The Buzz:

Honoring Joe, a sad wheat harvest in Yates Center, and eye-opening land prices in north central Kansas.

Wheat farmers attending the Kansas Wheat Day in Hays this week were able to bid farewell to Joe Martin, the retired longtime wheat breeder at K-State’s ARC in Hays. The Kansas Wheat Commission was proud to present Dr. Martin this display, which features all the varieties Joe has developed in his 33 year career.

• Justin Gilpin, CEO of Kansas Wheat, had this to say at Wheat Day: In trying to say thank you to Joe for his dedication and impact to the Kansas Wheat industry, we thought it would be only appropriate to give him a gift highlighting the varieties he released during his career.  From the wheat farmers of Kansas, Thank you…
• We all wish Joe and his wife, Lorna, the best in retirement…
• Sad news from Yates Center this harvest. A Woodson County farmer was killed when he was accidentally run over by a combine this week. Farmers, please be careful. We know it is a rush to get the crop out, but taking a few extra minutes to ensure safety is worth it…
• Could it be that improvements in wheat genetics over the years are what’s causing epidemic-like increases in celiac disease, or gluten intolerance? That’s what this scathing opinion column from the Huffington Post might lead you to believe.  Writer Kelly Dorfman opines, “…Over the last 50 years we have been playing Dr. Frankenstein with our crops. And like Dr. Frankenstein, our preliminary motives may have been noble, but somewhere along the line the scientists have gone a little nuts.”…
• Now, take it for what its worth – the Huffington Post is pretty liberal – but this is what we in the food industry (including farmers), must face…
• Millers and bakers in Nigeria – the leading importer of U.S. Hard Red Winter wheat – have been called upon by Nigeria’s agriculture minister to stop importing wheat and use more of the grain “cassava” in their bread, according to The Nation, an online newspaper from Lagos, Nigeria. Dr. Akinwumi Adesina says Nigeria  spends 635 billion Nigerian dollars on importing wheat (mainly from the U.S.), and that money could be spent at home, helping Nigerian farmers…
• This could be a case of history repeating itself. More than a decade ago, a similar mandate for the use of cassava in Nigerian-baked bread was made, with disastrous results…
• Finally, another grain business has found a buyer. Omaha-based Gavilon was bought last week by Japan’s Marubeni Corporation. The move will help Marubeni capitalize on rising demand for grain and fertilizer in developing nations. Gavilon owns and runs a grains, fertilizer, and energy commodities distribution and storage network…
• Gavilon has several locations in Kansas, including an elevator in Abilene, transfer facility in Bonner Springs and several fertilizer warehouses…
• This week’s Land Sale features three tracts in Jewell County that sold May 30. Two of the tracts were northeast of Lovewell Lake near the Nebraska border. Tract 1, 156 acres, had 145 acres of cropland and the balance in waterways. Buyer receives cash rent of $50 per acre. The tract sold for $514,800 ($3,300 per acre). Tract 2, 84 acres, had 75 acres of cropland and the rest in waterways. It sold for $294,000 ($3,500 per acre)…
• Tract three, 79 acres, had 67 acres of cropland and the balance in waterways and prairie. Some of the prairie could be broken out. It sold for $306,125 ($3,875 per acre). Bidding was active for the three tracts, and the sellers were very pleased with the end-result, according to Mikkelsen Real Estate and Auction, Superior, Neb., which had the sale.