McKinney To Address USGC Meeting In Houston

Ted McKinney, USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs

Ted McKinney, Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), will address the board, delegates and members of the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) during the organization’s upcoming meeting in Houston.

In his role, McKinney leads the development and implementation of the Department’s trade policy, oversees and facilitates foreign market access, and promotes opportunities for U.S. agriculture through various trade programs and high-level government negotiations.

“The Council is excited and honored to have Under Secretary McKinney join us in Houston to discuss the importance of exports to U.S farmers and agribusinesses,” said Deb Keller, Council chairman and farmer from Iowa. “We look forward to his insights from a distinguished agricultural career and his recent travels promoting U.S. agriculture to markets across the globe.”

McKinney previously served as the agriculture secretary for Indiana and worked as an agriculture industry executive working closely with farm organizations including the Council. His new position was mandated in the 2014 Farm Bill to promote better coordination between the agencies within USDA that touch trade and elevate the importance of trade within the U.S. government’s activities.

The 15th International Marketing Conference and 58th Annual Membership Meeting is scheduled for Feb. 12-14, in Houston, Texas.

The meeting will allow USGC delegates, members and advisory teams (A-Teams) to engage directly on the most critical issues related to international trade of U.S. corn, sorghum and barley as well as co-products like ethanol and distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS).

A-Teams will also conduct their yearly in-depth sessions to help set USGC global strategy and hear from the Council’s global staff members who work to promote grain and grain products.

More information about the meeting is available on the USGC website at www.grains.org/Houston. Specific questions can be directed to Rebecca Kane, USGC’s meetings manager, at rkane@grains.org.