The industry was expecting the corn forecast to be lowered, but it was the amount of the decrease that caught the industry by surprise, according to John Anderson, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation.

“This is a pretty sizable drop in production,” Anderson said. “We saw a really big drop in USDA’s forecasted average yield for corn because of adverse weather in the big corn states of Illinois, Iowa and Indiana. USDA is forecasting a national average yield of 155.8 bushels per acre, compared to 162.5 bushels per acre in September’s report. A 6.7 bushel drop in yield is pretty significant.”

On the Minneapolis Grain Exchange monthly conference call featuring commentary on the USDA report, Peter Georgantones from ITS also expressed surprise at the new forecast, predicting it will lead to $6.00/bu corn, “pretty easily now.” Market reaction was definitely higher on Friday with December corn closing up 30 cents at $5.28 a bushel, the highest in over two years.

The latest supply-demand numbers reflecting the new forecast show a decrease in stocks, increase in feed use, decrease in exports and ethanol about the same. At a seminar in Chicago promoting exports of the ethanol by-product distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), U.S. Grains Council President and CEO Tom Dorr was not too concerned about the report. “I’ve been a farmer most of my life and the thing that I know is that farmers more often than not, swim in surpluses, they love dealing with shortfalls and they’ll produce our way out of this very quickly,” Dorr said.

Increased use of corn for ethanol has created more than 30 million metric tons of DDGS, a high-value feed product for domestic and international livestock producers. Initial 2010 export projections of 6.2 million tons of DDGS will be surpassed this calendar year as the United States gears up to export approximately 8 million tons.

Listen to or download an interview that Chuck did with Dorr reacting to the report today: Tom Dorr Interview

The conference is focused on connecting international buyers of DDGS and coarse grains with the U.S. market. I don’t know what the attendance totals are here but we had a full room for the welcoming reception. During the next couple days I’ll have interviews and presentations posted mostly on Domestic Fuel.com from the event.

You can listen to Tom’s opening remarks here: Tom Dorr Remarks

You can listen to Bob’s opening remarks here: Bob Dinneen Remarks

I’m also posting into an online photo album: Export Exchange 2010 Photo Album

In addition, breakout sessions will cover contracting and risk management. coarse grain production, supply and demand, DDGs shipping, handling and contracting, and the use of DDGs in livestock industries.

Export Exchange is co-sponsored by the U.S. Grains Council and the Renewable Fuels Association. The event will bring together more than 170 international buyers of U.S. DDGS and coarse grains with hundreds of U.S. producers and agribusinesses. Click here to register before it’s too late.

The program is designed to allow people to make connections and better understand the product. This is the first time the Grains Council has had a sponsor like the RFA. Another new thing this year is a focus on the coarse grains markets due to the global demand growth which has stimulated DDGS exports. Tom says those exports have grown from near zero in 2004 to over 6 million tons for 2009 and they’re growing.

You can listen to my interview with Tom here: Tom Dorr Interview

The Export Exchange 2010 is uniquely focused on connecting international buyers of DDGS and coarse grains with the U.S. market. The Council is providing sponsorship for the attendance of targeted international trade teams from more than 25 countries. These participants represent nearly 80 percent of the global export market for DDGS and coarse grains. The conference will address critical issues facing U.S. exports and seek to educate and build awareness of U.S. DDGS and coarse grains among international buyers.

Here are some resource links:

Agenda
Registration
Hotel
Media

Exports of the ethanol co-product distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) hit a new record in July of 886,300 metric tons – which is more than was exported in the entire year in 2004. Total exports this year so far are 4.95 million metric tons, getting close to the total last year of 5.65 million.

Geoff Cooper, VP of Research with the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), says 2005 was really the first year that DDGS exports started to take off. “2005 was the first year that we exported more than one million metric tons and the growth has been very rapid since then,” Cooper said. This year, the U.S. ethanol industry is on pace to export 8.5 million metric tons of DDGS, or about 28% of expected total DDGS production.

One third of the nation’s ethanol production ends up as DDGS, a high quality animal feed which can be used for everything from cattle to fish, and livestock producers in other countries have been quick to see the advantages of feeding the protein rich product to their animals. Cooper says the U.S. Grains Council (USGC), along with other companies and organizations, have been promoting those advantages to help exports grow.

