Ask Tommy Hamamoto about his five years of service with the U.S. Grains Council, and he will tell you about the importance of human-to-human relationships in maintaining the largest U.S. export market for feed grains.

“When I joined the Council, I was excited to lead the Japan office representing U.S. feed grain farmers,” Hamamoto says. “My hope was to build the relationship not only between business and business but also between people, based on trust.”

Japan is a mature market for U.S. feed grains with limited growth potential, but that does not mean the Council has a limited role to play in serving the market, according to Hamamoto.

“I’ve been strengthening relationships with Japanese customers to ensure that they remain the most important overseas customers for U.S. feed grains,” he says. “That includes providing opportunities for bringing the U.S. industry together with Japanese customers on a personal level.

“This may sound very oriental, but it works, and although U.S. corn lost market share due to the 2012 drought, I am confident Japanese customers will come back to U.S. corn once supplies return,” he predicts.

Guy Davenport, a North Carolina grower on the Asia Advisory Team, has a similar assessment of Hamamoto’s five years of service: “Tommy has been a good fellow for the Council. He works with a particularly tough market since it is a mature market and the United States is looking to maintain sales.

“He meets people very well, and that makes him a good representative for the Council and U.S. feed grain producers.”