Sorghum Checkoff Hosts North African Buyers
Trade mission aims to connect potential North African buyers, U.S. sellers of grain sorghum
LUBBOCK, TEXAS, October 7, 2009 – With the goal of further developing trade relationships between North Africa and U.S. sorghum suppliers, the United Sorghum Checkoff Program (USCP) in conjunction with the U.S. Grains Council will sponsor a team of seven sorghum buyers from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia Oct. 4-10.
On the afternoon of Thursday, October 8, the team will tour the Port of Corpus Christi and meet with Port officials. They will also meet with ADM operators and tour ADM’s port elevator facility.
On Friday, the team will tour Planters Co-op’s multiple locations on the Coastal Bend of Texas to learn more about the typical cooperative and country elevator. The tour will educate them about where sorghum is grown and stored before it reaches the port.
Brian McCuistion, Manager of Planters Co-op, said it will be positive for the team to tie field production to elevator handling and export channels.
“At our facility, I am hoping to show them what elevator marketers look for in sorghum – what we store, why we store it, why we exist and the measures we take to ensure the identity of our sorghum when it hits the facility,” said McCuistion. “It is important to them to know how the grain is handled. Quality means a lot so we’ll have the opportunity to demonstrate those practices to them.”
Before completing their U.S. buying mission, the team will also tour the King Ranch where they will see first-hand how the King Ranch is roasting sorghum for use in beef finishing rations.
By educating the North African buyers about the logistics of U.S. sorghum production, USCP hopes to reinforce relationships between the buyers and U.S. sorghum producers that will stimulate further exports of U.S. sorghum. The South Texas portion of the mission will be hosted by the Texas Sorghum Producers Board. Representatives of Texas Farm Bureau will travel with the team, as well.
The United Sorghum Checkoff Program was established in 2008 under the authority of the Commodity Promotion, Research and Information Act of 1996. Funding for the checkoff is derived from value based assessments on all grain sorghum and forage sorghum produced in the U.S. as well as from a similar assessment on imported grain sorghum. A 13-member producer board of directors administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.