The U.S. Grains Council hosted 21 representatives from the Central American feed industry to attend a course in quality control offered by the International Grains Program at Kansas State University. In response to concerns about U.S. corn quality, the Council invited participants from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama to participate in a training program on the U.S. Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) grain inspection program. The goal was to familiarize the Central American feed industry on the FGIS’s standardized grain quality controls and eliminate misunderstandings. 

“These five Central American countries imported 2.4 million metric tons (9.5 million bushels) of U.S. corn last year. These are very important, reliable buyers of U.S. feed grains,� stated Kurt Shultz, USGC regional director in Latin America and the Caribbean Region. “There is a tremendous variability in understanding of not only U.S. grain quality standards, but also in how each feed mill implements its quality control programs. This creates problems for the feed mills that don’t have quality control programs to manage the natural variability that occurs in grain shipments, which can lead to feed mill inefficiencies and financial losses.�

As part of its customer servicing program, the Council’s focus on educating feed mill operators about these standards will dispel some of the quality concerns that feed mills may have and help them design an efficient, cost-effective program to address grain quality.

“The participants were very enthused about the how to standardize their quality control programs to improve overall management of grain: dealing with basic grain quality parameters, mycotoxin testing methods, grain storage problem solving, feed mill process control and problems as they arise,� stated Jay O’Neil, senior agricultural economist at the International Grains Program.

This is the first team program organized by the newly established USGC office in Latin America.

“Through this initial program we are letting our regional customer’s know that the Council will be engaged over the long-term to help them address their concerns. In the long-run, we are committed to helping them grow and improve their overall operations,� said Shultz.