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USWA group seeks HWW help
By Larry Dreiling In a reprise of a previous federal plan designed to increase production of hard white wheat, U.S. wheat producers have called for a payment to HWW producers. In a twist, the joint U.S. wheat Associates-National Association of wheat Growers Hard White wheat Committee meeting at Washington, D.C. Jan. 21 decided to include in their proposal an incentive payment to first handlers of HWW as well. The full boards of the two groups approved the measure at a joint meeting the next day. The concept of assisting first handlers grew out of last September's wheat Summit, a meeting of in which producers and representatives of several different parts of the wheat chain gathered. One such group was the National Grain and Feed Association, whose members should benefit from the incentive plan. The plan, a hybrid of four concepts presented at the committee will work to create a critical mass of 240 million bushels of HWW production annually by 2011. The plan, that could be a part of the 2007 farm bill, would cost an estimated $35 million over five years. The producer payment will be a $5 per acre rebate totaling about $14.5 million to those who grow HWW from certified seed. To qualify for the rebate, the producer would have to buy certified seed from a state sanctioned variety rated superior or better for quality. Caps on the amount of acres planted would be set by region, with the central High Plains capped at 300,000 acres in 2010; 200,000 acres in the northern Plains and Pacific Northwest; and 100,000 acres in California. Combined with non-certified production, it is expected that the 240 million bushel goal could be achieved with an estimated total production of 272 million bushels. Seeing that many producers already receive a premium for producing hard white, the committee decided that first handlers would receive a 2.5-cent per bushel rebate, or $10,000 for every 500,000 bushels purchased with an additional $5,000 bonus at each millionth bushel. The payout to first handlers could total $14.65 million over four growing seasons. Other parts of the program would include domestic and international human nutrition program donations, research into new varieties and administrative costs. "The goal here is to create a sustainable, critical mass of hard white wheat production volume that would provide a year round supply to the market," said Dan Maltby, manager of southwest grain operations for General Mills, who has volunteered his time to producers who want to grow the product. "We also need to show this off as an economic development effort," said Larry Kepley, a Ulysses, Kan., producer and longtime member of the committee. "That offers a warm and fuzzy element to this, because production of a premium product, one that can compete with Australian Prime Hard wheat, can benefit producers and therefore benefit rural communities where the farmer trades."
0 None None Date: 2/15/07
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