U.S. Grains Council (USGC) members are touching down for the 21st International Marketing Conference and 64th Annual Membership in Guatemala City for the first time since the meeting was held there in 2009.
The event will provide members with an overview of the Council’s strategy for the coming year and include several Advisory Team (A-Team) sessions, where experts in various agricultural commodities and markets will come together to conduct market and commodity-specific deep-dives and share experiences relevant to their industry for this year.
USGC Chairman Brent Boydston will begin Wednesday’s proceedings and welcome both Chief Agricultural Negotiator from the Office of the United States Trade Representative Doug McKalip and Deputy Chief of Mission for the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala Patrick Ventrell. Panel discussions on the state of feed grain and ethanol markets in Guatemala, as well as the Council’s overall work in Latin America, will follow Ventrell’s address.
Wednesday’s agenda will also include a discussion on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP), which is designed to reimburse nonprofit agricultural trade organizations for their work in international markets. USGC President and CEO Ryan LeGrand, USGC Vice President Cary Sifferath and USGC Senior Director of Global Strategies Kurt Shultz will explain what RAPP will mean for the Council and the scope of its work in the future.
On Thursday, members will split into their respective A-Teams for detailed discussions about the commodities and markets relevant to U.S. farmers.
The meeting will conclude on Friday with the Council’s Board of Delegates meeting, where A-Team and sector commodity reports will be presented and delegates will vote on a new set of bylaws for the Council.
More from the meeting is available on social media using the hashtag #Grains24 or through the website.
About The U.S. Grains Council
The U.S. Grains Council develops export markets for U.S. barley, corn, sorghum and related products including distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and ethanol. With full-time presence in 28 locations, the Council operates programs in more than 50 countries and the European Union. The Council believes exports are vital to global economic development and to U.S. agriculture’s profitability. Detailed information about the Council and its programs is online at www.grains.org.