U.S. Wheat Associates Inc. (USW) will launch a new international promotional campaign reinforcing the image of U.S. wheat producers as the world’s most reliable suppliers of high-quality wheat to buyers, millers and wheat food processors worldwide. The new campaign theme is: “The world’s most reliable choice. The wheat you want, from producers you can depend on.”

Building on product-focused materials of the past, this campaign is designed to more closely link the product and wheat producers, according to Steve Mercer, USW director of communications.

“USW has done a good job using producer checkoff dollars to position our products favorably in a competitive market. Now, we want to tie the reliability and quality image of what is grown to the people who grow it,” Mercer says.

The new campaign features wheat producers Larry Flohr, of Chappell, Neb.; Dan Hughes, of Venango, Neb.; Harlan Klein, of Elgin, N.D.; and Randy Suess, of Colfax, Wash. USW worked with state wheat commission staff to select the producers.

As part of the campaign, USW overseas representatives will distribute high-quality posters, suitable for framing, for display in the offices of public and private wheat buyers, millers and wheat food processors.

The posters promote the high quality and diversity of U.S. milling wheat by featuring the producers amid the natural beauty of their wheat at harvest time. The campaign theme and images extend to the USW annual report to producers, a Crop Quality report, and a range of educational materials.

The U.S. is the world’s largest wheat exporter, with about half the country’s crop exported annually.

As part of the effort to foster export sales, USW and state wheat commission staff host several teams of overseas buyers or grain officials every year.

“Our customers routinely get information about our crop quality, supply and our grain transportation and inspection system,” Mercer says, ”but what they remember most is the time they spend on our farms. Our customers tell us they want closer ties with producers, so making personal connections to the entire supply chain is increasingly important.”

U.S. Wheat Associates is the industry’s market development organization working in more than 90 countries on behalf of America’s wheat producers.