USGC Chairman Rick Fruth commented, “By establishing an office in Latin America and the Caribbean region, the Council is strategically positioning itself to defend U.S. markets while simultaneously enhancing the quality of life of our trading partners.”
Kurt Shultz (far left in the photo) was named the first director of the Panama City office. Shultz has worked for the Council since 1999 and previously served for seven years as USGC regional director for the Mediterranean and Africa before transitioning to his current post.
In addition to its new office in Panama, the U.S. Grains Council has international offices in nine other countries, including China, Egypt, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Taiwan, Tunisia and Jordan. See more photos of the grand opening here on the USGC’s Flickr photo album.
The world’s population is growing and simultaneously, malnutrition is growing. The World Soy Foundation (WSF) is a nonprofit organization that is helping to eradicate malnutrition around the world through soy protein. I had the chance to spend a few minutes with Nathan Ruby, Executive Director of the World Soy Foundation to learn more about what they do.
Ruby explained that they address malnutrition issues through soy protein in four ways:
Food distribution of soy protein
Microenterprise – helping people start small businesses like the soy cow where people add 1 lbs of soybeans to 1 gallon of water to produce soy milk which they then sell in the local community
Research – studying soybeans in different nutritional settings
Education – working with people around the world to help them learn how soy protein can increase nutrition
WSF is currently working in areas with high malnutrition including Haiti. “Our program there is really about development,” said Ruby. “We’re not a diasaster relief agency so we’re more concerned about what happens when the television cameras leave and go away and the world kind of forgets about Haiti. We’re still going to be there developing and we have a long-range plan to do that.”
The organization is typically anywhere where people live in areas that are disconnected form the general flow of resources and opportunities. Currently, they are considering some programs in Iraq to help them learn how to farm soybeans and a similar program in Central America.
As a nonprofit, WSF is always looking for more people to become involved in their programs. Soybean farmers around the world can participate through the Acre Challenge. Ruby explained that in this program, soybean farmers donate the proceeds from one acre of production.
To learn more, click here and you can listen to my full interview with Nathan below.
The U.S. Grains Council (USGC ) made a significant announcement during a press conference at Commodity Classic last week with the announcement of key speakers for the upcoming Global Food Security Symposium, which is sponsored by the organization. USGC Chairman Rick Fruth confirmed that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is expected to deliver the keynote address at the symposium, scheduled for April 7, 2010, in Tokyo, Japan. This announcement came shortly after the Global Food Security Symposium was formally introduced in Tokyo by USGC President and CEO Thomas C. Dorr and U.S. Ambassador to Japan John V. Roos.
The Symposium will gather U.S. and Japanese government, agribusiness and biotechnology leaders for a first-ever, day-long examination of how international cooperation, policy and technology can be used to feed a burgeoning world population. More specifically, Fruth said, “The key points of discussion will be, how to leverage biotechnology and other emerging technologies to improve the quality of life and global economy, how the world’s economic powers can harness these technologies for the benefits of developing countries around the world and how can we build upon this these past successes to increase food security around the world.”
Fruth also noted that sustainability and biotechnology are an inherent part of this symposium as you can’t have global food security without using biotechnology or develop new technologies that are not sustainable.
The Symposium is part of the “Partners in Agriculture” series of events being held throughout Japan from March through May of 2010. The “Partners in Agriculture” events celebrate the successful, enduring agricultural trade partnership between the United States and Japan. This event goes hand-in-hand with the mission of USGC which is to develop overseas markets for U.S. corn, barley and sorghum and enbable trade around the world for these commodities.
Here at the U.S. Grains Council International Marketing Conference n this morning’s general session we had a panel discussion on trade with Mexico. In the discussion attendees were able to ask questions and answers. In fact, it was mostly a Q&A session. Allan Mustard, Minister Counselor, Office of Agricultural Affairs, US Embassy, Mexico City, introduced our panel.
Our panelists and their specialties included:
Enrique Dominguez (Director – pork producers confederation)
Discussion topic
-Excessive exports of pork into Mexico (why and what is causing in terms of jobs and capital loss)
-How long will that tendency last and what effects will result (everybody is asking this question)
-What can be done from a regional point of view (north America, NAFTA to correct this issue)
Ricardo Calderon (Executive Director APPAMEX – grain traders association)
Discussion topic
-Integration of the market MEX-USA, trends and role of different actors.
