The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) brought members together in
Sacramento, California, this week for its 62nd Annual Board of Delegates
Meeting, focusing on major market challenges and recent organizational
successes.
USGC Chairman Chad Willis began the meeting by welcoming
attendees and sharing a preview of the conference before establishing the focus
of the day’s meeting.
“My theme for this year, Together in Trade, reflects both
the opportunities and challenges of the current environment,” Willis said. “At
this meeting, we gather to discuss issues facing our industry and explore
future demand for feed grains, distiller’s dried grains with solubles and
ethanol around the world. Our focus will be on current events and trade policy,
what the near future may look like and how trade may be affected.”
On Monday(25 July, 2022), after a welcome from Council
President and CEO Ryan LeGrand, the nearly 250 attendees listened to Dr. Yuval
Weber of the Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Future Warfare at Marine
Corps University present on the history contributing to the Russia-Ukraine war,
its long-term implications and what this means for USGC members.
Angela Hofmann, a vice president of international trade and
supply chain resiliency at Sandler, Travis and Rosenberg, shared her view on
major shifts in the trade policy landscape and what the situation in the Black
Sea means for trade policy.
“Fourteen percent of the world’s grain exports come from
Ukraine,” Hofmann said. “Eight to 13 million people could be affected by food
insecurities caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.”
Hofmann was followed by Dr. Antonia Broyaka, a Kansas State
University professor and Ukraine native, who shared some of her personal story
as well as her research on potential global food shortages as a product of the
conflict.
Tuesday’s general session highlighted Council program
successes, offered insight into the coming farm bill debate and launched a
refresh of the Council’s strategic plan.
During the morning general session, USGC Vice President Cary
Sifferath gave an around-the-world update on Council activities in markets in
which the organization has a presence.
“The Council has done a great job of establishing
connections and relationships with industries and governments abroad,”
Sifferath said. “As the industries have changed their focus, the Council
continues to adapt with them on behalf of developing markets, enabling trade
and improving lives.”
Following Sifferath, attendees heard from selected directors
and managers who shared Council success stories from around the globe.
Emily Byron, USGC director of global programs, shared
highlights of China’s sorghum purchases and Indonesia’s purchases of DDGS for the
poultry industry. USGC Manager of Global Ethanol Market Development Stella Qian
discussed the United Kingdom’s move to implement an E10 ethanol standard to
develop a net zero transportation sector. Katy Wyatt, USGC manager of global
strategies, reviewed how sorghum and DDGS feeding trials in Africa are changing
the feed industries there. USGC Marketing Director for the Latin America
region, Ana Ballesteros, shared how implementing an extensive manufacturing
training course has led to the modernization of Colombia’s feed industry. Sadie
Marks, USGC manager of global programs, discussed how the Council’s work with a
major Mexican brewer has increased barley sales and encouraged future growth.
The morning session also featured National Corn Growers
Association CEO Jon Doggett, who discussed the outlook for the coming farm bill
that authorizes the Market Access Program (MAP) and the Foreign Market
Development Program (FMD), both of which help fund the Council’s work overseas.
In the afternoon, attendees began work on USGC’s strategic
plan, a guiding document that will help direct the Council’s actions over the
next few years. Led by USGC Director of Strategic Initiatives and Engagement
Melissa Kessler, attendees discussed the priorities of each stakeholder group
and how the plan should evolve over time.
Throughout the week, the organization also held Advisory
Team (A-Team) meetings, allowing members to offer input and set priorities to
determine the Council’s course of action over the coming year, and member sessions
including agribusiness, general farm organizations, barley, corn and sorghum
sectors that took up issues of importance about the commodities the Council
represents.
-By U.S. Grains Council (USGC)
|Source: Online/SZK
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