“Education is what’s going to sell your product,” said Cooper. “And we are seeing the fruits of that work in dramatically increased exports.”

Listen to or download my interview with Geoff Cooper here: Geoff Cooper Interview

USGC and RFA are sponsoring a conference to grow the export opportunities for DDGS. The Export Exchange is being held October 6-8 at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Hotel in Chicago, Ill. More information and registration is available on-line here.

The event is co-sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association and the U.S. Grains Council and will bring together more than 150 international buyers of U.S. DDGS and coarse grains with more than 300 U.S. producers and agribusinesses. “We are excited to have the Renewable Fuels Association co-sponsor the Export Exchange 2010,” said USGC President and CEO Thomas C. Dorr. “The burgeoning world population is demanding more meat, milk and eggs. U.S. DDGS and coarse grains continue to play an important role in livestock and poultry feed rations globally. We have to educate and connect our buyers and sellers to continue to grow vital markets for the United States.”

The conference will be held on Oct. 6-8, 2010, at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Hotel in Chicago, Ill. Registration information is available here.

At the U.S. Grains Council’s 50th Annual Board of Delegates meeting in Boston this week, Terry Vinduska, a corn farmer representing the Kansas Corn Commission, was elected chairman for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

Other officers elected include Wendell Shauman, representing Illinois Corn Marketing Board, as vice chairman; Don Fast, representing Montana Wheat & Barley Committee, as treasurer; and Julius Schaaf, representing Iowa Corn Promotion Board, as secretary.

Alan Tiemann, of the Nebraska Corn Board, was re-elected to the Council’s Board of Directors. Newly elected Board members include James Tobin of Monsanto; Bill Kubecka of United Sorghum Checkoff Program; and Jere White of Kansas Corn Commission.

Thomas C. Dorr, USGC president and CEO, said, “As the U.S. Grains Council begins its 51st year, we are fortunate to have strong, active leadership in place. Our new chairman, Mr. Vinduska, the Board of Directors, Board of Delegates, A-Team leaders and state liaisons provide excellent insight into the challenges and opportunities in the international market arena. The Council’s success over its first five decades is attributable to a long tradition of farmer and agribusiness leadership that’s determined to see the Council succeed.”

Many representatives from the National Corn Growers Association attended the meeting this week to congratulate the Council for 50 years of helping to increase export opportunities for U.S. grain producers. “We’re proud of the work the Grains Council has accomplished in its history, and we are proud to share several common founding members,” said NCGA President Darrin Ihnen. “We are working to build on our half-century history of collaboration so that we can continue to serve the country’s corn farmers to the best of our abilities.”

NCGA is a founding member of USGC and works cooperatively with their export promotion efforts.

“Nicholson Kovac provided us the most creative proposal for addressing the complexities of this project. We anticipate this partnership will help to enhance the effectiveness of our efforts,” said Thomas C. Dorr, president and CEO of the U.S. Grains Council.

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 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.

You can listen to the announcement below.

Commodity Classic Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2010 Commodity Classic
is sponsored by: and

I spoke with Keith here at the International Marketing Conference. He says participation is good and there’s a lot of excitement about exports. Looking forward he says there will be more attention and need for attention on exports.

USGC International Marketing Conference Photo Album

You can listen to my interview with Keith below.

Each presenter gave an overview of their region, the projects they’re working on and the outlook for the future.

I have recorded their presentations for you so that you may listen to them or download.

Download Global Coarse Grain Outlook – Erick Erickson, USGC Special Assistant for Planning, Evaluation and Projects (mp3) or just listen:international-10-erickson.mp3

Download ROW Program Summary – Chris Corry, USGC Senior Director of International Operations for Rest of the World (mp3) or just listen:international-10-corry.mp3

Download Addressing Market Competition – Dr. Hussein Soliman, USGC Director in Egypt (mp3) or just listen:international-10-soliman.mp3

Download Update on Latin America and the Caribbean Region – Kurt Shultz, USGC Director in Latin America and the Caribbean Region (mp3) or just listen:international-10-schultz.mp3

Download Asia Program Overview – Mike Callahan, USGC Senior Director of International Operations for Asia (mp3) or just listen:international-10-callahan.mp3

Download Building The Engines That Drive Demand – Cary Sifferath, USGC Senior Director in China (mp3) or just listen:international-10-sifferath.mp3

Download Outlook: Competition – Adel Yusupov, USGC Regional Direction in Southeast Asia (mp3) or just listen:international-10-yusupov.mp3

USGC International Marketing Conference Photo Album

She summarizes challenges facing the industry that include energy security movements, groups pushing consumers to a vegetarian diet, consumer perception that food is bad and more. So from one of her slides she offered the following:

Where Do We Go From Here?

