They mix water, flour and salt in a bowl and shape the dough into flat circles about the size of a dinner plate.

Although they don't know it, this mother and daughter are linked in a fundamental way to farmers who till the rich Palouse soil 12,000 miles away.

Nearly nine out of 10 bushels of Northwest wheat are sold overseas — the majority going to Pakistan, Egypt and Japan.

The wheat is ground into flour and used to make udon noodles and exquisite desserts in Japan. More often, it's used for simple bread like the chapati prepared by the Pakistani family.

In Pakistan and Egypt, especially, bread is life. It's the major source of calories. It's filling. And it's cheap.

Growing wheat for the world is full of risks far beyond bad weather or steep loan payments.

The Northwest has lost some of its best wheat customers thanks to the U.S. government. Iran was Washington state's top wheat buyer when the United States severed trade in 1981 over the hostage crisis.

Last year, the U.S. revoked Pakistan's credit to buy wheat after it detonated a nuclear bomb. The sanctions cut off Washington's largest wheat market and helped drive grain prices to a 10-year low.

When sanctions restrict U.S. wheat sales, nations such as Australia meet the demand.

Wheat remains a billion-dollar industry in the Inland Northwest. It keeps small towns afloat and helps drive our region's economy.

But it's the connections to people and events far away that determine whether farmers here succeed or fail.