Research is essential to keeping the wheat crop safe and profitable. NAWG supports the priorities of the National Wheat Improvement Committee and works with NWIC and others to wheat ensure research priorities receive proper consideration from USDA and Congress.

Wheat Research Priorities

Each year, NAWG and NWIC put together a comprehensive list of funding priorities for the industry and take these priorities to Capitol Hill as part of a NAWG/NWIC fly-in held in conjunction with the NAWG and U.S. Wheat Associates winter board meetings in Washington, D.C. For the 2011 fiscal year, these priorities were outlined in a series of briefing papers, including on:

• The Cereal Rust Disease Initiative, which is tackling Ug99 and other rusts threatening the wheat crop
• Reducing the threat of insect pests to wheat
• Increasing wheat’s quality and competitiveness

Ug99

Ug99, a stem rust so named because it was first discovered in Uganda in 1999, can cause 100 percent yield loss in infected plants. The fungus, which is primarily spread through wind, has traveled as far as Iran, putting it on the doorsteps of major wheat producing areas of Asia. An estimated 80 percent of wheat worldwide is susceptible to the disease.

NAWG, NWIC and other wheat groups have been deeply engaged in recent years in the effort to secure federal government funding for Ug99 research at home and abroad. The FY2009 omnibus spending bill included $1.5 million for Ug99 research, while the FY2010 included $1 million specifically for that purpose.

In FY2011, NAWG and other members of the wheat industry are requesting $2.5 million for the Cereal Rust Disease Initiative through USDA’s Agricultural Research Service. This investment would help tackle a disease that could threaten $9 billion of U.S. wheat production – and untold billions of dollars worth of wheat grown around the world, much of it grown in politically volatile areas.

More information about this important issue is available from the USDA/ARS Ug99 Web page, the Durable Rust Resistance in Wheat Project at Cornell University and the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative.

Other key links include:

• Action Plan to Minimize Impact of Ug99 Stem Rust in the United States
• Summary Slides of Ug99’s Spread and Areas of Vulnerability

Wheat Research Community

There are many organizations involved in the wheat research community. Some key groups include:

The National Wheat Improvement Committee is a nonprofit organization representing public and private wheat researchers. As outlined above, NWIC and NAWG work together to create an annual booklet of wheat research priorities.

The U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative is aimed at developing control measures that minimize the threat of Fusarium head blight (scab), including the reduction of mycotoxins.

The Wheat Quality Council works to improve the value of all U.S. wheat classes for producers, millers and processors by advocating the development of new wheat varieties.

The Wheat Genetics Resource Center, located at Kansas State University, has established a national and international network to conduct and coordinate genetic studies in wheat.

USDA’s Agricultural Research Service touches many facets of wheat research, from investigations into quality and pest control to emerging threats and research coordination.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is committed to improving livelihoods in developing countries. Though strong science and effective partnerships, CIMMYT creates, shares and uses knowledge and technology to increase food security, improve the productivity and profitability of farming systems and sustain natural resources.

The International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium was established by a group of plant scientists, breeders and growers dedicated to sequencing the wheat genome to enhance our knowledge of the structure and function of wheat’s genetic material.