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USGC Announces International Coarse Grains and Co-products Marketing Conference 
Mark your calendars for the U.S. Grains Council’s International Coarse Grains and Co-products Marketing Conference to be held October 7-8, 2010, in Chicago. The Council is organizing this conference to bring U.S. coarse grains and co-products producers and marketers face-to-face with their major export customers. The Council will bring approximately 140 key foreign buyers to the two-day conference that will focus on issues relating to the international trade of U.S. coarse grains and their co-products.

Speakers and panelists will address the following topics:
• Outlook for U.S. and world grains and oilseeds;
• Outlook for the U.S. ethanol industry;
• Nutritional and economic factors for the use of DDGS and corn gluten in animal rations;
• Issues for DDGS – transportation, consistency, safety, etc.;
• Risk management for DDGS and other co-products;
• Outlook and opportunities for sorghum, barley and specialty products;
• International trade issues, including market access, biotechnology, safety, sustainability; and
• Export customer panel.

International participants will include buyers, trading companies, importers, feed mill managers and nutritionists, and major end-users by invitation from USGC staff. U.S. participants will include interested ethanol producers, DDGS marketing companies, export trading companies, wet millers, and producers of corn, sorghum, barley and their co-products.

For more information, contact Marri Carrow, USGC manager of communications, at 202-789-0789.

USGC Recommends Skarke, Graff for USCP Appointment 
The U.S. Grains Council selected Troy Skarke, sorghum farmer from Claude, Texas, and Greg Graff, farmer from Marienthal, Kan., for its nomination for the appointment to the open At-Large position on the United Sorghum Checkoff Program Board of Directors. As a certified producer organization, the Council is eligible to bring the slate of candidates forward for consideration at the National Sorghum Caucus on March 16. The Caucus will then forward possible candidates to the secretary of agriculture for final appointment. At the USGC’s International Marketing Conference held last month, sorghum producers and organization representatives from the Council put forth these names, which were then approved by the USGC Board of Directors.

“Both Troy and Greg have impressive experience in international market development efforts and have made significant contributions to the sorghum industry,” said USGC President and CEO Thomas C. Dorr. In addition to the At-Large position, individuals also will be identified at the caucus to fill one state position in Texas and two in Kansas.

Skarke has served on the USCP Board of Directors since its inception in November 2008. He currently serves as the market development chairman. Skarke is a small family producer, farming 1,200 acres of sorghum and 1,200 acres of wheat and also manages a cow-calf herd operation. For the past seven years, he has served on the Texas Sorghum Producers Board and is the current sorghum sector director for the Council.

For the past 10 year, Graff has been a USGC delegate representing Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission (KGSC). He received his Bachelors of Science Degree at Kansas State University and started farming shortly after. Graff operates a 6,000-acre farm with his wife, Kathy. He has served the positions of director, treasurer and vice chairman for KGSC.

Closing Remarks from China
By Cary Sifferath, U.S. Grains Council Senior Director in China
The U.S. Grains Council has been doing work in China since the mid-1980s and I’ve only been a part of that effort for the past two years. China is a very difficult and demanding market, predominately because China’s government polices are set to maintain self sufficiency in the major grains of corn, wheat and rice. This makes work as the USGC director in China challenging when you have to try and work against that type of government policy.

Before I arrived in China, programs were already in place to ramp up and promote DDGS (distiller’s dried grains with soluble) as a product not subject to the same import restrictions as corn. We thought DDGS had the ability to compete against domestic feed ingredients, especially in the Coastal Region. That hard work has paid off with the rapid expansion of U.S. DDGS exports to China, making it the third largest market behind Mexico and Canada. This all happened in a period of six to eight months.

Even with me leaving, we have a very qualified staff at the Beijing office who will continue to work on the USGC programs. I have enjoyed my time here and the chance to work them. The China programs, especially in the swine and dairy sector, are some of the best programs I’ve seen as far as pure demand building market efforts. USGC/Beijing will continue to work to expand demand for U.S. grains and their co-products. We are hopeful to see China eventually become an importer of corn, making China one of the biggest potential feed grains market of the future.

Finding key feed manufacturers and trading companies who are potential importers and building face-to-face relationships with them contributes to the current and future success of U.S. exports to China. The Council works with these companies to show them how to use DDGS, show them the superior quality U.S. DDGS has over domestic DDGS as well as what it would take for them to buy the product. We then link these importers with USGC member suppliers. Through different workshops we’ve held in the past two years and work through trade teams, we are able to develop positive buyer and seller relationships. Those face-to-face introductions have been successful in leading to the increase of sales of U.S. products.

I’ve truly enjoyed working with the USGC Beijing staff. Whoever my replacement is should have easy adjustment to the job just based on the staff being able to keep the programs running. I’ve enjoyed my time as USGC director in China. Walking through numerous corn fields and different dairy and swine farms to monitor production, and attending meetings with new companies, introducing DDGS are all experiences I have enjoyed in my short time here. I look forward to the opportunities and challenges in the Mediterranean & Africa Region.

