In today’s interconnected world, it is increasingly difficult to show an expert audience something it hasn’t seen before … difficult but not impossible, as Illinois farmer Ron Gray demonstrated last week in Japan.

Currently the U.S. Grains Council’s Secretary/Treasurer, Gray traveled to Tokyo last week to provide a producer’s perspective at the annual Japan Corn Outlook Conference. Gray’s presence was particularly opportune as his farm in southeastern Illinois was in one of the hardest hit areas in last summer’s drought, and the prospects for a strong U.S. rebound was a key concern of the 140 Japanese attendees.

Emphasizing the commitment of U.S. producers to the export market and strong planting intentions for this year, Gray scored additional points with detailed, GPS-mapped field data on soil conditions and yield. “Attendees were impressed by Ron presenting the data from his farm using GPS,” noted USGC Director Tommy Hamamoto. “Most people were seeing the real data for the first time.”

The attendees — Japanese grain traders, feed millers, food industry representatives, academics, and government officials — were especially eager to learn about the cost/benefit of GPS equipment and management tools available from the University, Gray noted. “They were also quite interested in our view of TPP [the Trans-Pacific Partnership]. In addition, the feed industry there is state of the art, and a systematic corn price risk mitigation process is desired.”

The Corn Outlook Conference is the largest recurring Council event in Japan, which is the largest U.S. corn export market. Japanese buyers are keenly interested in U.S. production trends, crop quality, and trade policy issues, and the Conference is an important opportunity to reassure our best customers about the capacity, reliability and resiliency of the U.S. grain production system.