U.S. wheat growers are working with outside PR counsel in the aftermath of the Dept. of Agriculture's disclosure in May that genetically modified wheat was found growing in Oregon.
Kansas City-based Global Prairie, a five-year-old agriculture and food PR specialist founded by FleishmanHillard alums, was tapped last year after a competitive pitch to work with the Wheat Innovation Alliance, a coalition of wheat groups developing a PR plan for biotech wheat.
The firm has since helped various organizations like the National Association of Wheat Growers and U.S. Wheat Associates tackle concerns and global media interest over the Oregon discovery.
"The amount of attention this has gotten is miles and miles above the requests we normally get on a day-to-day basis," NAWG director of communications Melissa Kessler told the agriculture trade publication Capital Press.
Global Prairie, led by former FH Kansas City GM Anne St. Peter, has a handful of U.S. offices, including Washington, D.C.
The Agriculture Dept.'s revelation on the GM wheat discovery rekindled a debate about GM foods and sparked Asian buyers of U.S. wheat including Japan and Korea to postpone imports. Korea has lifted its ban but Japan's remains in place.
The USDA in June called the discovery an "isolated incident" limited to a single field in a single farm and said it is working to restore trade ties.
Wheat growers may find a boon in China, where the country's wheat crop failed this month and the USDA more than doubled its forecast for China's imports.
The wheat found in Oregon was the same variety developed and tested by Monsanto from 1998-05 and the company since May has mounted a multipronged PR response to contain the story.
Businessweek last month noted the extraordinary secrecy undertaken by the government, growers and Monsanto during the probe, noting USDA administrator Michael Firko "attained a terseness worthy of Elmore Leonard."
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