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In southwest Kansas the amount of rain – or lack thereof – is always on farmers' minds. That’s why Kyler Millershaski’s wish list for the future includes the potential of growing wheat modified through biotechnology to better resist drought conditions.
“Drought tolerance would be a great trait for our area,” says Millershaski. “Even disease packages that could lower the cost of production and the use of fewer chemicals would be beneficial.”
So it is more than a bit of curiosity for Millershaski, who farms with his father and brother on 3,000 acres near Lakin, to watch the acceptance of biotech wheat from the Argentine company, Bioceres. Argentina approved the world’s first biotech wheat in 2020 – the Bioceres variety HB4.
Whether HB4 could help the Millershaskis in their specific region is uncertain. The question is also moot for now. No biotech wheat is approved to be grown in the United States. While biotech corn, soybeans and other crops have proliferated in the U.S. and elsewhere, farmers, consumers, and governments in many parts of the world have shunned the use of biotechnology in a crop so essential for food.
In return, wheat-producing countries like the United States are reluctant to grow a crop that could threaten export markets.
Peter Lauderman, U.S. Wheat Associates“Most of their [Bioceres] regulatory approvals have focused on the Argentine export market,” says Peter Lauderman, director of policy for U.S. Wheat Associates. “In the U.S. we’re still years and years away.”
FDA gave HB4 tacit approval in 2022 following a “voluntary consultation” period. The agency concluded, after evaluating HB4, that it had no further questions about the wheat’s safety. Bioceres sought USDA approval for planting in the U.S. but USDA has no deadline to decide.
The United States doesn’t want to jump the gun on introduction of HB4 or other biotech wheat without confidence that export customers will accept it. The industry remembers when Roundup Ready wheat that had been tested by Monsanto (now Bayer) found its way into wheat fields in Oregon, Montana, Washington, and Canada’s Alberta province from 2013 to 2019. Monsanto had ended the tests on the wheat in 2004 but did not adequately destroy or secure samples.
As a result, countries such as Japan and South Korea suspended U.S. wheat imports until they could confirm that no unapproved strain had entered commercial channels.
As a promoter of wheat exports, USW is optimistic that enhanced versions of the crop will one day be grown in the United States but only if trading partners are on board. The group’s Wheat Industry Biotechnology Position Statement adopts that hopeful middle ground:
“We support voluntary labeling of food products derived from biotech ingredients provided it is consistent with U.S. law and international trade agreements and is truthful and not misleading,” the USW statement reads, in part. “We oppose federal or state mandated labeling of products based solely on the method of production, including foods derived from biotech ingredients, if they do not differ materially from their non-biotech counterparts.”
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Bioceres’ HB4 wheat technology is approved in 10 countries -- Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Paraguay, South Africa and the U.S. Yet only Brazil and Argentina have approved the crop for commercialization and cultivation. The two countries account for 90% of South America’s wheat production.
The same drought tolerance technology in HB4 was approved by USDA in the U.S. for soybeans nearly five years ago under the label of a Bioceres subsidiary, Verdeca.
USW’s Lauderman says he believes there may be cause for optimism that resistance to biotech wheat may be lessening, if only a little bit. He makes reference to a survey Bioceres conducted in Brazil of members of a national flour milling association.
“They thought they were going to have a problem with acceptance and that wasn’t the case,” he says. “In a way we haven’t seen this serious a [worldwide] discussion of this topic in 10 years.”
Referencing past issues such as Roundup Ready wheat appearing in fields beginning 10 years ago, or unapproved StarLink corn showing up in the commercial supply 24 years ago, Lauderman says he believes the industry can segregate crops for particular markets.
“Yes, we can, just like we do now with non-GM soy or corn channels,” says Lauderman. “There is definitely opportunity for segregation, with an additional cost.” That the United States has a long, transparent, rigorous approval process gives some assurances to other countries, he adds.
Wariness of wheat engineered to resist drought or pests and diseases can change over time with more people needing more food, Millershaski says. “When a loaf of bread costs $8 a loaf I think they’d be okay with it [biotech wheat] real quick.” he adds.
According to USDA’s Census of Agriculture, the number of farms producing winter wheat in 2022 dropped by nearly 60,000, or 42%, from 2002 to 2022; those farms accounted for 84% of U.S. wheat farms in 2022. Farms producing durum wheat decreased by an even larger percentage, 59%. Kansas, which produces about 15% of all U.S. wheat, saw a 40% drop in farms growing wheat. The shift is mostly due to the relative profitability of crops such as corn and soybeans.
USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) found that in 2022, wheat production minus operating costs resulted in revenue of a little more than $185 per acre. By comparison, corn averaged more than $654 per acre. Wheat has become more a rotational crop than main crop.
Overall U.S. wheat production is expected to be down 4% this year compared to 2023. Production last year was up from 2021 and 2022. Wheat was grown on 56 million acres in 2008-09 but declined to 35.5 million acres last year.
Millershaski's crop rotation consists of about one third of the acreage in grain sorghum, a third in wheat and another third fallow. He grows small amounts of corn. Because of that, any edge he gains if wheat were more profitable through higher yields or lower costs would be welcome.
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