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Idaho wheat is exported through Portland to foreign buyers and it is also sold to mills in Idaho, Utah, California and other states.
Northern Idaho
Nearly all of the production in northern Idaho is to the export warehouses in Portland by barge, train, and truck. Through the wheat tax, Idaho producers support two marketing and promotion projects in Portland to grow export sales. One of the projects is the Wheat Marketing Center (WMC). The WMC bridges the gap between grower and buyer. The WMC is the premier location in the U.S. where foreign customers come to test our wheat and determine whether our varieties fit their needs.
The WMC operates its own flourmill, noodle line, and has extensive lab facilities. Customers come to the WMC to learn about our wheat and to receive valuable technical expertise from a staff that speaks several languages. The WMC not only provides numerous courses, but the Center and its staff serve as ambassadors for the wheat industry. Nearly every trade team visiting the U.S. stops in Portland to spend some time at the WMC.
The other office in Portland partially funded by Idaho producer dollars is the west coast office of U.S. Wheat Associates, an organization that develops export markets on behalf of American wheat farmers. U.S. Wheat Associates works in more than 100 countries offering information about American wheat, and education, and assistance to buyers, millers, bakers, traders, and government officials.
The wheat commissions in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington also fund the Pacific Northwest Soft White Wheat Marketing Plan. This is a project identify soft white wheat production areas that have similar end-use quality properties and to assist buyers with their purchasing decisions.
Southern Idaho
Most of the southern Idaho wheat crop is milled in Blackfoot at Pendleton Mills, at mills in Utah, or shipped to California. Trains also carry some of the crop to Portland for export to Asian customers and trains also service a nascent market on the west coast of Mexico.
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