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Wheat grower leader cautiously optimisticBy Doug Rich 
The 2008 farm bill, cellulosic ethanol production and biotechnology are the issues facing David Cleavinger as he begins his year as president of the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG). "Right now the number one issue is the farm bill. We are going to push forward to make sure that once it is passed that the implementation process is carried out and it is interpreted the way it is written," Cleavinger said. "We left our lobbyist in Washington, D.C. to work rather than come down here to Commodity Classic." Cleavinger, a grain and livestock producer from Wildorado, Texas, became president during the recent Commodity Classic in Nashville, Tenn. Cleavinger preveiously served on the NAWG Domestic Policy Committee during negotiation for the 2002 farm bill. David Cleavinger and his wife, Jackie, grow wheat, corn, cotton, sorghum silage and seed milo on 4,500 acres northeast of Hereford, Texas. In the past they have leased out their wheat ground for cattle grazing but did not do that this year. Most of their corn goes to area feedlots. "As far as the Environmental Committee is concerned cellulosic ethanol is an important issue," Cleavinger said. "We will be going forward with biomass and how it fits into wheat production. With the current price of oil, renewable fuels are the answer." As more grain is dedicated to ethanol production the debate over food versus fuel will intensify. Cleavinger said that wheat growers need to involved in this discussion. "Right now $10 wheat represents about 14 cents in a loaf of bread," Cleavinger said. "A lot of these fuel versus food discussions are blaming high food prices on renewable fuels or high wheat prices but that does not carry out because a lot of other things go into food pricing, not just the cost of wheat." NAWG and U.S. Wheat Associates agreed in January to go forward with biotech wheat. "We are putting out a signal to biotech providers who are interested," Cleavinger said. "When wheat was $4 per bushel and it was readily available, biotech was not an issue; but now that spring wheat is $25 per bushel it puts a new spin on things. People are more willing to look at new options." Cleavinger said USWA has been educating foreign buyers about the possibility of better quality wheat with biotech and it would help quality issues with millers and bakers. "We feel that biotech is one avenue that we should cautiously go down," Cleavinger said. "I grow cotton and corn so I have seen the advances in those crops that have benefits for them. We are looking for traits that not only benefit farmers but benefits end-users. Those are the traits we are looking at." "Nobody knows what the markets will do and that is a lot of the farmers concerns," Cleavinger said. "We are cautiously optimistic on wheat prices. With high inputs costs you need a higher price for wheat." Cleavinger said these are exciting times to be in agriculture and exciting times to be a wheat farmer, but added, "These exciting times are high risk times. Cleavinger said the price of wheat needs to relevant to the price of the inputs. "The risk is high. If you use all of the inputs and don't produce a crop then you are out on a limb," Cleavinger said. "That is why is it important that wheat producers are represented in all of these discussions." "Our water situation is not like that in the Dalhart areas," Cleavinger said. "We are limited on water and have limited corn production." Cleavinger graduated from West Texas State University with a degree in Agricultural Business and Economics in 1979. He was in the second class of the Texas Ag Lifetime Leadership (TALL) program and traveled to Mexico, California, Washington, D.C. and Argentina. In 1996 he traveled with a U.S. delegation to Europe and the Middle East to promote U.S. wheat products to foreign buyers. Doug Rich can be reached by phone at 785-749-5304 or by e-mail at richhpj@aol.com. 3/31/08 Date: 3/27/08 Advertisement
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