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Hard white wheat --A Cinderella story?
Almost everyone with a place in the wheat supply chain knows that hard white (HW) is the newest class of wheat grown in the United States. Most of us probably don't know about a boxer by the name of James J. Braddock, who literally fought against the odds and everyone's expectations to become heavyweight champion of the world. Braddock's life and career were recently featured in a movie called "Cinderella Man." I think there are many parallels between HW and Braddock's story. From the beginning, both had a number of nay-sayers. Some folks called Braddock a bum; some have called HW a weed. Braddock didn't know the meaning of the word quit and was thirty years old before he became a champion. Hard white has been trying for the title for twenty years. Braddock's path to success was littered with setbacks. Midway into his career, he had lost 60 percent of his fights. In the same way, each time things start looking up for HW, something seems to happen to knock it back down--some natural, some man-made. Three years ago, for example, it was sprout damage at a time when HW production had a lot of momentum. Fortunately, wheat breeders have come up with a way to overcome that adversary. A big factor in Braddock's eventual success was his undying pride. At one time he faced having to take welfare to feed his family. This only made him stronger. Hard white wheat also has received a hand up from the government and has gone on to earn a class of its own in the world of wheat. Jim Braddock received the chance to reach his goal on June 13, 1935, when he fought the popular champion Max Baer. Braddock was a ten-to-one underdog but when he won the decision he earned the title "Cinderella Man." Had I been around when he was fighting, I probably would have been a Braddock fan. Today, I am definitely a hard white wheat fan. I believe HW has earned the right to contend for more acres. All it needs is a fair shot at the title. Some are reluctant to provide that opportunity because it means changing the way they do things. Like the people who believed in Braddock, HW needs folks in the supply chain to see its potential. Sometimes it only takes a few people to make a big difference. Millers and bakers that have used HW generally like it and want to buy it. Practically all of the HW produced in the United States has been consumed here. Our domestic millers and bakers, along with their customers, see the many benefits of whole wheat products made from HW and are taking advantage of it. Our foreign customers also want to buy it to the point of stating it would replace what they are currently buying from competing exporters. That is why HW is currently bringing 20 cents per bushel more than the price of hard red wheat out of Portland. Importers tell us they like the characteristics of HW so much that they will go somewhere else to find it if we can't provide it. We can't let that happen. We need to work together to create a viable infrastructure for HW collection and delivery to those that want it. Just as Braddock received his shoat success, we need to give HW the same fighting chance at a place in history. There is one difference I found between Jim Braddock and HW: the Champ was knocked out once but, so far, HW is still in the fight. This fan is convinced that hard white wheat can still be a champion and, perhaps, earn the title "Cinderella Wheat." --Ron Suppes, chairman, U.S. Wheat Associates Date: 12/26/07
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