The U.S. Grains Council’s (USGC’s) work often calls for a long-term effort. With 10 years of service, four current Council delegates can point to major Council achievements, while still noting challenges on the horizon.

Bill Christ of the Illinois Corn Marketing Board cites the Council’s success with distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) promotion overseas.

“At the first meeting I attended, I remember the ethanol companies coming to us and saying they were going to be drowning in DDGS because there wasn’t enough market in the United States,” Christ said.

“By the time I visited Asia three or four years later with a Council mission, the Vietnamese were feeding DDGS to fish on the Mekong River. It was amazing how fast the Council was able to turn Asia into a viable market. I was really impressed.”

Bob Bowman of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board talks about the Council’s trade servicing efforts with customers.

“Back in the 1980s, I remember the work producers were doing to try to open up trade to South America,” Bowman said. “Now I’m just returning home from presenting the Council’s 2014-2015 Corn Harvest Quality Report findings in Colombia and Peru. I saw the actual results of all our efforts.

“It was a chance to discuss issues like identity preservation, how we handle the product and concerns about quality. That’s really important for our exports.”

Dean Taylor of the Iowa Corn Growers Association also cites the Council’s DDGS promotion for providing a major boost to the ethanol industry. Looking ahead, he sees ethanol promotion as an important second stage and, at the same time, he foresees new challenges from world regulatory systems.

“I think one of the bigger challenges out there is with regulatory process to approve genetic traits. It’s potentially a real problem we have to get a handle on,” he said.

Don Fast, a Montana Wheat and Barley Committee delegate and past Council chairman, said the transformation of Vietnam was an eye-opener when he traveled there for the Council. 

With all the different cultures and ethnic groups the Council deals with, Fast emphasized that all people have the same needs.

“We may be selling commodities, but this is still a people business,” he said. “We’re trying to help farmers and agribusiness in our country and as we do business overseas, we’re helping people there too.”    

Fast, Taylor, Bowman and Christ were all honored at the Council’s winter annual meeting earlier this month for completing 10 years of Council service.