Washington Grain Commission: Virtual no substitute for face-to-face interactions

Technology in the form of virtual meetings has been a lifesaver at the Washington Grain Commission during the pandemic. But as a replacement for face-to-face interactions with our overseas customers, it’s a pale substitute.

We have done our best to pivot during the quarantine, with our office and our national export organization, U.S. Wheat Associates, producing amazing videos of wheat farming in the region and the U.S. that we’re sharing with customers and others. Some of these videos, which use drone footage to show wheat farming from above, can be viewed at the WGC website. Go to wagrains.org and click on “News” at the top of the page.

These birds-eye views of the farming process are spectacular and the ground-level introduction of the farmers doing the work are engaging. Although no one would ever wish for a pandemic, the experience has pushed our boundaries, and now that we know the possibilities, there will be no return to business as usual. The new tools we have mastered will continue to augment our efforts into the future.

But in the competitive world of grain exports, customer service is key. Washington wheat farmers sell upward of 90 percent of the grain they produce to more than a dozen countries in Asia and Latin America. That’s why, in 2021, one of the WGC’s key priorities will be to facilitate face-to-face meetings both with trade teams who travel here and farmer teams who travel overseas.

With vaccinations ramping up both in the U.S. and abroad, we are hopeful that by the summer — certainly by the fall — that we will resume the international flights that have been curtailed due to COVID-19 during 2020. Technology is great, but the personal touch is essential. It’s not just a matter of expressing our gratitude face-to-face, though that is important; it’s that in-person meetings reveal much more than pixels on a screen ever can.

That’s because while virtual meetings can convey data, they rarely convey concerns. That type of information is saved for one-on-one interactions during breaks for coffee or over dinner at the end of the day. And if we don’t know our customers’ concerns, we can’t solve them.

Before the pandemic, Eastern Washington would host multiple foreign delegations from longtime customers as well as those looking to diversify their imports of wheat. Mills, bakeries and government officials come here because we grow a superior product and because we have the superior infrastructure needed to deliver our grain on-time, every time.

Not to mention the U.S. market never closes. Unlike a country like Russia — now the world’s top wheat exporter — we don’t impose taxes to curtail exports. We let the market function. Lately, that has been to the advantage of farmers who have seen prices rise significantly over the last year.

The WGC benefits too, because our organization is funded by the number of bushels produced as well as the price of each bushel, an assessment formula of three-quarters of 1 percent of the price at the first point of sale. That funding from wheat farmers and landlords goes to underwrite research and marketing initiatives needed to maintain our region’s wheat production, quality and the outreach to customers, which can never be taken for granted.

The pandemic passage that people all over the world have traveled this past year has taught us many new ways of doing business — lessons we won’t forget — but as the light at the end of the tunnel becomes visible, it is time for the WGC to return to the business of selling wheat, one customer at a time.

This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 12:26 AM with the headline "Washington Grain Commission: Virtual no substitute for face-to-face interactions."