Agricultural Cooperators Conference Sells 1.8 Million Metric Tons of U.S. Feed Grains

The 12th Annual Agricultural Cooperators Conference in Siem Reap, Cambodia, resulted in more than 335,000 metric tons of distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) sales valued at approximately $82 million. Using Market Access Program (MAP) funds, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) invested $70,000 into hosting this annual conference, generating an estimated return on investment (ROI) of $1,181 for every MAP $1 invested solely for DDGS sales.

The conference was co-sponsored by the Council and the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) to allow U.S. grain exporters to meet and conduct face-to-face meetings with more than 170 representatives of the Southeast Asian feed industry in one place.

This conference allowed for decisions makers to gather in one room and do business in a region that is otherwise very logistically challenging for U.S. exporters to service properly.

Besides time to network, the 170 attendees of the conference benefited from a strong agenda that included U.S. farmer crop reports for both corn and soybeans, a global transportation outlook, review of risk management tools and information on feed sector developments.

In total, attendees of the conference reported 1.8 million metric tons of grain products sold worth $650 million, the non-DDGS contracts were of optional origin.

“This conference in Southeast Asia is a great opportunity to understand what the opportunities are in this part of the world and how U.S. farmers can become a key supplier of coarse grains to this region,” said Brandon Hunnicutt, a representative of the Nebraska Corn Board who delivered the U.S. corn crop report during the conference. “It also allows for great relationships to be developed that, hopefully, can pay dividends in the future.”