PRESS RELEASE:
North Dakota State Agriculture Groups; Lead Economic Development Agency Collaborate to Sponsor the Great American Wheat Harvest Documentary Film
Emmitsburg, MD – Jan. 16, 2014 – To help tell the wheat production story from the state that leads the nation in hard red spring wheat and durum production, independent filmmaker, Conrad Weaver of ConjoStudios, LLC., announces the North Dakota Wheat Commission, along with other state agriculture groups and agencies, have teamed up to sponsor the Great American Wheat Harvest documentary film.
Weaver says the North Dakota Wheat Commission now joins the Nebraska Wheat Board, Oklahoma Wheat Commission and the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee as state wheat sponsors. The film focuses on connecting consumers to those who produce their food and will feature stories of North America’s wheat growers and custom harvesters.
“The North Dakota collaboration is unprecedented and speaks to the powerful message we are compelled to share through the Great American Wheat Harvest, Weaver says. “Wheat and North Dakota are synonymous and we are proud to work with each representative and Governor Jack Dalrymple to highlight this state’s stories.”
Value-added agriculture remains one of the target industries at the North Dakota Department of Commerce to broaden the state’s economic base, create new wealth and generate quality jobs for North Dakotans. In October 2013, Governor Dalrymple and North Dakota Wheat Commission Chairman Francis Leiphon joined members of a Taiwanese agricultural trade delegation in signing a joint statement demonstrating Taiwan’s intent to purchase 62.5 million bushels of U.S. wheat valued at about $485 million.
The North Dakota Department of Agriculture first endorsed the film project in November 2012, when Commissioner Doug Goehring, wrote a letter of support for the Great American Wheat Harvest and the film’s mission to provide non-agricultural viewers a better understanding of where food comes from
and feature all those involved in food production.
While North Dakota’s early homesteaders raised many crops, growing conditions of the Red River Valley favored wheat on what became known as the “Bonanza Farms”, where the grain grew from fence line to fence line, says Commissioner Goehring.
“Wheat is so important to North Dakota that a state-owned wheat milling operation was established in 1919 to guarantee a market and provide a reasonable price for our most important crop,” Goehring states. “Today, the North Dakota Mill is the largest single-site wheat milling facility in the country.”
Included in the North Dakota collaboration is the North Dakota Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce and the North Dakota Mill and Elevator. Other Great American Wheat Harvest major sponsors include: John Deere; U.S. Custom Harvesters Inc.; C& B Operations; MacDon Industries; Case IH; Association of Canadian Custom Harvesters; TMCO/National Manufacturing; and media partner, AgWired, an online media service at http://agwired.com.
For more information about sponsorship packages, media interviews, speaking appearances of the filmmaker and questions, contact Jody L. Lamp, GAWH National Executive Co-Coordinator, call (406) 698-9675 or by email at jody@greatamericanwheatharvest.com.