The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) recently escorted a group of Indian poultry industry stakeholders on a tour of the U.S. agricultural value chain to learn about the safety of biotechnology in U.S. corn and how U.S. sorghum can provide a non-genetically modified (GM) solution to India’s current coarse grains shortfall.
USGC Regional Director for South Asia Reece Cannady and USGC Marketing Specialist Nayantara Pande led the team, with the goal of developing customer loyalty to U.S. suppliers while providing higher-quality products for end-users in India.
“Feeding the world’s largest population is no small feat, and the Indian livestock industry is looking for affordable, nutritious and sustainable raw materials to bolster poultry production,” Cannady said. “This program showed participants the rigorous quality and safety standards of the U.S. coarse grains industry and built further trust in U.S. agricultural products.”
With support from the Nebraska Corn Board, the group started its tour in Omaha, touring a poultry processing facility where attendees learned about advanced poultry processing techniques and saw U.S. advancement in the space. The next day, the team had meetings with professors from the University of Nebraska and toured its Greenhouse Innovation Laboratory to hear about the safety of biotechnology.
“Indian stakeholders are still unsure of precisely what genetic modification technology is,” Pande said. “The meetings in Nebraska shed light on not only the safety of GM animal feed, but also the environmental benefits of biotechnology implementation.”
The team wrapped up its visit to Nebraska by visiting multiple corn farms to see how local producers incorporate technology into their operations. The team then traveled to Kansas, where they were greeted by the United Sorghum Checkoff Program (USCP) and toured a rail terminal to see where U.S. commodities begin their journey to customers around the world.
The rest of the agenda took place at Kansas State University’s International Grains Program (IGP), where Course Manager Dr. Carlos Campabadal spoke to attendees about a variety of subjects including the U.S. sorghum grading system; storage practices in tropical climates; batching for commercial poultry diets; pelleting; and quality assurance. The course was sponsored in partnership with USCP and the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission.
“GM adoption in India will still take some time; however, sorghum provides an immediate non-GM solution for animal feed manufacturers in India – one that the industry urgently needs,” Cannady said. “Following this program, the Indian poultry sector has been diligently pursuing U.S. sorghum exports to India by advocating for common sense phytosanitary measures and the abolition of current tariffs on sorghum imports.”
The Council plans to conduct multiple U.S. sorghum feeding trials in India in the coming year. The goal of the trials will be to showcase that U.S. sorghum does not contain tannins and that it can be used as the primary coarse grain in poultry diets.
Learn more about the Council’s work in India here.
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.