Arkansas farmer Tommy Young was acknowledged for his 15 years of service to the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) at its 20th International Marketing Conference and 63rd Annual Membership Meeting in Savannah, GA this week. Young grows corn, soybean, rice and wheat on his farm in Tuckerman and is currently the chairman of the Arkansas Corn & Grain Sorghum Board (ACGSB).
Young’s role with the ACGSB connected him with the Council, and his first major experience was a 15-day trip to North Africa in 2007 with producers from other states to see the various programs the Council held in the region.
“I came back and told my fellow Arkansans that this is a good organization because not only does it bring more mouths to the trough, it enables us, as a relatively small state, to work with other states to use our dollars more effectively,” Young said. “For every dollar we put in, we have evidence that it will come back to us threefold in promotion of our crops.”
Another highlight from Young’s tenure with the Council was a trip to Ireland, England, France and the Netherlands in 2008 while Europe was suffering from a wheat shortage. He spoke about the affordability and nutrition of sorghum as an alternative feed source for struggling farmers.
“The Council was like a firehouse over there. It saw the need, raced out and started programs to promote U.S. sorghum and create a new market for our products,” Young said. “It was an eye-opener for me to see how the Council is viewed internationally because when it announced those events, people came from hundreds of miles away just to learn about blending sorghum for poultry.”
Young stays busy with other activities outside of the ACGSB and the Council. He has been a justice of the peace in Jackson County, Arkansas for 16 years and founded a historical society, Trails to Tuckerman, which has so far digitized over 10,000 documents relating to the history of the town and the surrounding area. Young also advised the University of Arkansas as it recently built a new research facility focused on corn and soybeans.
Please join the Council in recognizing Tommy for his 15 years of service!
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.