Chumrau: CFAP2 Will Have A Big Impact On Idaho Wheat Growers

For wheat growers in Idaho, 2020 has two very distinct story lines.

The first involved a very good harvest statewide. Casey Chumrau, Executive Director of the Idaho Wheat Commission said harvest numbers were really strong statewide, with all regions reporting not only great yields but excellent quality. Unfortunately, prices this year were not what grower would like to see.

Chumrau noted that with such a large amount of wheat on the open market right now, it’s difficult for those prices to move higher.

“Demand is still good worldwide, are logistics is good, so we’re moving that wheat both nationally and internationally.  But, yeah, the sheer quantity of wheat is definitely prohibiting a little bit of that price spike I think.”

The second story was the pandemic and the ongoing fallout. Chumrau said while production was not impacted by COVID-19, prices were, which made the recent expansion of CFAP funding, via CFAP2, a huge win for Idaho wheat growers.

“We follow a lot of the other commodities, and demand was down and just overall markets were down, so, even though we weren’t recognized in the first package our growers were certainly were impacted very significantly with those drop in prices.  So, we’re very appreciative for the recognition now that all classes of wheat were affected and that this really will have a positive impact on our growers here in Idaho.”

Chumrau noted that she’s been very impressed and proud of the resiliency of Idaho wheat farmers and she’s confident that better days lie ahead in 2021.

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