Hoerr, Mueller, Schneider Recognized For Five Years Of Service

Brent Hoerr, Mark Mueller and Troy Schneider were recognized last week at the U.S. Grains Council’s (USGC’s) 19th International Marketing Conference and 62nd Annual Membership Meeting in Greenville, S.C., for each offering five years of service to the Council.

Hoerr is a member of the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council and serves as the lead for USGC’s Innovation and Sustainability Advisory Team (A-Team). In Missouri, Hoerr grows corn and soybeans on his farm.

His first experience with the Council took place in his youth.

“My first exposure to the Council was when I had just gotten out of high school. The National Corn Growers Association’s (NCGA’s) yield contest got me to several Commodity Classic events, and the U.S. Grains Council was always there with its presentations,” Hoerr said. “The first time I heard one of the presentations, it impressed me to see what kind of people we have working in our industry behind the scenes and what they are doing. It always seemed like the work they did was helping not just my farm, but farms across the U.S. and developing agriculture around the world as ambassadors.”

Hoerr’s favorite memory with the Council comes from time he spent in Mexico.

“The stinger project in Mexico a few years ago was a favorite of mine,” Hoerr said. “We got to go down to Mexico and talk to the producers after it was installed. It has still been a challenge to get distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) into that market, but it’s important to just take the necessary steps. They were wanting a product that we had, and the rail that leaves our state ends up in Mexico, so we wanted to find a way to help them.”

Outside of work, Hoerr enjoys helping young people get involved in agricultural organizations.

Mueller, who operates a fourth-generation farming operation in northeast Iowa, is a director of the Iowa Corn Growers Association and a member of USGC’s Western Hemisphere A-Team.

“My father, Howard Mueller, was a past chairman of the U.S. (Feed) Grains Council and Iowa Corn Promotion Board,” Mueller said. “I want to carry on the important work of these organizations to create new markets and new uses for corn.”

Throughout his time with the Council and the many experiences he has had, Mueller has made it a priority to promote trade.

“During my time serving Iowa Corn and the U.S. Grains Council, I’ve traveled to numerous countries talking trade. No matter the obstacles that countries or companies or nature may impose, trade finds a way,” Mueller said. “Trade lifts incomes and that helps secure and spread democracy.”

Mueller has visited Mexico three times with the Council for the Corn Harvest Quality rollout presentations.

From Colorado, Schneider is a member of the Colorado Corn Administrative Committee and the Council’s Middle East/Africa/South Asia (MEASA) A-Team.

Schneider became a Council delegate when Colorado Corn rejoined USGC as a member.

“I hadn’t completed my first year as a board member; I didn’t know what I was getting into,” Schneider said. “At my first meeting in Panama, I was a new delegate, but I was also representing new membership that had been away from the table for 10 years at that point. I’ll never regret that decision to represent Colorado Corn. It opened my eyes to a lot of things when I attended that meeting.”

His favorite memories from his five years revolve around his involvement with the MEASA A-Team.

“When I came on the MEASA A-Team, I was concerned hearing that we were going to be taking on India and South Asia within this A-Team. I was concerned that we were spreading ourselves too thinly,” Schneider said. “To see where that went from, when the idea was brought to us in 2019 to getting an office there, I couldn’t believe the hard work and the time it took just to get the paperwork approved by the government in India. To see that and now to see that the office is opening there has been very impressive.”

Schneider’s involvement in organizations like USGC stems from his desires for the future.

“The main reason I’m excited to be involved with organizations like USGC and NCGA is because of my boys. We’ve got to be able to tell our story, whether it be trade or sustainability or anything else, whatever we do today is for a better future, and that’s one thing that drives it home for me.”

Please join the Council in congratulating Brent, Mark and Troy!