The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) recognized the contributions of two national commodity leaders in Wallie Hardie, North Dakota Corn Utilization Council, and Bill Kubecka, United Sorghum Checkoff Program, during its 12th International Marketing Conference and 55th Annual Membership Meeting last week.
Kubecka, celebrating five years with the Council, is a past president of the National Grain Sorghum Producers, and Hardie, now at 15 years with the Council, was the National Corn Growers Association president during NCGA’s 1997 restructuring.
Both agree on the importance of being involved in Council efforts.
“The big thing I’ve learned personally is, if you’re not involved, don’t be criticizing,” Kubecka said.
“When the Council was first set up, it was a means for U.S. producers of coarse grains to expose themselves to the world,” he said. “The Council does a very, very good job of that.
“We still have challenges in places like China, and my concern is what’s going to come up next, but as a group I don’t know how you could ask for more effort than the Council delivers. The effort is there to make the world knowledgeable about our coarse grains.”
Hardie echoes Kubecka when speaking about his participation in USGC programs.
“Being involved with the Council, I love the mission statement – Developing Markets, Enabling Trade, Improving Lives,” Hardie said.
His first Council mission to Asia in 1999 led him to see the world as a much smaller place and one in which people-to-people interactions and win-win opportunities are critical.
Hardie cites as an example the Council’s Tanzania Food for Progress program to encourage poultry production.
“The Council has the expertise, especially regarding feed and testing,” he said. “It doesn’t mean they will import in the short term, but there will come a time when a robust poultry industry in Tanzania will need more corn, and U.S. farmers will have a new place to sell their crops. And for Tanzania it will mean more work for the people and more reasonably-priced chicken to improve nutrition.”
Both men were honored during the Council’s business meeting on Feb. 11. Click here for more about the event.