-Obstacles that can disrupt trade (which ones can be prevented)
-Future of grain trade MEX-USA
-How to keep free flow of feed grains
Carlos Lopez Coello (Scientist UNAM – National University of Mexico poultry specialist)
Discussion topic
There are 5 areas in developed countries where commercial poultry has received special attention, attributed in large part by consumer demand
1. Animal Welfare.
2. Environment Conservation.
3. Food Safety.
4. Traceability.
5. Animal and Human Health.
You can watch or listen to the Mexican trade panel. I recorded our live feed.
Novus International Executive Vice President of marketing and sales Giovanni Gasperoni, pictured here with a delegation from Thailand, seemed to know everyone at the International Poultry/Feed Expo in Atlanta last week and he greeted them all as close friends. His genuine and effusive personality reflects his passion for the business of animal agriculture and the people in the industry who produce food for the world. He is firmly dedicated to Novus’ vision to help feed the world affordable, wholesome food and achieve a higher quality of life. “This is really important to us, this is our vision, and we’ve maintained the same vision for the last 20 years,” Gio told me during an interview.
One of the ways Novus is working to achieve that vision is by maintaining a close relationship with their customers in every one of the more than 90 countries they serve. In January, Novus opened a new blending plant in Singapore for animal feed supplements. “It’s part of our overall strategy to be closer to our customers with our specialty products,” Gio said. “We needed to address that in the Asia Pacific and northern China.” The plant will serve as a distribution hub for regional Novus clients in industries including aquaculture, poultry, ruminant and pork.
Gio says in the coming year, Novus will be focused on Africa. “It’s kind of a last frontier for us in helping feed the world affordable and wholesome food,” he says.
Listen to or download my interview with Gio in the player below, and check out our photo albums from the IPE – especially if you had a photo taken with baseball great Bob Gibson at the Novus booth. International Poultry Expo 2010 Bob Gibson/Novus Photo Album
How many times have you gone to a conference and found yourself constantly having to pick up a new program because you lost the one you had?
Well, the International Poultry Expo has made things easy this year with an iPhone app. The IPE app is free and gives attendees access to all events and exhibitor information right on their iPhones. The app is available from Apple’s app store by searching for “IPE”. It’s a great way of using the latest technology in a very practical way and giving attendees a paper-free way to always know how to find exhibitors or where the next event is being held. Pretty cool! I expect we will be seeing that a lot more at conventions.
Rotten Egg or Egg-straordinary? This year the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association has partnered with Atlanta to find the city’s most popular and best poultry dishes. New to the International Poultry Expo, Featherfest is a week long culinary event that showcases 51 of Atlanta’s restaurants to see who can make the best appetizers, entrees, and desserts based on poultry meat or eggs.
Featherfest began on January 22nd and ends at midnight January 28th. Voters are also entered into a drawing to win a free iPod Nano and are encouraged to visit as many of the restaurants featured on the list as possible. To find the list and cast your vote on site look for the FeatherFest booth or the @tlanta booth located in the main lobby or the show floor, or you can enter online at www.atlanta.net/featherfest. The winner will be announced on Friday the 29th at the IPE.
I had a chance to sit down with Alida Bellandi, the Director of International Marketing for the Brazilian Association of Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers (ABIMAQ) during the AG CONNECT Expo. Bellandi’s organization was here to participate in the AgriEvolution Forum, a forum that is promoting a dialogue between the associations of manufacturing around the world. The first forum was in Rome two years ago, and the second one was hosted here by the Association of Equipment Manufactures (AEM) with the goal to discuss the future of the industry.
Bellandi told me that her organization represents manufacturers that produce equipment for small to medium sized farmers. This includes equipment used for soil preparation to silos to tractors and harvesters. Brazil has been manufacturing equipment for 30 years and currently exports to more than 60 countries.
Since AG CONNECT Expo was an international show, I asked Bellandi about Brazil’s efforts in helping other countries with their efforts. She told me that Brazil has developed a direct planting technology that is something other Latin American countries are very interested as are many countries in Africa. She also noted that while sustainability is a very important aspect for the ag industry in Brazil, it is not yet important in developing countries.
“What you have to understand is the stage they are in right now. They have to feed their people and they have practically nothing in many countries. So environmental issues are not very important for them. We’re trying to show them they could start thinking about it a little bit differently. But in Latin America, we’re beginning to influence them,” Bellandi.
To get people thinking about environmental issues, ABIMAQ has produced a free video called “The Earth hanging by a drop,” that demonstrates how ecosystems are affected by global warming. To receive a free copy of this video and to learn more about the organization, visit ABIMAQ’s website.
