“The major corn exporting countries have a tremendous opportunity,” said U.S. Grains Council Chairman Don Fast, “and the formation this week of the MAIZALL Alliance is a big step towards turning that opportunity into a reality.”

MAIZALL is an alliance of the leading corn sector producer organizations in the three leading corn exporting countries, the United States, Brazil, and Argentina. A formal memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed May 14 by the presidents/chairmen of the U.S. Grains Council, the National Corn Growers Association, ABRAMHILO (Brazil), and MAIZAR (Argentina). The signing was the signature event of the 2013 MAIZAR national conference in Buenos Aires.

“This has been an encouraging process,” said National Corn Grower Association President Pam Johnson. “MAIZALL is a farmer-to-farmer alliance, and in every instance we have had a meeting of the minds about the key challenges we face in opening markets. Farmers speaking with a united voice across the three major corn exporting countries can have a significant positive influence on the debate. That is our goal, and we are a big step closer today.”

Following the signing of the MOU, the MAIZALL partners met for two days to establish organizational details and meet with agricultural, scientific, and government leaders in Buenos Aires. A tentative agreement was reached on many key issues including the structure of the MAIZALL Board of Directors, officers, preliminary funding targets, and next steps. Over the next several weeks, the proposed organizational structure will be presented for approval to the Boards of the four participating organizations.

“We are competitors,” USGC Vice Chairman Julius Schaaf noted, “and we will remain competitors. But we grow the same crop, we serve the same customers, and we face the same problems on market access issues. We have a common interest in working together to open markets and improve food security around the world. That is the goal of MAIZALL.”