Made it to D.C.!

Well, folks, I made it out of Kansas at last! With all the pre-flight prep work I thought March 24 would never arrive!

We're starting out this little adventure from Washington, D.C., home of U.S. Wheat's headquarters, USDA and all things political. Our group gathered for a meal last night, and got to know a little bit more about each other as well. My travel companions are Russell Nemetz, a broadcaster from Montana; Richard Starkebaum, a USW Board Member from Colorado; Chet Edinger, a USW Board Member from South Dakota and David Clough, a USW Board Member from North Dakota. And, of course, the ever efficient Steve Mercer, our USW coordinator and Communications Guru. (Okay, so the Communications Guru is a title I gave him, but give me a break folks, It's early in the a.m. and we have to be in the lobby by 8:15 to start our day!)

Now, today we're headed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for pre-trip information on the FAS, the Free Trade Agreements with Colombia and Peru, the overall U.S. and World Supply and Demand Situation, and the Federal Grain Inspection and Standards for Wheat. Then, we go to USW's new headquarters for a briefing on the do's and don'ts of foreign travel. (Memo to self: Try to avoid an international incident and use the interpreters instead of relying on my own language skills!)

Once we've had all our briefings then we head to Miami, Fla., for a quick few hours of shut-eye and then it's off to Bogota, Colombia. In Bogota, we're going to meet with the Colombian Millers Assocation, or FEDEMOL—pretty much straight off the plane. It's a small group, but very powerful. Some of the members in attendence will be Carlos Arcesio Paz, general manager, Harinera del Valle, which has 25 percent of the market share in Colombia, and 35 percent of the pasta market. His company imports 280,000 MT of wheat for use in their facilities.

Also, present will be the general manager of Rafael del Castillo, the largest mill on the Caribbean coast, Jairo Velez, and it imports 90,000 MT of wheat. Generoso Mancini will be represented by Bernardo Mancini, manager, and this family company imports 60,000 MT of wheat.

We're really hitting the ground running!

As always, if you all have questions, comments, or thoughts on who we'll be meeting, or what we'll be learning, just post them here.

Now, on a personal note, lesson number one for this trip: Don't overpack. Usually I'm a one-checked-bag kind of girl, but this time I got ambitious and checked two bags and have a carry-on roller. Yeah, not so smart on my part. But, in my defense, I really wasn't sure until last night where all we'd be going. Our itinerary wasn't finalized so I wanted to be prepared. It's all well and good, though. I'm hoping to mail back a suitcase home of the culled items.

Have a good day everyone!

Lots of thanks to KS, CO, OK, TX, and NE Growers!

Before I forget, I really want to take a moment to say thank you to the five state wheat commissions who so generously have sponsored my portion of this wheat tour.

I know how hard you all work for your checkoff dollars and how you watch closely how you spend them for your producers. I just hope that this blog and the following stories in High Plains Journal, when we return, will be a great return on your investments in sending me to Latin America.

For my non-farm readers, and those of you unfamiliar with state checkoffs, here's a simple explanation. Each bushel of wheat a farmer markets is assessed a few pennies. All those pennies add up after harvest and get put into a fund. A state wheat commission uses that money to fund research, promotion and market development of the crop. A wheat commission is a group of elected grower representatives who are approved by a governor, and who make the best decisions for the greater good of their growers. Of course, each state has different ways of conducting their checkoffs and such. You can find more information on checkoffs through your state's department of agriculture.

If you're toodling around on the Internet, why don't you go check out their websites and find out the latest news from Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska?

—Texas Wheat Producers Board and Association: www.texaswheat.org
—The Oklahoma Wheat Commission: www.state.ok.us/~wheat/
—Kansas Wheat (the Kansas Wheat Commission and Kansas Association of Wheat Growers: www.kswheat.com
—Colorado Wheat (the Colorado Wheat Administrative committee, Colorado Wheat Research Foundation, Colorado Association of Wheat Growers): www.coloradowheat.org
—Nebraska Wheat (Nebraska Wheat Board and Nebraska Wheat Growers Association): www.nebraskawheat.com

Thanks again to all the people who've had a hand in sending me to Latin America. I'll be sure to make you proud!

Pre-flight jitters

Well, this is it folks. Just three days before we venture into Latin America with U.S. Wheat Associates. I wish I could say I was all prepared, but I don't think anyone is ever really prepared for an adventure like this. I just know I'm going to forget something....

I've tried to get my ducks in a row here at work and at home. In the process of gathering clothes, arranging for Shiloh the Wonder Schnauser's care, and finding camera gear for the trip, I also had a surprise visit from my folks. Mom and Dad Latzke are thrilled that I'm getting to go out of the country. But, I noticed Mom hugged me a little harder before they left this time. I guess it's an entirely different thing putting your kids on a plane across the hemisphere, and not just across the country.

In the coming days I'm going to try to post some background information on the four countries we'll be visiting, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica and Mexico. And, I'd love to get some pre-tour questions from everyone—especially the wheat growers from the five states sponsoring my portion of the trip, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado and Nebraska. Anything you'd like to ask our foreign counterparts in the wheat industry? I'll post any answers here in the next few weeks or so.

In the meantime, take care and thanks for taking the time to follow along on our journey!