Canadian Minister of Agriculture, Gerry Ritz, was the featured speaker today during the State Agriculture and Rural Leaders’ Annual Legislative Agriculture Chairs Summit Luncheon during the AG CONNECT Expo. While Ritz focused on ag initiatives in Canada and the agricultural and trade relationships and programs between Canada and the U.S., the issue that got many fired up in the audience was that of Country of Origin Labeling or COOL.
Ritz noted that COOL is the biggest trade hurdle between Canada and it’s a very controversial issue. There is a contingency of people who want to have all food labeled so that they know what country their food is coming from. The reasons for this knowledge are threefold: to support American-made products, protectionism and ensure food safety. On the other side of the fence are the people who don’t see the need for labeling, in part because it adds costs to food products.
The Canadian government opposes Country of Origin Label and when asked what the chances were that this policy would be enacted, Ritz simply said, “50-50.”
One last topic of discussion was farm raised fish, a movement gaining momentum in Canada and supported by the government. In closing Ritz noted, “I know there are some controversial stories around about enviromental this and so on like that. Most of them are not based on sound science they’re based on some sort of wild speculation under the moon with a tinfoil hat.”
The Fifth U.S.-Mongolia Business Forum took place simultaneously with the AG CONNECT Expo yesterday with several dozen delegates from Mongolia meeting with delegates from the United States to discuss how the two countries can better work together. A goal as delivered by the various speakers, is to see more U.S. companies investing in Mongolia.
The Mongolian delegation is one of 20 that arrived in Orlando this week, and the largest, with 16 of these being organized by the Department of Commerce.
During the opening remarks, in a letter from Kh. Bekhbat, the Ambassador of Mongolia to the United States, read by Zhen Gong Cross, the Head of Mongolian Affairs with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bekhbat noted that Mongoia is a mineral rich economy that is now seeing foreign investors. The increased funds are being used to provide jobs, educational funds and health care.
Not only would the country like to see more investments in the mineral side, it has also created a new shared stock company that would share in the country’s mining industry, but they would also like to see investments and participation in the agriculture industry. “Agriculture is an important part of the economy,” wrote Bekhbat.
The Mongolian delegates plan to meet with various companies to dicusss agricultural opportunities and investments during the AG CONNECT Expo. The group has prioritized its greatest needs and prepared a detailed list of projects in which they seek global investors.
Agrievolution 2010 is a very international event. We’ve got participants and presentations from countries like Russia, Brazil, Venuzuela and China. I met one of our delegates, Massimo Goldoni, President, UNACOMA, the Italian equipment manufacturers association, who attended the first Agrievolution in Rome in 2008.
Massimo says that back in 2008 they thought it would be helpful to pull together the worldwide associations and company executives to discuss the future for the industry. That first event took place during a boom period he says but the forecast they were looking at took a plunge in 2009. So they found that the idea of an event like this every 2 years might need to be revisited in light of quicker changes in the industry. Looking at the forecast now he says that he thinks we’re at the bottom and are starting to recover.
One of the co-located events taking place with AG CONNECT EXPO is Agrievolution. Opening up the program this morning is Doug DeVries, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing Services – Agriculture and Turf Division, John Deere. I spoke with him just prior to the start of the program. Doug is pictured on the right with Rusty Fowler, Krone NA and Martin Richenhagen, AGCO.
Doug says that over the years ag equipment companies have seen an opportunity to work more closely together so two years ago there was a first meeting of a broad range of equipment manufacturing groups from around the world who met in Rome to seek ways to work together for the benefit of the industry. He says it’s no coincidence that this second meeting in taking place in conjunction with AG CONNECT Expo. The show is a global showcase for agricultural technology and it made sense to co-locate Agrievolution. Participants are here from all over the world representing a high percentage of the industry. They’ll talk about the state of the industry today and then tomorrow meet in groups to determine areas of opportunity to come together as a broader set of organizations. And that leads them right into AG CONNECT Expo.
For those of you who didn’t get to follow along with the U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission trip I went on last month I have prepared a slide show that will give you a pretty good overview of all we saw and learned. In the show you can hear from some of the key individuals I interviewed including the U.S. corn growers participants.
