Wisconsin farmers

participate in Asian

Leadership mission

Wisconsin corn growers Randy Woodruff, Chippewa Falls, and Nancy Kavazanjian, Beaver Dam, are experiencing first-hand how overseas demand for U.S. grain is evolving as participants in the 2011 U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission to Southeast Asia.

The 10-day mission started Nov. 29 and run until Dec. 9, and includes five days in Japan, three days in China and two days in Vietnam. China and Japan are the two top markets for Wisconsin grain exports, while Vietnam is the fastest emerging U.S. corn customer in Asia.

Woodruff, who serves as the District 1 director on the Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board and Kavazanjian, who is the Wisconsin Corn Growers Association director of communications, join corn farmer-leaders from seven other states on this trip.

"We've heard so much about the industrialization and development that is driving Asian demand for our grains it will be interesting to be part of a team that can communicate U.S. farmer's commitment to serving these markets," Woodruff relates. "We'll also be assessing Japan's recovery efforts following the March earthquake and Tsunami to help judge their future needs for U.S. feed grains."

"Corn and distillers grains are the most valuable agricultural export we have and Japan and China are among our largest foreign customers for these exports," says Kavazanjian. "Japan is a market in transition, while China is the largest variable in today's world trade and Vietnam is representative of the demand developing all across Southeast Asia."

Trip updates, photos and video interviews with participants will be posted on the U.S. Grains Council Facebook page and the Wisconsin Corn Growers Association Facebook page along the way.

While in Japan, Woodruff and Kavazanjian will meet with Japanese feed and food manufacturers, visit port facilities, a beef cattle farm and meet with government officials. Discussions will include demand and quality needs and the need for close communications to ensure adequate supplies of specialty corn. The mission team will also participate in an event at a specialty noodle factory where ramen noodles are made from corn flour, rather than the more traditional rice or wheat noodles.

In Southern China the group is visiting port facilities and meeting representatives of a logistical services company that handles loading and unloading of bulk grains in Guangzhou. They will meet with officials of a large, modern swine company and an agricultural trading company. Discussions will focus on China's needs as the top growth market for U.S. grains and reinforce our country's role as a dependable supplier of high-quality corn and corn products.

In Vietnam, the trade mission meets officials from a diversified agricultural company, a major grain and oilseeds importers and a meat processing company. They hope to gain more understanding of this rapidly growing economy as well as their grain and technical assistance needs going forward.

The U.S. Grains Council is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to building export markets for barley, corn, sorghum and their products. Wisconsin corn growers provide financial support to the USGC through the state corn checkoff. The primary objective of Wisconsin's corn checkoff program, which is administered by the Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board, is to maintain and expand sales of Wisconsin corn.