Council Continues Feed Milling Research In Latin America

The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) has been working with Northern Crops Institute, with support from members in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, since last year to conduct a study on the impact of different corn origins on feed milling, with the goal of highlighting potential competitive advantages of U.S. corn compared to other varieties.

For the study, the Council sourced five tons of corn of Argentinean, Brazilian and U.S. origins from a Colombian customer that was re-imported into the United States for lab analysis and a simulated feed mill process.

“So far, initial research results showed U.S. corn’s softer endosperm allowed it to be more productive while also using less energy, which could create significant savings for feed millers,” said Alexander Grabois, USGC manager of global strategies and trade. “By partnering with feed milling businesses in various areas of the world, we can prove U.S. corn’s superior effectiveness, both in terms of animal health and financial efficiency.”

As a continuation of the study, the Council has collaborated with California Pellet Mills (CPM) and Iowa State University to conduct commercial trials with operational feed mills, particularly in Latin America.

Grabois, USGC Regional Marketing Specialist Angelica Rios, CPM Technical Sales Supervisor Doug Kitch and Iowa State University Professor Dr. Dirk Maier traveled to Barranquilla and Cali, Colombia to check on the status of commercial trials and conduct further training to refine data collection procedures. The visits included technical support to help identify points of optimization and discuss ways to increase efficiency, especially in understanding the impact on equipment, where CPM contributed its industry knowledge.

In addition to examining the study’s progress at feed milling plants, the Council’s delegation also toured Barranquilla Port to better understand the import capacity and logistics for the region and met with a multinational food ingredient provider to update them on the study’s results thus far. The visits to the Port were crucial in understanding the unloading system on-site while also addressing some of the challenges faced in the region that could impact corn quality for end-users.

“While we are waiting for more data from the commercial trials, it’s important to continue building connections all along the supply chain to streamline the movement of U.S. agricultural products, and share the exciting results we’ve seen to date,” Grabois said.

“We will remain in close contact with our feed milling partners and frequently visit to guarantee a thorough, accurate study that provides valuable information to feed millers around the world. These actions are also of great value for us to understand the reality seen by our customers while also showing how the use of U.S. feed grains is a high-performing ingredient that shows positive returns on output in various operations.”

Learn more about the Council’s work in corn here.