Wheat still going strong

Wheat may not be quite as important as it once was to North Dakota’s economy.

But the crop remains a big deal in the state.

The North Dakota Wheat Commission, which this year celebrated its 50th anniversary and opened a Fargo office, is a key player in promoting the crop, both domestically and abroad.

Erica Olson, a marketing specialist with the state Wheat Commission, serves in the organization’s Fargo office, 505 40th St. S.

The Wheat Commission’s other four staffers serve in its Mandan office.

Last year, about 19,000 North Dakota farmers produced wheat valued at $2.3 billion.

Q: How does the Wheat Commission function?

A: The commission is 100 percent funded by state wheat producers.

They pay a checkoff when they sell their wheat at the elevator, a penny and a half per bushel.

That money goes to the commission. It’s supervised by a board of directors, seven of them, all producers. They decide how that money is going to go.

There’s a few main programs that we usually funnel funds towards. That’s export marketing, research and customer service, domestic promotion and policy issues.

Why open the Fargo office?

In Fargo, with the university here, that’s where a lot of research goes on. When we get visitors from overseas, what they want to see – in addition to meeting with farmers – is that research.

The role of some other crops, especially corn, has risen in North Dakota. But wheat remains important, doesn’t it?

Wheat is still the largest crop grown here in North Dakota. It accounts for about 40 percent of total crop acreage.

Last year, the value of production for the state’s wheat crop was $2.3 billion.

When you crunch all the numbers, the economic impact of that is about $6.9 billion.

What are the different types of wheat grown in North Dakota?

Spring wheat, hard red spring class, is the largest class of wheat we grow. It’s planted in spring time, harvested in late summer. It’s generally used for making bread products, pastries, rolls.

Durum wheat is the second-largest class of wheat we grow. Again, it’s planted in the spring. But durum is primarily ground into semolina for pasta.

Winter wheat, the smallest class, is planted in the fall but harvested in the summer a little bit earlier than spring wheat. It’s used for a lot of the same things as spring wheat.

North Dakota and Kansas usually vie to be the nation’s leader in wheat production, right?

Generally, Kansas is the largest wheat producer for all wheat. But this year, it looks like North Dakota will come out on top.

(North Dakota’s cool summer was good for wheat, a cool-season grass.)

Every year, we’re the leading producer of spring wheat and durum wheat.

Where does North Dakota wheat end up?

Typically, we keep 50 percent here (in the U.S.) and export 50 percent.

That’s a large chunk of our crop we need to find a home for.

(Countries in southeast Asia, particularly Japan, are leading buyers of North Dakota wheat.)

But you’re concerned with more than exports?

People think of the Wheat Commission, they think of export marketing and the customers we work with.

But we also fund research up at NDSU, which I think directly benefits producers.

And domestic remains 50 percent of our market. So we do work with organizations that are there to promote grains consumption here in the U.S.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Jonathan Knutson at (701) 241-5530

Tags: north dakota, wheat, northland, agriculture, crops, business