Commission Elects New Officers; Thanks Larry Hunn for his Service At its August 20th meeting, the California Wheat Commission elected new officers. Roy Motter, Commissioner from District 12, was elected to be the Commission's Chairman; Erik Freese, Commissioner from District 4 (Solano and part of Sacramento County) becomes Vice Chairman; and Scott Schmidt, District 7 Commissioner, is the new Secretary/Treasurer.
Larry Hunn, who served as Chairman for four years and as the Commissioner of District 3 for twelve years, was thanked for his many years of leadership and service to the California wheat industry.
Commission Election Results Announced Elections were held this summer in three grower districts and statewide for the handler commissioner positions. The results were announced by CDFA and formally accepted by the Commission at its August meeting:
• District 3 - Bill Cruickshank was elected as Commissioner and Larry Hunn as Alternate. This district includes: Napa, Sonoma, Yolo, Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Yuba, Nevada, Sutter, and Sierra Counties, and that portion of Sacramento County lying north of Road J-11 and east of the Sacramento River from Walnut Grove to Courtland; • District 7 - Scott Schmidt was elected to his first full term as Commissioner representing Fresno County; and • District 12 - Roy Motter was re-elected Commissioner and Ron Rubin as Alternate for that part of Imperial County lying north of Keystone Road. All were elected for three-year terms.
In a statewide election of handlers, the following were re-elected to serve three more years: • Handler 1 - Michael Edgar • Alternate 1 - J.W. Cope • Handler 2 - Geoff Schulz • Alternate 2 - Patrick Klingler Thanks to all Commissioners and Alternates
Early Variety Trial Data Available UC Davis wheat breeder Jorge Dubcovsky has announced that early data from the UC statewide field trials is being loaded as it becomes available at:http://smallgrains.ucdavis.edu/2013/oct2013.htm
The regional trials are conducted with the support of the California Wheat Commission to provide annual yield and quality information on varieties in several different regions. Growers are encouraged to look at this data prior to making their fall planting decisions. The data will be summarized and published in the Commission's annual Certified Seed Buyers' Guide, which will be available in October.
Wealth of Resources Available to Answer Wheat Nutrition Questions Do you wonder how to respond to questions about wheat's role in our diet? There are several good sources of information that you can use, including the following links.
Regarding questions about wheat and nutrition, here are some links:
The Commission is an active member of the Wheat Foods Council, an industry group that "develops sound nutritional, educational, and promotional programs that reach health and nutrition professionals, opinion leaders, media, and consumers." The WFC website is an excellent source of both information and great recipes. www.wheatfoods.org
A new new interactive consumer and influencer resource was just launched by another industry group, the Grain Foods Foundation. According to GFF, this new digital outpost is the culmination of almost a year's worth of consumer and investor research, and collaboration with expert thought leaders. www.grainsforyourbrain.org
New Call for UCCE Research Proposals Earlier this month, the California Wheat Commission announced its 2013/14 grant program to support UC Cooperative Extension research projects proposed by UCCE Farm Advisors and/or Specialists. Suggested funding guidelines are $1,000 to $10,000 per project. Proposals requesting more than $10,000 also will be considered if accompanied by a budget justification for the higher amount. A total of $100,000 is available for 2013/2014.
Projects can address, but are not limited to, topics such as production efficiency in irrigated or rain-fed systems (variety x planting date, seeding rate, fertilization/irrigation practices, etc.), pest/disease management, and end-use quality.
This program, now in its fourth year, is an important component of the Commission's research program. The Commission spends close to a third of its annual assessment income funding the UC Davis wheat breeding program, statewide trials, and UCCE field research - all with a goal of providing California wheat farmers with the best possible varieties as measured by yield, end use quality and disease resistance.
Researchers provide annual reports on their findings and those reports are posted on the Commission's website. In an effort to make this information more available, the Commission will showcase research findings at its next meeting on December 5, to be held in the San Joaquin Valley. All interested members of the industry will be welcome and encouraged to attend.
