Farmers will get a closer look at HB4 wheat during a presentation Feb. 6 at the Spokane Ag Show.

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced in August its decision to deregulate the drought-tolerate HB4 trait in wheat, a genetically modified (GMO) trait owned and sold by the Argentine company, Bioceres Crop Solutions.

It is the first GMO trait to be deregulated, or approved for planting, for wheat in the United States and provides a pathway to future commercialization of varieties containing the HB4 trait.

Casey Chumrau, executive director of the Washington Grain Commission, and Washington State University winter wheat breeder Arron Carter and spring wheat breeder Mike Pumphrey will discuss the development during the Spokane Ag Show.

“A commercially available GMO wheat variety could dramatically shift the U.S. wheat market,” Chumrau told the Capital Press.

The discussion does not mean the commission or WSU are actively pursuing, or plan to pursue, GMO wheat varieties in the future, she said. The commission is grower funded, and the feedback received will help accurately represent grower interests while balancing customer needs.

“In Washington and the PNW, the majority of our wheat is exported and some of our most important markets are resistant to GMO products,” Chumrau said. “PNW wheat breeding has always been acutely focused on, and responsive to, the high standards of our export markets.”

The U.S. wheat industry has been cautiously monitoring and measuring market response to the trait.

“(W)e want to keep Washington growers informed of the advancements and hear their perspectives on the topic,” Chumrau said.

HB4 advancements are happening on an international level and slowly at a national level.

– not in Washington or the Pacific Northwest, she added.

“The Washington Grain Commission has a responsibility to explore all tools that could benefit growers while also maintaining and expanding export markets,” she said.