Both Your Risk and Reward will be Multiplied. Your Complexity of Choices and Competition will be Magnified.

You can watch or listen to her full presentation:

USGC International Marketing Conference Photo Album

You can also listen to Carole’s remarks here:

USGC International Marketing Conference Photo Album

You can also listen to Tom’s remarks here:

So we’ve got AgWired On The Beach which sounds like a very good adult beverage. Actually it really is AgWired on the Beach. I was sweating and swatting mosquitos while it’s supposed to be snowing at home. It’s a tough job but . . .

To give us a preview of what this conference is all about and what the issues are I spoke with USGC CEO and President, Tom Dorr. He had been in meetings all day today but still looked fresh and ready to go. He says that this is a combined membership meeting and meeting to create their Unified Export Strategy. They bring all their country directors in along with their advisory teams and delegate members. They analyze market opportunities and challenges and put it all together into a report for the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service which helps facilitate their ability to do international market development work. In my interview with Tom you’ll hear him point out some of the challenges in the current international marketplace.

You can listen to my interview with Tom below.

I have started the conference photo album too: USGC International Marketing Conference Photo Album

U.S. Grains Council – 2009 Corn Mission from Chuck Zimmerman on Vimeo.

The program airs this week and is available online. You can see if it’s scheduled in your area here. It is also airing on RFD-TV on Wednesday, Jan. 6, and again on Sunday, Jan. 10.

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:

USGC Corn Mission In Jordan Photo Album

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:

USGC Corn Mission In Jordan Photo Album

USGC Corn Mission In Jordan Photo Album

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 . . .

USGC Corn Mission In Jordan Photo Album

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.

You can listen to some of his comments below:

USGC Corn Mission In Jordan Photo Album

I recorded a portion of Mousa’s comments which you can listen to below:

USGC Corn Mission In Jordan Photo Album

I recorded part of our discussion with Mohamed for you to listen to. He says that quality doesn’t seem to be much of an issue for feed grain imports but that price does matter. The global economic recession has had an impact even here. He’s afraid that we might see a short term decline in American grain imports. To avoid fluctuations in the market he sees a real need for more storage facilities. He fields lots of questions about finding an American company that may want to invest in storage here in Jordan.

You can listen to part of our discussion with Mohamed below:

USGC Corn Mission In Jordan Photo Album

He says that Jordan is “one of the bright spots of the Middle East.” There are biotech issues in the region though, especially toward Turkey and India. He says it’s a very competitive market with recent pressure coming from the Black Sea area. During the next couple days we’ll get to see a Jordanian dairy and meet with the poultry industry.

You can listen to my interview with Joe below:

USGC Corn Mission In Jordan Photo Album

Jim has seen a very diverse set of conditions from country to country as we’ve traveled. That means that market development efforts are going to be very different in each country too. After seeing the USGC “on the ground” he says that they’re increasing the environment for corn and corn by-products which is helping keep our markets viable. Jim thinks that corn grower investment in the USGC reinforces and increases foreign market use of American feed grains.

You can listen to my interview with Jim below:

USGC Corn Mission In Jordan Photo Album

USGC Corn Mission In Egypt Photo Album

To get some producer feedback on our time in Egypt I interviewed Darren Armstrong, North Carolina. Darren says the biggest thing you see immediately is the potential. He says that in just a couple of years we should see significant growth. He says we need to keep our quality up and take care of the market by supporting Dr. Soliman, USGC Country Director. He thought the feedlots we visited were well taken care of and are becoming more efficient. He’s glad to see how ddgs have been so well accepted here and that is good for American producers. He says it’s, “been like a look back in history.” He compares where a lot of the Eqypt countryside is with where we were at in America not that long ago.

You can listen to my interview with Darren below:

USGC Corn Mission In Egypt Photo Album