History for Chron

Some 300 wheat farmers from 18 area counties attended the two-day convention of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers.

Thomas Kerr, president of the Kerr Grain Corp. in Portland, along with Lt. Col. Arlyn S. Powell, of Fairchild Air Force Base, both stressed the importance of Asian markets for locally grown wheat.

Kerr said the milling industry was lobbying the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a two-tier subsidy to cover different varieties of wheat.

“One subsidy is presently effective for our hard wheat flours,” Kerr said. “The second subsidy is for our soft wheat flours, which are competitive with similar type flour exported from Australia and France.”

Kerr also suggested U.S. should promote markets in China.

“It would seem desirable from our standpoint to try to get them on our team rather than drive them to Russia,” Kerr said.

Powell said that South Korea possessed several advantages of a potential trade partner.

“It has a choice locational aspect from the standpoint of being the gateway to the interior of Asia,” Powell said.