USDA’s Economic Research Service has highlighted the plight of American Hard Red Winter Wheat (HRW). Noting that its production and export have been slowed by a combination of factors including drought, domestic competition from corn and soybeans, and foreign competition from an increasing number of nations. However, this has been a larger overall problem for all American grown wheat. In some respects, HRW is all that can be grown in the semi-arid Southern Plains. Corn and soybeans have an easier time competing against other wheats grown in more fertile areas with better moisture. In some respects, the rejection of biotechnology years ago by U.S. wheat growers at the same time it was embraced by corn and soybeans and has worsen...
From WPI Consulting
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.