Ken Hobbie has been with the U.S. Grains Council for 34 of the organization’s nearly 50 year history and things have changed quite a bit over those years.

“When I first came to the council, we were focused on two primary market regions, Western Europe and Russia, they were taking more than 50 percent of the grain that we exported on an annual basis,” Ken told me during a short interview at the council’s 49th annual delegates meeting last week in San Diego. “The significant change that I have seen is the growth in developing markets around the world – southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East. If you had told me when I started that they were going to be the focus of our attention for the next 20 or 25 years, I would have said you were crazy.”

Ken announced his plans to retire as president and CEO of USGC last year and will be doing so as soon as his successor is chosen. He believes that the grains council is a very unique organization. “The idea that producers from corn, sorghum and barley, agribusiness leaders from most of the major companies, have for almost 50 years now, been able to sit in a room and concentrate on doing one thing well together, which is developing export markets, has been a fantastic combination,” Ken says. “I hope that my successor and those that come in future generations will find it as exciting and rewarding as I have.”

See photos from the USGC Delegate Meeting here on Flickr.

Listen to my interview with Ken here: