A state-owned flour mill in North Dakota that opened its doors to Canadian wheat in February has slammed them shut again.
North Dakota Mill, built in 1922 and located in Grand Forks, has always operated under rules requiring it to buy all of its wheat from growers in the state.
That changed at the beginning of February, when the N.D. Industrial Commission, which oversees the mill, rescinded the rule in light of extremely tight wheat supplies in North
Dakota.
Mill operators said they might need to buy wheat from other locations to meet customer demand until August, when new crop supplies would become available.
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However, the decision ignited a firestorm of protest from wheat growers and farm organizations in North Dakota. The prospect that the mill might buy wheat from the Canadian Wheat Board has been vilified in the North Dakota wheat industry.
Last week, the commission reversed itself and put the original buying restrictions back in place.
The decision was made after the mill’s general manager sent a letter to the commission saying the waiver was no longer needed.
Vance Taylor said that once the state’s wheat growers heard about the situation, they offered to sell enough grain to meet demand.
“I am confident that it will not be necessary to source non-domestic wheat or durum to supply our customers,” he said.
Erica Peterson, marketing specialist with the North Dakota Wheat Commission, said wheat growers were upset that after spending so much time and money to try to block Canadian wheat and durum imports, a mill owned by taxpayers was considering buying from the CWB.
“They didn’t want their state mill looking to Canada.”
She said the controversy had a positive effect by improving communications between the mill and producers.
“Producers probably weren’t aware of the problem,” she said, adding wheat and durum is still held on farms.
Peterson declined comment on whether the mill’s restriction against buying from Canada represents a non-tariff trade barrier, but she said she had never heard of Canada raising that as an issue.
After the restrictions were lifted in February, CWB officials said they would be willing to talk to the mill.
