Wheat for the World from Arizona and California
by Jiana Escobar, USW Communications Intern Posted on 8/5/2010
Though Arizona and California may not spring to mind when someone asks where wheat is grown in the United States, their unique location and local climate variations allow producers to grow and supply a range of wheat classes for domestic and international markets. The California Wheat Commission (CWC) and the Arizona Grain Research and Promotion Council (AGRPC) share the dedication of other state wheat commissions to provide the best possible products to their overseas customers.
For example, the desert valleys and lowlands of Arizona and southern California, especially in the Imperial Valley that borders Mexico, are ideal for producing irrigated durum. In fact, AGRPC and CWC trademarked their unique product as Desert Durum®. Planted in the winter and harvested in May and June, Desert Durum enters the market up to three months before other durum wheat produced in the northern hemisphere.
"Our overseas customers see Desert Durum as a niche ingredient that provides consistently high quality grain in terms of color and gluten strength," said AGRPC Executive Director Allan Simons. "In addition, Desert Durum provides milling benefits derived from its low moisture content and uniform large kernel size, so buyers transport more dry-matter and obtain consistently high extraction rates."
California's micro- and regional climates provide good growing conditions for several varieties of wheat. The northern part of the state is known for planting soft white wheat because of its marine and warm Mediterranean environments. The hot Mediterranean climate of the central valley allows hard white wheat and red varieties to flourish.
California begins planting wheat as early as October. Most small grain acreage is irrigated, and irrigation techniques vary across the state. There are, however, dryland grain production in parts of the central and south coastal regions. California wheat producers generally begin harvesting their crop in late May and, in some locations, harvest continues into early September. International milling wheat customer tenders are loaded out of export facilities in West Sacramento and Stockton and container loads often move out of the ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach.
Beyond working with its international customers, the California wheat industry has grown to be a huge player in the domestic market. California has surpassed Kansas as the state with the largest flour milling capacity. These mills are in such prime locations as Los Angeles, Oakland, Fresno, Stockton and Woodland, and ship flour throughout the United States by rail, truck and ship.
CWC investment has created a unique opportunity for customers to learn more about the wheat they are purchasing with its in-house milling and baking lab. This facility helps customers identify the best end use for the wheat they purchase. To support many of its overseas customers, CWC, like USW, publishes annual regional crop quality reports in Spanish, Italian, and English. AGRPC and CWC also invest check-off funds in wheat variety development and breeding research, partnered with the University of California - Davis, to meet domestic and overseas market requirements.
"We focus on research and market development, including hosting incoming missions and participating in various USW and individual trade missions" said CWC Executive Director Janice Cooper. Arizona and California durum and wheat producers frequently travel to visit overseas customers and gain current knowledge of international requirements that helps the commissions plan future production and research efforts.
Editor's Note: The generous financial support from U.S. wheat producer check-off dollars managed by 19 state wheat commissions and cost-share funding provided by USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service ensure that USW has the resources needed to help overseas buyers understand the reliability and functional benefits of U.S. milling wheat. This is the first in a series of articles focusing on USW member state wheat commissions.
Escobar studies agricultural communications at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. She grew up on a livestock operation near Gilroy in northern California.
