Home | News & events | Newsroom

Members Provide 2016 Guidance During Grains Council Winter Meeting

Posted on

U.S. Grains Council (USGC) delegates provided powerful input and guidance into the Council’s priorities for 2016 and beyond at meetings this week in Sarasota, Florida.

Bringing the Council’s producer and agribusiness members and stakeholders together with its global staff and consultants, the purpose of the meeting was program evaluation, assessment of changing market opportunities and review of the annual Unified Export Strategy (UES), the Council’s official work plan for the upcoming year.

This week’s sessions during the 13th International Marketing Conference and 56th Annual Membership Meeting were formatted to generate discussions between USGC membership and staff.

Members from state checkoffs, agribusinesses and other organizations met with USGC staff during Advisory Team (A-Team) meetings focused on topics including trade policy, biotechnology, value-added opportunities and ethanol and regions including Asia, the Middle East and Africa and the Western Hemisphere.

The meeting drew to a close Wednesday with attendees meeting in plenary to share input from the small group sessions with the USGC Boards of Delegates and Directors. Priorities laid out in the A-Team meetings included aggressive market development for ethanol exports, promoting a global understanding of biotechnology and providing U.S. agriculture a voice during global trade policy negotiations.

“Our members’ dedication to our work is part of what makes the Council excellent in its dealings with members and the overseas customers who depend on us,â€� said USGC Chairman Alan Tiemann.

“The input that was provided at our meeting this week was carefully thought out and gave the Council’s staff insights to incorporate into their planning for our programs in the short and long terms.�

More about the ongoing annual meeting is available online at http://grains.org/news-and-events/events/13th-international-marketing-conference-56th-annual-membership-meeting or on social media using the hashtag #grains16.

Photos from the meeting are available on the Council’s Flickr page, here.