Overview

Wheat is the third-largest field crop in the United States, following corn and soybeans. In 2010 the United States raised 2.2 billion bushels of wheat, up slightly from 2009. The states growing the most wheat that year included (in order by volume): North Dakota, Kansas, Montana, Washington and Texas.  (NASS 2010)  November 2010 ... Hard Red Wheat


Marketing

• Consumer Attitudes to Whole Grain Wheat and Other Beneficial Components of Wheat Products, Sean Fox and John Crespi, Kansas State University, 2008.
• Flour Power, Rural Cooperatives magazine, USDA, 2010 - A small group of farmers near Spokane, Washington, formed a value-added marketing business that sells high-quality hard red wheat flour under the Shepherd’s Grain brand to bakeries from Seattle to Northern California.
• Global Ag Trade System (GATS), Foreign Ag Service (FAS), USDA.
• Grains: World Markets and Trade, FAS, USDA.
• National Association of Wheat Growers
• The U.S. Grain Consumption Landscape: Who Eats Grain, in What Form, Where, and How Much?, Economic Research Service (ERS), USDA, 2007 - This study compared Americans’ consumption of grains with the recommendations in the government’s 2005 Dietary Guidelines. The analysis confirmed a national preference for refined grains.
• U.S. Wheat Associates - On behalf of America's wheat producers, this organization supplies training and information to customers in over 100 countries.
• Wheat, ERS, USDA - Examines supply, use, prices and trade for wheat, including supply and demand prospects, in major importing and exporting countries. Contains data and information on U.S. wheat by class.
• Wheat Data, ERS, USDA.
• Wheat Foods Council, Parker, Colorado.
• Wheat Marketing Center, Portland, Oregon.
• Wheat Outlook, ERS, USDA.
  

Processing/Manufacturing

• American Institute of Baking (AIB) - Source for education and research in the science of baking, bakery management, equipment, ingredients, cereal science, nutrition, food safety and hygiene, occupational safety and maintenance engineering.
• Flour Milling Feasibility Template, Oklahoma State University, 2004 - This template is designed to assess the feasibility of a flour mill.

Production

• Arkansas Wheat Research, University of Arkansas.
• Consequences of Higher Input Costs and Wheat Prices for U.S. Wheat Producers, ERS, USDA, 2009 - The recent historic rise in farm costs and wheat prices has had economic effects on U.S. wheat producers. If farm prices for wheat continue to fall into 2009 and if prices for inputs do not decline, many more wheat producers may find themselves unable to cover production costs and may decide not to plant wheat.
• Crop Production Annual Summary, National Ag Statistics Service (NASS), USDA, 2010.
• Grain Science and Industry, Kansas State University - For more information about wheat quality and storage, visit this website.
• Kansas Wheat Commission
• Small Grains Annual Summary, NASS, USDA, 2010.
• Wheat Page, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers.
• Wheat Page, Kansas State Research and Extension, Kansas State University.

Case Studies/Businesses

• Dakota Growers Pasta: Vertical Integration in Durum Wheat and the Pasta Manufacturing Industry, Carrington, North Dakota - This case study looks at Dakota Growers Pasta's process of acquiring two additional pasta plants.
• Fessenden Cooperative Association, Fessenden, North Dakota - Started in the early 1940s, the Cooperative’s primary services include receiving and shipping wheat, corn, pinto beans, sunflower and soybeans.
• Flour Power, Rural Cooperatives magazine, USDA, 2010 - A small group of farmers near Spokane, Washington, formed a value-added marketing business that sells high-quality hard red wheat flour under the Shepherd’s Grain brand to bakeries from Seattle to Northern California.
• Upper Red Fork Innovations, Hunter, Oklahoma - Looking for a way to add value to their hard red winter wheat, Tami and David Buss and their family went back to an old family recipe to try to retain some of the value of their crop.
• Value-Added Corner: Value Added Products Inc., Value-Added Producer Grant Success Stories, Rural Cooperatives, 2003 - Oklahoma wheat producers use USDA financing to launch frozen-dough bakery.
• Value Added Products (VAP) Cooperative, Alva, Oklahoma - This cooperative was started in 2000 with “the idea and a group of 25 wheat farmers who were looking for ways to increase the value of the wheat they grow.” The wheat grown by VAP is used primarily in pizza dough, with a small percentage used for cinnamon rolls, breads and croissants.
• Wheat, The New American Farmer, SARE, NIFA, USDA.

Links checked November 2010.