Staff and members of the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) like to say the sun never sets on the organization’s work to promote U.S. corn, barley, sorghum, dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) and ethanol.

Our membership — a diverse representation of checkoffs, grower organizations like the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and agribusinesses — recognizes that demand supports farmgate prices and has aligned global resources to capture near-term opportunities for U.S. coarse grain and co-product sales while building long-term demand among global customers.

Robust global network

The key to the council’s effectiveness is a robust global network of staff and consultants. In the past, the bulk of these individuals had backgrounds in animal production or nutrition.

In today’s rapidly changing trade environment, however, the council has expanded its staff and consultant portfolio to include grain traders, ethanol specialists and specialized nutritionists to address increasingly sophisticated world markets.

The council’s network also serves another important function — looking for market opportunities. Communication from the field back to the headquarters office and members about what is going on around the world is essential to identifying how to capture short-term demand opportunities.

Building new markets