Four Iowa farmers – Duane Aistrope, Kurt Hora, Jerry Mohr and Roger Zylstra – celebrated five years of service to the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) this week during the organization’s 13th International Marketing Conference and 56th Annual Membership Meeting.
The group has practical advice about making the most of their USGC membership.
“Go to the meetings, sit in on the Advisory Teams (A-Teams), learn how the Council works and see what sparks your interest,� Aistrope said. “Then in the next year, apply to be on an A-Team. Find your niche and get involved.�
Hora recommends meeting the Council’s in-country directors and hosting a trade team if possible.
“It’s exciting when you can meet people from the other side of the world who are using our corn to feed their families,� Hora said. “They really appreciate a look at a family farm where the corn comes from.
“We’ve hosted a half-dozen different teams at our operation, and it has probably been one of the most rewarding things we’ve done.�
Mohr echoed Hora’s statement saying that the Council acts as a bridge between U.S. producers and their international customers.
“The Council does a great job of developing leaders for its board of directors, and that board empowers USGC staff worldwide to go out and do the work a farmer like me can’t do in Scott County, Iowa,� Mohr said. “They are my partners in the global marketplace.�
The Council does this by developing markets, enabling trade and improving lives.
“We need to build demand wherever we can,� Zylstra said. “I think the Council is doing a good job having a presence in a lot of markets and helping us stay abreast of changes.�
This work includes assisting in overcoming barriers to trade, according to Mohr.
“With global markets, you have to go through some hoops to get in, and Council is great about helping us over those barriers,� Mohr said.
One effort he referenced as an example was the Council’s ethanol initiative.
“If we can get two billion gallons exported, that would help our ag economy tremendously,� Mohr said.
Hora also mentioned the importance of the Council’s work building markets for value-added products like distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and meat.
“It’s one thing to export whole kernel corn – that’s very important – but as you export ethanol, DDGS and even meat, that’s adding value here,� Hora said. “Every little bit of value we can add puts more money in our pockets.�
Click here to read past Global Update article about ethanol exports.