While international travel restrictions due to COVID-19 have required the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) to postpone its 61st Annual Board of Delegates meeting in Calgary, Canada, until 2023, USGC Chairman Jim Raben announced this week that the 2021 summer meeting will be moved to Des Moines, Iowa, July 28-30.
“My theme of Building Relationships, Building Trade has taken on new meaning during the pandemic and in how we accomplish these tasks to keep trade moving around the world,” Raben said. “The Council has decided to offer its 61st Annual Board of Delegates Meeting in a hybrid format – so attendees can choose either an in-person or virtual experience.”
Registration for the event will open the week of May 17, and the Council will offer a virtual townhall meeting on May 12 at 9:00AM Eastern Time to go through what attendees can expect from the Council’s first-ever hybrid meeting and to answer questions about it. Council staff continue to work on the details of the agenda.
“In Des Moines, the Council will follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s continued guidance of masking and social distancing as a precautionary measure and will require adherence by all in-person attendees,” Raben said. “The Council’s goal is to keep you as safe as possible while continuing to offer the caliber of programming you’ve come to expect from us.”
Questions about the meeting can be directed to Rebecca Kane, USGC meeting manager.
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.