U.S. Grains Council Delegates To Vote On Organizational Name Amendment

Last week at its 22nd International Marketing Conference and 65th Annual Membership Meeting in Austin, Texas, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) announced it will bring forward a vote to amend the organization’s name to the U.S. Grains and Bioproducts Council (USGBC).

Council delegates will decide whether to move forward with the new name via a majority vote on Aug. 1 during its 65th Annual Board of Delegates Meeting in Grand Rapids, MI as the organization celebrates its rich history in supporting the U.S. agricultural industry over the past 65 years.

“The reality is we are now not just limited to taking meetings within the global ethanol space, we are interfacing with players in the broader energy industry,” said Ryan LeGrand, USGC president and CEO, during remarks in Austin. “Ethanol and related products have become part of our identity in practice, but not in name, and it is time to signal to these new audiences that we have something to offer.”

The Council has undergone this process before, when it changed its name from the original U.S. Feed Grains Council to its current title in 1998.

“We are at an inflection point for our organization – one that requires our members’ consideration of an amended organizational name that carefully balances and maintains the 65 years of brand equity we’ve built but also is broad enough to reflect what the organization is about as a whole and where we are going in the future,” LeGrand said.

The change will require three separate changes to the organization’s bylaws, and if approved by delegates during the Council’s summer meeting, updates to the Council’s online presence and physical signage to match the amended name will be gradually implemented.