and so if we could get to break-even that would be very helpful. But, our market prices just doesn’t seem to want to quite get there yet.”

Then, Hennings says they’re worried things like the restaurant closures that happened here, will happen in their export markets …

HENNINGS … “You know that we export 90% of our wheat. So, you know, it did happen within the U.S., but then we’re looking at if that happens in the Philippines or Japan when they’re using our wheat to make their bread and their deserts, and if those bakeries can’t stay open, you’ll see our demand go down and we don’t want to see that.”

Unfortunately, Hennings says it keeps everyone guessing …

HENNINGS … “I think everyone’s fluctuating like we are. They’re trying to open up and then you see the cases increase and it kind of puts you at a standstill for a while, depending on what area you’re at.”

The scary part, Hennings says is nobody has a crystal ball to see what will happen in the coming months, which is very uneasy for the farmers.

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