Dairy Cattle Roadshow Yields Positive Results For Council, Collaborators

The U.S. Grains Council’s (USGC’s) Mexico office recently hit the road to learn more about the needs of Mexican dairy producers and increase the industry’s awareness of U.S. feed grains. The week-long event was jointly conducted with the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) and U.S. Livestock Genetics Export (USGE) and was hosted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).

This year’s program took place in Jalisco and Coahuila, the two largest dairy-producing states in Mexico. Events at both locations drew more than 100 participants including university students, dairy producers and members of local government. Through this program, the Council and its collaborators were able to reach a new market of end-users and open up the possibility of significant corn and corn co-product sales in the country.

These types of events enable the Council to join forces with other cooperators and work to achieve common goals in support of U.S. producers. Dairy is a strong, growing industry in Mexico, and it is extremely important for stakeholders there to understand the quality and availability of U.S. feed grains as they expand their operations and increase output.

The road show was part of a FAS-led cooperator activity in Mexico, where participants learned about cattle genetics and nutrition. Cooperators, which also included representatives from the Illinois Department of Agriculture and StoneX, strategized approaches to promote U.S. corn, soybeans and their co-products, which can improve livestock health, milk production and protein content through effective management of the grains’ amino acid profiles.

The group’s expert speakers held a seminar at Antonio Narro Agricultural University for industry participants, with a separate room reserved for students who watched the presentation via live stream. Council consultant Ruben Aguilera provided updates on grain market conditions and noted the advantages of incorporating distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) into cattle diets.

Council and FAS staff also organized farm visits where participants could see how the Mexican dairy industry operates daily. Stops included discussions with a major feed manufacturer, members of a dairy cooperative and an independent livestock farmer, providing the group with a wide range of experiences and information about the Mexican industry.

“The program was very well received by the participants, who were interested and engaged in learning how to get more value out of their livestock through protein-packed U.S. corn and its co-products,” said Javier Chávez, USGC marketing specialist in Mexico. “We were also able to have constructive discussions with our partners at FAS, USSEC and USGE about other collaborative projects in the future that will increase sales for U.S. producers in Mexico.”