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Wheat checkoff has long history
Following World War II, America was waist-deep in surplus wheat. At the end of each year, the equivalent of a full year's Wheat crop was left unused. Annual domestic consumption of Wheat was static at some 530 million bushels--and Wheat exports were just 274 million bushels annually. Government limits were placed on soaring production, but the surplus still rose.
In 1955, Nebraska's Wheat producers decided to do something about the problem. That is the year that Nebraska's Wheat checkoff program became law, thanks to the efforts of the Nebraska Wheat Growers Association (NWGA). The Nebraska Wheat Resources Act established a checkoff on all Wheat sold in Nebraska, and created the Nebraska Wheat Committee and Division to administer the use of those funds.
The Wheat checkoff was the first commodity checkoff program in Nebraska and only the second Wheat checkoff program in the nation. But the innovation of Nebraska's Wheat producers did not stop there. Also passed in 1955, was Public Law 480. This allowed the sale of surplus U.S. Wheat to foreign countries in exchange for local currency or other terms--providing an avenue for grain sales to developing nations.
The Nebraska Wheat Growers Association recognized this tremendous opportunity to expand the Wheat market and moved to establish two foreign offices in 1958, using funds from the Nebraska Wheat Division and foreign currency from the Foreign Agricultural Services (FAS). For a period of several years, Nebraska was, in effect, overseeing Wheat promotion activities for FAS while establishing operations in Rome, Rio de Janeiro, Rotterdam, New Delhi and Peru. The results were outstanding. U.S. Wheat exports grew steadily, breaking 500 million bushels in 1959 and growing to an all-time high of 1.49 billion in 1987 and 1988.
Over the course of time, Nebraska joined with other state Wheat associations to expand export-marketing activities. In 1980, the various groups joined to form U.S. Wheat Associates, a powerful organization of worldwide scope, which continues to conduct export market development activities.
Since 1955, export markets have grown tremendously and U.S. Wheat is being consumed around the globe. The foreign market development organization for U.S. Wheat has been built solely with Wheat producer dollars to represent only Wheat producer interests.
The worldwide Wheat marketing effort continues to grow. And it all started with Nebraska Wheat producers.
Date: 1/22/04
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