01/22/07 U.S. Wheat Associates works on hard white

Farm and Ranch January 22, 2007 The Hard White Wheat Committee of U.S. Wheat Associates hopes to hammer out a proposal for a program by today that will lead to the production of the critical mass needed to develop a U.S. export market for hard white wheat. Idaho Wheat Commissioner Joe Anderson serves on that committee which met in Washington D.C. yesterday. Anderson: "Monday we hope to get this written and have something we can shop around. We would take it then to the National Wheat Growers as a recommendation. And the National Wheat Growers would put it together with their other issues and their Domestic Policy Committee will be looking at it. I think their meeting is Tuesday. Based upon what that committee decides to do in terms of priorities, I would assume it would be on a list of talking points that we would use when we go around making congressional visits later on in the week." Anderson says they would probably seek some federal money to help with research and marketing but not for a direct subsidy program like was in the 2002 Farm Bill. He says that program failed to create the critical mass needed for the export market. The drought in Australia this year has some its export customers seeking to diversify their suppliers of hard white creating an opportunity for U.S. growers. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.