The idea of developing a genetically modified variety of wheat has always been something of a double-edged sword for U.S. growers.

On one side, genetic modification offers the potential for developing wheat that has valuable characteristics such as drought tolerance, resistance to pests and the ability to withstand certain herbicides.

Wheat farmers have for decades peered across the fenceline at neighbors who have been growing GM varieties of corn and soybeans. Their yields have multiplied as their cost of production has decreased.

Especially when prices are low, the efficiency genetically modified varieties offer helps to keep the bills paid.

On the other side, many customers, particularly those overseas, have no interest in purchasing GM wheat from U.S. farmers — or anyone else, for that matter. Buyers in Japan and other Asian nations have made that point abundantly clear over the years.

As recently as 2019, unapproved GM wheat was found in small areas of the Pacific Northwest, Montana and Canada. This wheat had been developed many years ago to be resistant to the herbicide glyphosate.

GM wheat was never commercialized in the U.S., meaning it could not be grown legally. One of the great mysteries of farming is how that unapproved wheat found its way into a handful of farm fields over several years.

When those discoveries were made, the concern most farmers had was not only that someone, somehow had grown GM wheat. The concern was that overseas customers would jump to the conclusion that GM varieties of wheat were infiltrating the wheat Pacific Northwest farmers grew specifically for customers in Asia.

A testing protocol was established and proved that any existence of a tiny amount of GM wheat years ago was a one-off and that no Pacific Northwest-grown wheat is genetically modified.

Comes now a development in Argentina, where scientists have incorporated a sunflower trait for drought resistance in wheat. The resulting wheat, called HB4, was announced five years ago by Bioceres Crop Solutions. The USDA recently approved the trait, but the wheat with it will not be available in the U.S. for years, according to industry experts.

In the meantime, Bioceres said HB4 wheat has delivered 40% more yield in environments under water stress.

That’s worth noting, especially as a changing climate promises more challenges for farmers.

The good news is the delay in the availability of HB4 will give the wheat industry and its customers time to consider what, if anything, to do with it.

The Idaho, Oregon and Washington wheat and grain commissions issued a joint statement last week that “we remain committed to providing our customers with the quality and reliability they have come to expect from PNW wheat.”

As long as Pacific Northwest wheat growers put their customers first, they will continue to thrive.