[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 59 (Wednesday, April 28, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E789]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               ESTABLISH NATIONAL WHEAT CLEANING PROGRAM

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB SCHAFFER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 28, 1999

  Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, Colorado's Fourth Congressional District 
encompasses the eastern half of our state and is home to some of the 
most productive agricultural land in the nation. The soil, water, and 
climate conditions across the Eastern Plains, and throughout much of 
our state, provide a very favorable environment for Colorado's 14,000 
wheat growers.
  These growers have produced an average of 84.8 million bushels 
annually over the past 10 years, producing $293.5 million in revenue 
each year. Furthermore, wheat is ranked as one of Colorado's top export 
commodities by dollar volume. Greater then 80 percent of our state's 
wheat crop is exported to over 60 different countries, including Egypt, 
Korea, China, and Latin America. These exports alone account for over 
$234.8 million in annual revenue and contribute greatly to the 18,851 
jobs produced by the Colorado wheat industry.
  Yet, despite the favorable growing conditions and high levels of 
productivity, Colorado's wheat growers and many other producers across 
the nation have watched their profits, and in many cases their very 
livelihoods, decline sharply over the past couple of years. The 
agriculture industry has become increasingly dependent upon the foreign 
marketplace to expand sales and increase revenues, yet many factors 
have placed our producers at a competitive disadvantage to other 
exporting nations.
  Wheat export trade, in particular, has changed rapidly and 
significantly over the past decade. Government buying agencies have all 
but disappeared and have been replaced by private buyers, flour 
millers, and other end-users, which are typically more discriminating, 
quality-conscious buyers. One factor under increasing scrutiny is the 
level of dockage, or unmillable material such as weeds and wheat stalk, 
contained in U.S. exports.
  The growth of U.S. wheat exports has been limited in recent years 
because cleaned wheat, or wheat that has undergone a process to filter 
and separate dockage, is not widely available among the U.S. export 
system, while other countries have been shipping grain with very low 
dockage content.
  In response to pressure from the Congress and America's wheat growers 
last year, the president's budget request for the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) this year includes a provision to allow matching 
funds to export elevators to install high-speed cleaning equipment. 
Such a long-term investment would greatly benefit the American wheat 
industry in particular, and the U.S. trade balance overall, by ensuring 
our exports are of sufficient quality to actively compete with other 
wheat exporting nations.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly encourage the Congress to authorize, and the 
president to implement, an effective national wheat cleaning program to 
help boost the competitiveness of U.S. wheat in the international 
marketplace.

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