Wheat Fungus Threat Sparks Strong Action Ag Secretary Declares ‘Extraordinary Emergency’

The Agriculture Department is tightening controls on grain shipments to curb an outbreak of a crop-ruining wheat fungus.

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman on Thursday declared an “extraordinary emergency,” a legal action that allows him to control movement of grain within state borders.

His quarantine authority otherwise is limited to shipments between states.

The Karnal bunt fungus was first confirmed in Arizona earlier this month and since has been found in New Mexico, western Texas and Joplin, Mont. It was detected in several varieties of durum wheat, the grain used to make pasta.

The fungus thus far has had no effect on Pacific Northwest grain sales or exports.

“We will move aggressively to … protect our producers, to protect our export markets and to provide our producers affected by Karnal bunt the best possible option,” Glickman said at a news conference.

The declaration gives him more flexibility to control the infection and also would allow the government to compensate growers for their losses.

Though safe for humans, the fungus ruins the yield, taste and quality of wheat.

“It’s bad lasagna,” said Jonathan Schlueter, executive vice president of the Pacific Northwest Grain and Feed Association, a Portland-based trade group.

Schlueter said the fungus was found in certified seed, meaning it can be accurately traced and destroyed. Because the fungus dies in the cold and is geographically isolated, it should be no threat to farmers and grain merchants in the Pacific Northwest, he said.

The discovery of the fungus, however, has made farmers and overseas buyers nervous. Twenty-one countries have bans against wheat tainted with Karnal bunt.

The Agriculture Department is testing 10,000 tons of grain bound from Houston to South Africa. Fungus spores were found in the shipment, but it isn’t known if the fungus is Karnal bunt.

USDA also quarantined a shipment of Arizona durum seed in Montana.

Mexico, meanwhile, is demanding that the United States certify that any wheat shipped there originated in fungus-free areas. “We feel confident we can give them the assurance they need,” said Terry Medley, associate administrator of USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

The fungus has been traced to Paloma Farms near Gila Bend, Ariz., a contract grower of pasta-quality wheat for Borden Inc., and to two seed suppliers in the Phoenix area.

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