The April 30 deadline for submitting U.S. Grains Council (USGC) Advisory Team (A-Team) applications for the 2021-2023 term is approaching.
Council members serving on A-Teams provide Council staff and its Board of Directors insight and guidance on issue-specific topics throughout their two-year term.
The Council has seven A-Teams, each highlighting a specific area of the Council’s global programming organized by region and topic. They include teams focused on Asia; the Middle East, Africa and South Asia; the Western Hemisphere; innovation and sustainability; value-added products; trade policy; and ethanol market development issues.
Input from A-Team members and the Council’s international staff creates the structure of the Council’s Unified Export Strategy (UES), the long-term planning document used to apply for U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA’s FAS) funds, including from the Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) program.
The incoming USGC chairman will make and announce A-Team appointments before the USGC Board of Delegates meeting in July, and the new A-Team members will begin their terms Aug. 6. Members serve for two years.
First-time A-Team applicants who have questions or A-Team members unsure if their term ends this year should contact Maria Murphy, USGC manager of industry relations, at mmurphy@grains.org with “A-Teams” in the subject line.
About The U.S. Grains Council
The U.S. Grains Council develops export markets for U.S. barley, corn, sorghum and related products including distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and ethanol. With full-time presence in 28 locations, the Council operates programs in more than 50 countries and the European Union. The Council believes exports are vital to global economic development and to U.S. agriculture’s profitability. Detailed information about the Council and its programs is online at www.grains.org.