By Kent Kupfner, Executive Director, MWBC
Back on the MSU Campus
MWBC was invited to attend an evening session of the 2025 state FFA Convention held in Bozeman at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, where we were honored to receive the Montana FFA Foundation “Friend of the Foundation” award. I accepted a plaque recognizing the Committee’s long-term financial contributions in support of FFA and its activities. FFA is an excellent youth organization and we’re proud of our unwavering and full-throated support of everything this group represents.
I was asked to speak with an upper-level ag economics class at MSU focusing on wheat market fundamentals including global supply and demand, production stocks, exports, and more. I specifically addressed the Japanese wheat industry and their consistent and reliable imports of US wheat. This class included many native Montanans hailing from farming operations, making the topic particularly relevant. This class along with their professor Dr. Eric Belasco, department head of ag economics and economics, will travel to Japan this month to learn first-hand about the Japanese wheat industry. Their experience will include meeting with private industry and the US Wheat Associates office in Tokyo.
Endowed Chair Search
Individual growers, representatives from various grower groups, and MWBC were invited to participate in the interview and evaluation process in the search to fill the Winifred Asbjornsen Plant Sciences Chair. On behalf of MWBC, Lori Wickett and I met with the three finalists and had a chance to greet them in person and evaluate their qualifications. We submitted our recommendations to the hiring committee and look forward to MSU successfully filling the chair soon with a highly qualified scientist.
Malt Barley Stakeholder Meetings
MWBC hosted several private industry malt barley groups during April. A large management team from Malteurop sat down for an extended visit, followed by a virtual meeting with a marketing group from Constellation Brands. These occasions offered opportunities to discuss various facets of Montana barley production. We highlighted the enduring grower contracting programs as well as the long history of investment in elevator and processing assets across the state. Other discussion topics included issues related to macroeconomics, geopolitics and trade policy. The global barley supply and demand fundamentals (including Canadian production) were discussed along with US and Montana crop distribution data, acreage and production trends. Both groups were interested in factors growers consider when making planting decisions along with current moisture and mountain snowpack conditions. Lee Dahlman, district 4 director, and Dave Tweet, barley staffer for MWBC, joined the call and offered seasoned insight. We finished by highlighting the 2024 malt barley crop quality report funded by MWBC and the 2024 barley variety report.
Upcoming Activities
MWBC is looking forward to welcoming Mr. Ryoti Kosugi, the Consulate General of Japan, Seattle. The consulate general is interested to learn more about the trading relationship enjoyed between Montana and Japan and the potential implications of changing trade policies.
MWBC will help welcome REAL Montana to Great Falls. We’ll provide an overview of wheat and barley production in Montana while discussing marketing, policy and research innovations. We are also creating new, wheat-related content for presenting to fourth graders at the Gallatin Valley Brainard Farm Fair. Finally, I’ll travel to Kansas to participate in the Wheat Quality Council hard winter wheat tour.
The Montana winter wheat crop has broken dormancy and condition ratings are encouraging at this stage. Spring seeding is progressing well ahead of average. Hopefully, we’ll start getting our typical May moisture soon!