U.S. Grains Council, North Dakota Corn Council Promote DDGS To African Feed Industry

To further the export growth of U.S. distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) and the North Dakota Corn Council (NDCC) led a group of East and West African industry stakeholders on a tour of U.S. production facilities and the transportation supply chain earlier this month.

“Feeding Africa’s rapid population growth will be a priority for the global agriculture industry over the coming decades, and the Council is working to position U.S. producers at the forefront of meeting the continent’s demand,” said Mohamed Salah Bouthour, USGC deputy regional director for Africa. “The DDGS market has an extremely bright future in the region due to its high protein content and programs like this will help facilitate its expansion into African feed diets.”

The team arrived in St. Louis, MO, on May 6 for tours at Bayer to learn about technology’s place in agriculture and at ADM’s river and rail transport facilities for an overview of how U.S. commodities make their way to customers around the world.

The agenda then shifted to Iowa for meetings with a wide variety of supply chain stakeholders, beginning with a visit to Iowa State University’s feed mill that included quality assurance walkthroughs from students at its dairy, poultry, turkey and crop production research and demonstration farms. Participants also went to the Iowa Corn Promotion Board’s educational center and saw ethanol and DDGS production firsthand at a local ethanol plant.

The program concluded in North Dakota on May 9, where the group was joined by NDCC Chairman and USGC Middle East, Africa and South Asia Advisory Team member Carson Klosterman, who shared his experiences as a U.S. corn farmer and explained how his work contributes to the ethanol industry.

The Northern Crops Institute hosted the team at its facility later that day, allowing attendees to better understand various feed mill practices. The agenda also included visits to corn and dairy farms so the group could see the production process of DDGS from seed to feed.

“The engagement from participants in this program was outstanding and further encourages the Council’s efforts to promote DDGS in Africa,” said Sadie Marks, USGC manager of global strategies and trade. “Participants saw the safety and value DDGS can bring into their markets by diversifying their input materials that will encourage the feed industry to meet demand in a cost-competitive way.”