Published 7:00 am Thursday, August 6, 2020
ASOTIN, Wash. — Brit Ausman stood in his hard red winter wheat field on a warm Thursday morning giving an update on the harvest.
A breeze rippled through the grain as Ausman spoke to millers and bakers on the other side of the world.
Yields are high and quality is good, said Ausman, who farms in the southeastern corner of the state and is a member of the Washington Grain Commission.
With travel restricted by the COVID-19 pandemic, this is the only way U.S. wheat farmers can keep in touch with their overseas customers, who last year bought roughly $6.2 billion in wheat from them.
Joe Bippert, program director of the state grain commission, recorded Ausman’s presentation with two cameras and flew a drone to get a bird’s-eye view of the crop.
Since April 28, Bippert has recorded six videos at farmers’ fields around Washington state. He will record five or six more as the harvest progresses.
“If they can’t come to the crop, we’ll take it to them,” Bippert said.
“I’d like to personally thank all of our overseas customers that purchase our products,” Ausman said in his greeting. “Without you, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do.”
Overseas customers aren’t just vital to U.S. wheat farmers — they are the marketplace, said Glen Squires, CEO of the grain commission.
The Washington commission held online webinars with buyers from South Asia, the Philippines, the Middle East, Latin America, Japan and South Korea. More are planned for buyers in Taiwan and China.
Without them, half of the 60 million metric tons U.S. wheat farmers grow wouldn’t have a buyer.
“They are everything,” said Steve Mercer, vice president of communications for U.S. Wheat Associates, the overseas marketing arm for the industry. “They are essential to the business and opportunities for the farmers.”
In the Pacific Northwest, the vast majority of the crop is destined for a foreign market.
About 85% of Washington’s crop, 95% of Oregon’s crop, and all of northern Idaho’s crop — about 60% of the state’s total — are exported, said Steve Wirsching, vice president and West Coast office director of U.S. Wheat in Portland.
In the wake of the pandemic, U.S. Wheat had to make a “pretty aggressive pivot” from in-person trade trips to meeting virtually, Mercer said.
It’s important to be able to bring decision makers into the region, so they can see the wheat first hand, Wirsching said. They learn about the supply chain, the Federal Grain Inspection Service, barge and rail traffic, quality, protein levels and the low moisture in Northwest-grown wheat.
“All of those things have a value in the overseas market,” Wirsching said. “Those are things other suppliers do struggle with, in terms of reliability and consistency of quality.”
Everyone agrees: Meeting virtually is no substitute for the real thing.
“Webinars do not allow people to walk wheat fields, touch the wheat and talk to farmers,” Squires said.
“What is left out is the personal nature of meeting face-to-face and more in-depth discussion that occurs when a team visits in person,” Squires said. “We are unable to visit country elevator operators, barge and rail facilities, meet with breeders and quality specialists face-to-face and have two-way discussions and learning.”
One of the biggest limitations is time, Squires said. When a trade team visits in person, it takes several days.
“The format that we are using now limits us to between 60 and 90 minutes for an entire webinar,” he said. “So, the information has to be very targeted.”
At the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdowns, customers had one question: Would U.S.-produced wheat remain available?
U.S. Wheat Associates held virtual meetings for the sole purpose of reassuring buyers: The wheat store is open for business.
Save for a temporary closure at United Grain Corp.’s Vancouver, Wash., export terminal after two workers tested positive for COVID-19, the supply chain hasn’t experienced any disruptions, Mercer said. The company has since reopened, after the facility was sanitized and employees exposed to the two workers were quarantined.
As with every year during harvest, the biggest challenge remains competing against other commodities for transportation capacity to get wheat to ports, Mercer noted.
“Corn and soybeans have to move by rail and barge, and so does wheat,” he said.
Now most of the virtual meetings are devoted to updates on this year’s crop. Farmers from different states report on the status of individual wheat classes, crop conditions, yield and quality outlook.
The goal is to be as transparent and accurate as possible, Squires said.
“Even though the customers cannot be here in person, we want to assure them that they are welcome to ask questions and reach out to us, as well as visit us when it is safe to travel,” he said.
Mercer said the number of U.S. Wheat virtual trade teams, 12, is the same as the number of previously scheduled in-person tours. More are in the works.
U.S. Wheat’s foreign offices decide which information should be included in the webinars, Wirsching said. Member states help deliver those elements to customers.
In addition to the virtual visits, U.S. Wheat conducted 55 virtual baking webinars between March and June. The organization’s Tokyo and South Korea offices used interpreters for recent webinars, Wirsching said.
The webinars could ultimately serve as an additional tool to meet decision makers even after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, Wirsching said.
A webinar is also able to reach many more people than would normally be able to participate, Squires said.
One recent webinar included more than 300 Japanese millers, government officials and traders. Meetings are also offered to smaller, more targeted groups.
As a result, U.S. Wheat estimates its customer contacts are up 200%, Wirsching said.
He expects wheat exports to remain the same or dip a bit this year, due to increased competition from other wheat-growing nations and the economic downturn caused by COVID-19.
Overall, U.S. Wheat is reaching 3,000 to 5,000 overseas customers virtually, Mercer said.
“It’s really about staying in touch with as many customers as we’ve been able to and keeping U.S. wheat top of mind with those buyers,” he said.
Like Ausman in Washington, many states record greetings and updates from farmers, including messages of thanks to their customers.
The Kansas Wheat Commission set up live remotes for customers in Brazil and sub-Saharan Africa, with farmers sharing the views from their combines in the field and talking about crop prospects.
Half of Kansas’ crop is exported, said Aaron Harries, vice president of research and operations for the Kansas Wheat Commission.
The state finished its harvest several weeks ago.
A video can be shot on relatively short notice in reply to a customer’s questions, Harries said.
Talking with a grower live might offer the opportunity for more interaction than a previously recorded video, but some companies may still keep their cards close.
“When you’ve got that many competitors on the same call, some of them are hesitant, maybe, to ask questions,” Harries said. “That’s another advantage when you’re doing it in a smaller group.”
When the pandemic hit, the Washington Grain Commission had already been working to add a virtual component to its presentations, Squires said.
Even when teams spend several days in the state, time is limited and there’s no way to cover every topic. Depending on when they visit, they might not get to see mature wheat, harvest or planting.
The commission uses video technology to bring the full experience of the wheat life cycle to customers.
It might not be as good as seeing the real thing, Squires said, but it’s the next best thing.
“COVID-19 has forced us to expand that effort,” he said. “We can’t bring them to Washington due to travel restrictions, but we can take Washington to them and show them what is currently happening in our region.”