Now this is going to be impressive. Thirteen million cranberries will be used to make a “colossal depiction of the Canadian Olympic Committee’s logo” and it will be floated in the Fraser River running in front of the Richmond Olympic Oval throughout the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
The tribute celebrates Richmond’s top agricultural crop and honors the Winter Games. The installation will float within a 46,000 sq. foot parameter in front of the Richmond Olympic Oval, home of the 2010 speed skating competitions. Built specifically for the upcoming 2010 Olympic Winter Games, this state-of-the-art building has been called the “crown jewel” of the Games, based on its award-winning architectural beauty and innovative green features.
Richmond is an official Venue City of the Games, and is Canada’s largest producer of cranberries with more than 60 family-owned farms, the majority of which are part of the Ocean Spray Cooperative.
The U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission team is home safe and sound. It was a very interesting 2 weeks of visits with American grain customers and others in Morocco, Egypt and Jordan. You might expect these countries to be “all the same.” However, each country has a very distinct culture and that includes everything from food to how they drive.
A consistent theme was the growth potential in these markets. That’s why the USGC has people on the ground working to develop new business opportunities for American farmers. After our team’s final dinner I spoke with them as a group to get their final thoughts on what they’d like farmers back home to know about their experience. We just went around the table starting with the corn grower members. Here are some of their final thoughts:
The main thing is the relationship the USGC staff has with people in all these countries. They appreciate what the USGC does.
I got to see what the USGC does on a personal level. These ddgs programs are working well. I hope they’ll buy more.
I sure learned a lot about the legwork that goes on on the ground here for these guys. There’s still some work to be done.
We spent our time well and did something that will benefit everyone back home. The USGC work has been an important part of keeping our exports going.
I think the potential for increased sales is there. The network is in place and working well.
Demand looks strong and will continue for a long time to come.
Shannon Schaffer, the USGC staff representative on our trip added these thoughts:
These guys worked really hard on this trip. Lots of time spent on the road and with the customers we service. They served as ambassadors for the USGC and corn growers specifically.
For my part I want to thank the USGC for allowing me the opportunity to go on this trip and provide documentation of the trip. Besides the stories here on AgWired I have also been posting onto The Grain Board. It looks like I produced a little less than 3,000 photos, and a combination of 50 audio/video interviews and clips. Hopefully it has provided you with a better understanding of the international development work of the U.S. Grains Council and these markets in particular.
You can listen to my final interview with the Corn Mission Team below:
The political and safety situation in Iraq today is making it very difficult to conduct business within the country, especially for companies and farmers that would like to export U.S. feed grains into the market. However, that’s going to change in the next couple years according to some Iraqi businessmen that the U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission team met with. We met with them over a dinner of Masgouf, which you see cooking around this open pit fire. Masgouf is a traditional Iraq dish of fresh, whole fish that are seasoned with salt, pepper and tamarind and slow cooked on stakes around a fire. The fish used for our meal were carp.
While our Masgouf was cooking I spoke with one of the board members of the Iraq company that was represented at the dinner. He says they have always imported from America. He says American grain is “the best and very clean.” He says the market is somewhat limited right now but will get better in the future. He says that once things stabilize their poultry sector will grow quickly. He enjoyed meeting with American corn growers.
You can listen to my interview with the Iraq businessman below:
When the U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission team toured the Hamoudeh Group dairy northeast of Amman they saw the open yards, milking parlor and as you’ll see in this video clip, the calf barn.
When the U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission team visited a feed mill this morning owned by the Hamoudeh Group they saw some state of the art grain testing. The company has infrared grain testing equipment which quickly analyzes a sample and provides a printout of a number of the qualities most important to them.
You can see a sample being analyzed in this video clip:
Our team will be meeting with some representatives from Iraq this evening at dinner but I probably won’t have time to post again until getting home this weekend. Until then . . .
The largest integrated dairy producer in Jordan is Hamoudeh Group and the U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission team visited their largest facility northeast of Amman which houses about 4,000 cows. Before getting a tour we heard a presentation from Marwan Hawari, pictured center showing some grain test results to team members, at their feed mill. I’ll have a video clip from that location to post soon.
In his comments Marwan describes the Hamoudeh Group company which is involved in a lot of different enterprises, including poultry production and being the local Pfizer animal health representative company. You’ll also hear him express some concerns with finding some toxins in recent shipments of U.S. grain. He asked the group what he should expect in future shipments.
The National Poultry Company in Jordan is managed by Mousa Wakileh who met with the U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission team. Mousa would like to see more education of traders and producers in order to increase imports of corn from the U.S. He’s also predicting a 50 percent increase in poultry consumption per capita in Jordan over the next five years which would also increase demand for American feed grains. According to Mousa, America is the preferred supplier of corn in Jordan.
