Nearly 200 international buyers hailing from 32 countries are flocking this week to Minneapolis for Export Exchange 2012 … a timely reminder that U.S. agricultural exports must be earned one buyer at a time … and that effective cooperation among U.S. producers, agribusinesses and USDA is a key to winning sales. Agricultural exports are one of America’s biggest winners in international trade, and Export Exchange promotes sales that will create exports, jobs, and economic growth across the United States.

Export Exchange is a unique international marketing event co-sponsored by the U.S. Grains Council and the Renewable Fuels Association. The conference aims to provide attendees with timely insights about international markets for U.S. coarse grains of corn, sorghum and barley and their co-products, including distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and corn gluten. It is also a key opportunity for more than 300 U.S. attendees, representing every link of the U.S. coarse grains export chain, to network with foreign buyers responsible for more than 60 percent of U.S. foreign sales of barley, sorghum, corn, DDGS, and other co-products.

Despite rising competition from Brazil, Argentina, Ukraine and other exporters, the U.S. remains by far the world’s biggest exporter of feed grains and DDGS. This market dominance is no accident — it is the product of a longstanding public-private partnership dedicated to boosting U.S. exports and creating American jobs. Export Exchange is a great example of this partnership in action.

Partially funded by the private sector through contributions from U.S. producer organizations, agribusinesses, and the ethanol industry, Export Exchange also receives support from USDA through the Market Access Program (MAP), which helps fund the travel of foreign buying teams to the United States, Unfortunately, MAP is among the key Farm Bill programs threatened with a shutdown if the Farm Bill is not reauthorized in the near future.

The world’s grain buyers are gathering at Minneapolis next week, and you won’t want to miss your chance to participate in the Export Exchange 2012. Onsite registration is still available. For more information, including a full conference agenda, please visit www.exportexchange.org or contact Lyndsey Erb-Sharkey, USGC manager of membership outreach, at 202-789-0789 or info@exportexchange.org. See you next week!