Paterson, Wash., wheat farmer Nicole Berg has been elected president of the National Association of Wheat Growers.

She will have a one-year term.

Berg is a fourth-generation farmer. She farms with her father and two brothers. They grow dryland and irrigated wheat, bluegrass seed, field corn, sweet corn, sweet peas, green beans and alfalfa.

Berg is also on the board of the Federal Crop Insurance Corp.

She is NAWG’s second female president, following Judy Olsen, of Garfield, Wash., in 1994.

The NAWG board also elected Klamath Falls, Ore., farmer Brent Cheyne as vice president, Keeff Felty of Altus, Okla., as treasurer and Pat Clements of Springfield, Ky., as secretary. Dave Milligan of Cass City, Mich., is past president.

One of Berg’s first actions as president was to seek a resolution encouraging collaboration with North Dakota wheat growers. The North Dakota Growers Association withdrew from NAWG in 2019, citing a decline in support for issues specifically related to that state.

“In Washington D.C., it’s all about coalitions and alliances, and it’s about singing the same song from across the country,” Berg said. “If you go to D.C., and you’re just from Washington, you don’t get too far with regard to policy. But if you go in with a coalition of 20, 30, 40, 50 states, you actually push policy and make things better.”

NAWG will send a letter to the North Dakota association within the next week, Berg said.

Ed Kessel, first vice president of the North Dakota association, said the organization preferred to wait and see NAWG’s letter before commenting.

Berg also sought a resolution seeking involvement from diverse and underserved farming groups.

Both resolutions passed during the board meeting.

Other issues concerning Berg and other NAWG leaders were:

• Impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The war has impacted the wheat market with prices rising and falling by daily limits, Berg said.

“It’s quite the rollercoaster we’re on,” she said. “There’s just a lot of uncertainty across wheat country, whether it’s price or inputs. And the inputs — I’m looking at some of my numbers today, and man, they’ve gone up. Wheat growers, we run on a thin margin already.”

Berg and her family purchased diesel and fertilizer last fall, and did some work in the fall they usually reserve for the spring. That will help, Berg said, but the future’s uncertain.

“Farmers need to watch their pocketbooks,” she said.

• New uses for wheat. The industry is also exploring other ways to use wheat. Previously, the industry looked at making boards out of straw, Berg said.

“We are feed and food,” she said. “Are there other things we can do with our product and get it on the shelves?”

A loaf of bread might cost $3 at the store, but farmers only receive 17 cents of that, Berg noted.

“Now my fuel prices are going up, and I can’t pass that on, because I’m a price-taker,” she said.

• Open-door policy. Berg invites farmers across the country to help her tell their story.

“I have to hear from them, I have an open-door policy,” she said. “If you have an issue with something, call me up, or call another officer. Because that’s what we’re here for, isn’t it? I look forward to working their policy.”