I recorded a portion of Mousa’s comments which you can listen to below:
Commodity Classic took place in Anaheim, CA. You'll find all of Chuck, Cindy and Joanna's photos here.
Happy Ag Week
It's time to thank our farmers and ranchers for all their hard work to feed us.
In this week's program I interview Linda Tank, CHS, Inc., who is Chair of the Agriculture Council of America, the group coordinating National Ag Day. Learn more about their activities, especially this week in Washington, DC.
U.S. Grains Council has officially opened a new international office in Panama City, Panama to serve Latin America and the Caribbean Region. 
and 
Here at the U.S. Grains Council International Marketing Conference n this morning’s general session we had a panel discussion on trade with Mexico. In the discussion attendees were able to ask questions and answers. In fact, it was mostly a Q&A session. Allan Mustard, Minister Counselor, Office of Agricultural Affairs, US Embassy, Mexico City, introduced our panel.
One of the ways Novus is working to achieve that vision is by maintaining a close relationship with their customers in every one of the more than 90 countries they serve. In January, Novus opened a new 
Well, the International Poultry Expo has made things easy this year with an iPhone app. The IPE app is free and gives attendees access to all events and exhibitor information right on their iPhones. The app is available from Apple’s app store by searching for “IPE”. It’s a great way of using the latest technology in a very practical way and giving attendees a paper-free way to always know how to find exhibitors or where the next event is being held. Pretty cool! I expect we will be seeing that a lot more at conventions.
I had a chance to sit down with Alida Bellandi, the Director of International Marketing for the Brazilian Association of Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers (ABIMAQ) during the 
Since 
Canadian Minister of Agriculture, Gerry Ritz
The Fifth U.S.-Mongolia Business Forum took place simultaneously with the 
Not only would the country like to see more investments in the mineral side, it has also created a new shared stock company that would share in the country’s mining industry, but they would also like to see investments and participation in the agriculture industry. “Agriculture is an important part of the economy,” wrote Bekhbat.
Agrievolution 2010 is a very international event. We’ve got participants and presentations from countries like Russia, Brazil, Venuzuela and China. I met one of our delegates, Massimo Goldoni, President, UNACOMA, the Italian equipment manufacturers association, who attended the first Agrievolution in Rome in 2008. 
One of the co-located events taking place with AG CONNECT EXPO is Agrievolution. Opening up the program this morning is Doug DeVries, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing Services – Agriculture and Turf Division, John Deere. I spoke with him just prior to the start of the program. Doug is pictured on the right with Rusty Fowler, Krone NA and Martin Richenhagen, AGCO.
Now this is going to be impressive. Thirteen million cranberries will be used to make a “colossal depiction of the Canadian Olympic Committee’s logo” and it will be floated in the Fraser River running in front of the Richmond Olympic Oval throughout the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
The U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission team is home safe and sound. It was a very interesting 2 weeks of visits with American grain customers and others in Morocco, Egypt and Jordan. You might expect these countries to be “all the same.” However, each country has a very distinct culture and that includes everything from food to how they drive.
The political and safety situation in Iraq today is making it very difficult to conduct business within the country, especially for companies and farmers that would like to export U.S. feed grains into the market. However, that’s going to change in the next couple years according to some Iraqi businessmen that the U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission team met with. We met with them over a dinner of Masgouf, which you see cooking around this open pit fire. Masgouf is a traditional Iraq dish of fresh, whole fish that are seasoned with salt, pepper and tamarind and slow cooked on stakes around a fire. The fish used for our meal were carp.
The largest integrated dairy producer in Jordan is Hamoudeh Group and the U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission team visited their largest facility northeast of Amman which houses about 4,000 cows. Before getting a tour we heard a presentation from Marwan Hawari, pictured center showing some grain test results to team members, at their feed mill. I’ll have a video clip from that location to post soon.
The National Poultry Company in Jordan is managed by Mousa Wakileh who met with the U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission team. Mousa would like to see more education of traders and producers in order to increase imports of corn from the U.S. He’s also predicting a 50 percent increase in poultry consumption per capita in Jordan over the next five years which would also increase demand for American feed grains. According to Mousa, America is the preferred supplier of corn in Jordan.
It's time to thank our farmers and ranchers for all their hard work to feed us.
