Careful with sanctions

The drumbeat of news stories over Clinton/Trump alleged Russian dealings have led to bipartisan support for further Russian sanctions. Recall that Jimmy Carter’s Soviet wheat embargo resulted in numerous American wheat farmers “losing the farm.”

All modern Western Hemisphere wheat varieties originate from landrace Eurasian wheat. Russian Empress Catherine the Great brought fellow Germans to Russia. Later, the Russian Germans farmers from the Volga/Black Sea (Crimea) immigrated to North and South America. A number of German Russians brought not only lentils but Eurasian wheat stock to the Palouse. Thus the agricultural origins of modern new world production wheat.

Presently, Russia is the second largest wheat exporter and poised to be the largest. Russian wheat costs less than European originated summer delivery wheat. Even considering climatic warming, which may or may not benefit northern wheat-growing seasons, the Russian Federation has minimally tapped its potential.

How this works out for America’s wheat farmer should draw pause even in my wheat-producing region of Moscow (Idaho). The irony.

Gerald Weitz

Viola, Idaho