85,000 Attendees See U.S. Barley, Corn, Sorghum in Cooking Demonstration at FOODEX Japan 
FOODEX is the largest annual food expo in Japan, drawing more than 2,000 exhibitors from 60 countries and regions and 85,000 attendees. The U.S. Grains Council’s Japan office hosted a booth at the show and also participated in a cooking demonstration, where U.S. barley, corn meal and white sorghum recipes were showcased.

During the demonstration, well-known Japanese food nutritionist and recipe developer Ms. Nobuko Munakata demonstrated how to cook a hamburger using U.S. pearled barley. Ms. Munakata emphasized the beta-glucan-rich health benefits of the U.S. barley. She also demonstrated a dessert cake made with the U.S. white sorghum flour. Ms. Munakata explained that white sorghum can be used in both western and Japanese style dishes and is currently used as a substitute of traditional flours for individuals requiring gluten-free foods. Lastly, baker Ms. Rumi Kojima demonstrated cooking cornbread.

In each demonstration, more than 100 food professionals tasted the dishes as they learned about U.S. barley, white sorghum and corn as food ingredients.

“The president of a food creative factory said he was very interested in developing recipes utilizing U.S. barley for Japanese restaurants and food manufacturers,” said USGC Associate Director in Japan Hiroko Sakashita, who helped staff the Council’s booth. “Another buyer, a purchasing director of a food education institute, requested samples of white sorghum flour so he could introduce it in the cooking school’s curriculum.”

Council Capitalizes on Central America Snack Foods Industry 
As part its mission of Developing Markets, Enabling Trade and Improving Lives, the U.S. Grains Council continuously seeks market opportunities for U.S. corn, sorghum, barley and their co-products around the world. The snack foods industry in Central America is a growing and vital market segment. Due to relations made at the USGC 2009 International Marketing Conference, several teams made of Central American snack food industry representatives have traveled throughout the United States for training sessions and market insights on U.S. corn, barley and sorghum production.

This week, snack food industry leaders from Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala traveled to Texas to attend a processing course at Texas A&M University. This program highlighted recent advances in corn and sorghum snack food processing techniques. It also allowed the Council to promote increased usage of U.S. corn and sorghum in Central American snack food production.

USGC Regional Consultant Alejandro Gonzalez, who escorted the team, said, “This team has expressed the advantage gained from the marketing programs conducted by the Council. Developing closer relations with this industry will help to expand the market segment for specialty grains such as hard endosperm corn in this market.”

COUNCIL NEWS

Cary Sifferath’s Last Day in China
Please join the Council in commending USGC Senior Director in China Cary Sifferath for his work in expanding the U.S. export market in China. Tomorrow (March 12) marks Cary’s final day as the director in China as he accepted the USGC director position in the Mediterranean and Africa. “Cary has played a major role in our market development efforts in Asia for many years, having worked for the Council in Southeast Asia, Japan and China,” said USGC Senior Director of International Operations for Asia Mike Callahan. “As Cary transitions to his new post in Tunis, we are confident his well developed skills and experience will serve him well in building markets for U.S. feed grains in Africa and the Mediterranean region.”

USGC Representatives at Monsanto Grower Advisory Council Meeting
U.S. Grains Council Trade Policy Advisory Team Leader Chip Councell, delegate for Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board, and Rebecca Fecitt, USGC director of biotechnology programs, attended the Monsanto Grower Advisory Council Meeting in Washington, D.C. Topics at the meeting included updates on biotech regulatory and policy; sustainability; and Monsanto’s sponsorship of the television program “America’s Heartland.”

COUNCIL ACTIVITY CALENDAR

March 11-22: The Iowa Corn Leadership Enhancement and Development class IV will travel to South Korea and Vietnam to learn about the local agricultural industry and U.S. Grains Council export market develop programs. While in South Korea, the team will meet with USGC Director in Korea Mr. Byong Ryol Min and tour a local beef farm and meet with local importers and the Agricultural Trade Office. In Vietnam, the team will meet with USGC Regional Director in Southeast Asia Adel Yusupov and USGC Country Representative Mr. Tran Trong Chien. The team will tour a Cargill feed mill, visit a local aquaculture farm and get a firsthand perspective of the import system. For more information, contact Kimberly Karst, USGC manager of international operations for Asia, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  

March 15-18: U.S. Grains Council Manager of International Operations for Marketing Alvaro Cordero and USGC Consultant Jose Alvarado will travel to Morocco for one-on-one meetings with Algerian and Moroccan grain traders. The Council will hold a seminar on FOB (“free-on-board”) contracting, using Costa Rica as a case study. This trip will help local importers understand another way of contracting, which will allow them to better access to U.S. commodities. For more information, contact Cordero at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  

March 21-27: The Korean Swine Integrators Team will travel to Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri to learn U.S. swine business and management practices. This program will provide the Korean swine industry business leaders with the opportunity to thoroughly study coordinated business models, swine production systems and large-scale sow farm management. Participants will be able to use the information to determine how to refine and improve their swine business. For more information, contact Kimberly Karst, USGC manager of international operations for Asia, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  

The U.S. Grains Council does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation or marital/family status. Persons with disabilities, who require alternative means for communication of program information should contact the U.S. Grains Council.