By MIKE CORN

mcorn@dailynews.net

Woodston farmer Jerry McReynolds will be spending less time in his tractor and more time in airports during the coming year.

The airport visits will become a matter of necessity for McReynolds, who will be serving as president of the National Association of Wheat Growers, a Washington-based trade group.

NAWG is the same group that just recently hired Smith County native Dana Peterson as its director. Peterson had served as a public policy specialist with the Kansas Wheat.

McReynolds was elected to the position Saturday, at the conclusion of a board of directors meeting in Anaheim, Calif. He arrived back in Woodston on Sunday and was back out Monday at a bull sale.

His ascension to the top spot on the board had been something of a foregone conclusion, as he had served as vice president of the group during the past year. That's not to minimize the move, however.

"It is in my mind," McReynolds said of how significant the spot is that he now holds. "It's a big deal to me."

He will be taking the post seriously, spending more time in the air, ferrying back and forth from his farm in Rooks County to the more urban setting in Washington.

Today, for example, he'll be flying again, ready to testify before a hearing on a Cuba trade and travel bill co-sponsored by Reps. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Colin Peterson, D-Minn.

"It will take some time," McReynolds said of the new position.

He's almost used to it, however, as he has spent the last four years in posts on the board, and that has meant several trips to the nation's capital.

"It will be kicked up a little bit," he said.

While there's a host of items on the horizon, McReynolds has several he has placed as priorities.

Among them are biotechnology involving wheat.

For the most part, developers have avoided wheat in its genetic manipulation efforts, focusing instead on other crops.

McReynolds said efforts to map the genetics of wheat could unlock many issues, including development of new varieties.

Already, there's talk of preparing for the 2012 Farm Bill.

"So we're planning to get our house in order," McReynolds said of NAWG and the input it will offer as Congress writes the bill.

McReynolds said he hopes to work with other commodity groups to present a united front to Congress.

He also hopes the wheat group renews its strategic planning, something that hasn't been done in three years.

He's also hoping agriculture will be involved in discussions involving climate change legislation.

It doesn't matter, he said, if people agree with the science.

"It's important that agriculture be at the table," McReynolds said.

He's ready for the challenge.

"I'll give it everything I've got," McReynolds said of the new position. "And I think there are some good things that will come of it."