In Egypt, the Agricultural Minister Counselor for the United States is Jonathan Gressel (pictured center). He met with the U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission team today at a late lunch and we really appreciate him taking time for the visit.
John says his primary mission is market access and development for U.S. products. He says that currently Egypt is an excellent, growing market and not just for corn but for ddgs and corn gluten. He says that when more corn moves into the market it helps American corn growers while also helping build new industry in Egypt. One of the challenges in the market is poultry industry which was hit hard by avian influenza but is coming back.
When it comes to the work of the USGC he says that Dr. Hussein Soliman, USGC Country Director, is one of his “go-to” people and that companies and the government respect him as well. He points to the successful Egyptian Cattlemen’s Bank as one of the projects that was founded with support of USGC. He says that the USGC “has a good team working here and is one of your best programs.”
You can listen to my interview with Jonathan below:
The Executive Director of the 
The U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission team moved from Morocco to Egypt this weekend. We’re now in Cairo and spent the morning at the 
As a livestock producer, I like to follow the trends as pastures are converted to cropland. In many places, pastures will always be there, as the land is too steep, hilly or rocky for modernizing or farming. However, the low profit margins in the livestock industry are pushing many farmers and ranchers to expand their crop enterprise and decrease their cowherds. On another note, it seems that water is in short supplies these days, and an increasing number of acres are being irrigated. Since we have had such a wet, cold year here in South Dakota, I can only imagine the troubles those are experiencing in places of drought. Check out the statistics from the USDA as printed by the 
If you’re like me, then you have been watching closely the progress of the Estate Tax Relief Bill. As the average age of the American farmer or rancher nears 60, agriculture businesses will start switching hands, and unfortunately, poor succession planning can result in the end of a long-standing family tradition. Here is a release that was published in 
Yesterday, at the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association’s Annual Trade Show and Convention, I had the opportunity to listen to Terry Gompert, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln Educator with a speciality in grazing. His presentation was titled, “Money Saving Ideas Including Extending the Grazing Season,” and he offered up tips for producers to consider in 
The Morocco portion of the U.S Grains Council Corn Mission has concluded. The final step for the team was to sit down at our hotel and discuss the visits we’ve made and what we learned. We were asked to submit one observation and action step.
The Morocco Poultry Association is 
The U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission team visited a nearly new poultry operation today. The owner is pictured on the right. With the assistance of Morocco’s Green Plan for agricultural development Ahmed Addioui has built several of these poultry farms to raise chickens for the market. Each building houses approximately 15,000 birds.
The Deputy Minister of Agricultural Production for Morocco is Ahmed Bentouhami, pictured on left, who met with the U.S Grains Council Corn Mission team for dinner.