Source – Southeast Farm Press
From US Wheat Associates
Date – 17 Oct 2013
Website – southeastfarmpress.com
While biotech varieties are not currently available to farmers, NAWG, USW and the farmers who lead them support innovation, research and the responsible introduction of new varieties, including biotech wheat.
The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) and U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) have reinforced their support for the continued development of biotech wheat by joining others in the industry to congratulate the 2013 World Food Prize recipients, whose work has been instrumental to this vital technology.
While biotech wheat is not currently available to farmers, NAWG, USW and the wheat farmers who lead them support innovation, research and the responsible introduction of new wheat varieties, including biotech wheat.
Both organizations are working with industry partners throughout the wheat value chain to prepare the path for these new varieties of wheat — both biotech and non-biotech — that will improve farmers’ ability to increase yields, use fewer agricultural inputs and continually improve the quality of their crop.
Wheat is a staple of the world’s diet, but worldwide demand for wheat is outpacing our ability to produce it. In fact, the number of acres planted with wheat has fallen relative to other crops with biotech options available in part because the more advanced crops offer farmers a better return on their investment.
Biotech wheat varieties, which the industry expects to be introduced within the decade, will help ensure that wheat continues to be a valuable source of nutrition for people around the world and a staple of American agriculture for generations to come.
On Oct. 17, Marc Van Montagu, Mary-Dell Chilton and Robert T. Fraley were awarded the World Food Prize for their roles founding, developing and applying agricultural biotechnology.
Thanks to the discoveries of these laureates, farmers around the world are able to grow crops with higher yields and a more sustainable environmental profile than was ever possible before.
U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is the industry’s market development organization working in more than 100 countries. Its mission is to “develop, maintain, and expand international markets to enhance the profitability of U.S. wheat producers and their customers.”
The activities of USW are made possible by producer checkoff dollars managed by 19 state wheat commissions and through cost-share funding provided by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.
The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) is a federation of 22 state wheat grower associations that works to represent the needs and interests of wheat producers before Congress and federal agencies.
Based in Washington, D.C., NAWG is grower-governed and grower-funded, and works in areas as diverse as federal farm policy, trade, environmental regulation, agricultural research and sustainability.