CONTACT: Dale Ihry, Executive Director
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Fargo, North Dakota –The Annual Board of Delegates meeting for the US Grains Council (USGC) was held in Louisville, KY, the week of July 27th. Bart Schott and Andy Braaten participated in this meeting as delegates for the North Dakota Corn Growers Association.
The USGC is a partner of the National Corn Growers Association and affiliated corn growing states (including North Dakota Corn Growers) to promote the export and use of corn, ethanol and livestock. The USGC develops export markets for U.S. barley, corn, grain sorghum and related products, including ethanol and distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS). The USGC believes exports are vital to global economic development and to U.S. agriculture’s profitability. Bart Schott serves on the Ethanol advisory team and Andy Braaten was appointed to the Asian advisory team, effective August 1, 2016. Anthony Mock of the ND Corn Growers Association is also a delegate on the USGC board.
An example of USGC’s efforts with its partners at Growth Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), is the increase of efforts to promote U.S. ethanol as the clean-burning source of fuel to buyers and end-users around the globe. Through business-to-business working groups, technical workshops, trade missions and interaction with overseas media, these groups are reaching out to customers and
regulators to show them the benefits of ethanol. These efforts are building on last marketing year’s sales to global customers of more than 870 million gallons (3.2 billion liters) of U.S. ethanol valued at almost $2 billion, the second largest quantity of U.S. ethanol shipped overseas. Mexico is a new targeted market by USGC. At the Louisville meeting Bart Schott and Andy Braaten were able to meet the Mexico partners who are creating a market for US ethanol.
The North Dakota Corn Growers Association (NDCGA) is the farmer-led organization focusing on policy that impacts North Dakota corn producers. The NDCGA consists of 14 growers from 7 districts along with 4 at-large directors. The NDCUC and NDCGA work together to grow a healthy, profitable business climate for northern corn.
ND Corn Growers Pushing Exports of Corn Grain, Ethanol and Livestock
