WOOD COUNTY, Ohio — Half of Ohio's annual wheat production is exported, and area farmers are hoping they've found new trading partners from Colombia.
This week, a group of food producers are making stops in Idaho, Kansas and Ohio to check out the quality of wheat to match their needs. Ohio corn and wheat producers arranged the visit at Drewes Farms in Custar, Ohio.
Ohio's soil is perfect for growing soft red winter wheat, which is planted in September after the soybean harvest. It lies dormant over winter before sprouting in the spring and is typically brought in during July.
One of the visitors, Jose Fernando Chacon, is a production manager in Cali, Colombia.
"We make bread. so we're looking for the best kind of wheat to make bread in our factory," Chacon said.
Food insecurity has become an issue around the world, with climate change and, most recently, the war in Ukraine, affecting much of Europe's grain production. But farmers in Ohio are more than ready to pick up the slack.
Paul Herringshaw, a Bowling Green farmer, believes the soft red winter wheat is perfect for farming needs in Colombia.
"We can export it and feed all over the world," Herringshaw said.
Tyler Drewes, whose family hosted the gathering, said wheat is in great quantity this year and made for an impressive harvest.
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