Corn Quality Report Explores 2011 U.S. Crop
The 2011 U.S. corn crop entered the global market with a good test weight, low stress cracks and good moisture readings, according to the 2011 U.S. Corn Quality Harvest Report, the first national corn quality report of its kind commissioned by the U.S. Grains Council.

Results in the study were drawn from 474 yellow commodity corn samples taken across 12 top corn producing U.S. states representing 98 percent of 2010 U.S. corn exports.

"Many key questions we are asked every year surround the quality of the U.S. corn crop," said the Council's Erick Erickson, director of programs and planning. "With this initial report, we aim to objectively provide that information. As reports are completed in future years, we'll have an excellent history of the quality of U.S. corn as it enters the merchandising channel."

Samples for the study were collected by country elevators in each participating state. Samples were sent directly to the Illinois Crop Improvement Association Identity Preserved Grain Laboratory in Champaign, Ill., for analysis following U.S. Department of Agriculture standards.

The study compiled the results on an aggregate basis, covering all 12 states, but also broke them out into three composite export catchment areas, the Gulf (Mississippi Gulf shipments), Pacific Northwest and Southern Rail (rail shipments to Mexico).

"The catchment areas can help buyers who ship out of certain points to better understand the quality of the corn entering merchandising channels that generally ship to those areas," Erickson said. 

On an aggregate basis, the report shows a good test weight crop in 2011 - 58.1 pounds per bushel (74.8 kg/hl). 

Moisture samples taken at grain elevators averaged 15.6 percent and had low variability, which implies that the corn dried down mostly in the field , helping improve storeability and creating fewer stressed kernels due to less equipment-based drying.

The crop also showed low stress cracks and low levels of broken corn and foreign matter (BCFM). Low figures in both of these areas indicate the possibility of reduced rates of breakage as corn is handled.

"Study results show that despite challenging growing conditions experienced in several corn growing regions, farmers in the United States produced a high-quality crop overall," Erickson said.

Other characteristics were also examined, including protein, starch and oil content, and are shown in the second chart.

USGC President and CEO Thomas C. Dorr discusses the Corn Quality Harvest Report on Council Cast. Click here to listen.
Find the report on the Council's website by clicking here.

Competing for Algeria's Feed Grain Market
Algeria imported 3.5 million metric tons of feed grains last year, with corn reaching 126 million bushels and barley topping 17.7 million bushels. Algeria's corn sales were dominated by Argentina, Brazil, Ukraine, France and Romania, and barley sales by France, Finland, the U.K. and Bulgaria. According to Cary Sifferath, U.S. Grains Council regional director, the U.S. market share is estimated at 2 percent overall.

"Much of the growth in Algeria's market is the result of the Arab Spring, which allowed Algerian importers to take advantage of some shipments originally destined for Libya. That gave Algeria's poultry producers access to lower-cost corn and soybean meal, which led to better producer profits and expanded poultry production," he said.

"The market is growing, but we need to work much harder to increase the U.S. market share in 2012," Sifferath added.

"There's a growing preference for Argentine "red" corn, and Black Sea corn often provides a cost advantage to its suppliers. This year, we want to focus on removing Algeria's high import duty and Value-added tax on distiller's grains in order to promote combination shipments of U.S. corn and co-products."

Word from the Ground:

Building an Industry with New Standards
By Clover Chang, USGC Director in Taiwan

Taiwan's Council of Agriculture is under pressure from feed millers and poultry producers to establish national mycotoxin standards for grains and feedstuffs. At the U.S. Grains Council Taiwan office, we are working to promote U.S. standards as a benchmark in setting national quality control systems in Taiwan. We recognize that these new standards have to be adaptable to encourage producers, even at the most local level, to embrace new industry guidelines.

This month the Council's Taiwan office worked with Taiwan's COA and feed sector representatives to hold a mycotoxin standard policy meeting. The Council of Agriculture plans to publish a technical bulletin on mycotoxins by July, conduct seminars about the standard for feed millers and livestock producers and invite a U.S. or Japanese consultant to share his or her expertise on mycotoxin prevention and control at these seminars. 

This meeting succeeded in involving a round-table of key industry leaders from the academic community and government agencies.

COUNCIL ACTIVITY CALENDAR

March 20 - 30: The Council will host a number of buyer seminars and training workshops at the Shanghai JCI's Raw Feed Materials Market conference in China. Council consultants will be on-hand to address buyer needs and share their expertise in risk management and freight solutions. Buyers of U.S. corn and co-products, representatives from major feed companies and regional grain traders will have the opportunity to learn about the quality and supply of U.S. grain products. For more information, contact Kyle Cromer, USGC international operations coordinator for Asia, at kcromer@grains.org.

Do you find the information in Global Update useful? If so, be sure to pass it on to your friends and colleagues who might benefit from learning more about the U.S. Grains Council's programs to build demand for U.S. grains and increase market access around the world. If they would like to receive Global Update directly, encourage them to contact Marri Carrow at mcarrow@grains.org with their name, company and e-mail to subscribe.

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Sen. Chuck Grassley today made the following comment on the Taiwanese government announcement that Taiwan plans to set an allowance level for U.S. beef that contains the feed additive ractopamine but not set a similar level for U.S. pork.  Ractopamine has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and is used by many U.S. beef and pork producers as a feed additive.

"I'm encouraged that the Taiwanese government may allow some U.S. beef that contains traces of ractopamine into Taiwan, but the announcement falls far short of resolving this issue.  The Taiwanese government has not set any allowable level of this additive for U.S. pork imports.  As I've said before, Taiwan must treat U.S. agricultural products fairly, in accordance with scientific evidence, and in keeping with its trade obligations, if it expects to maintain its status as a strong economic partner with the United States.  There is no scientific reason for Taiwan to set residual levels of a certain additive for beef but not pork.  I hope Taiwan's announcement was just a first step in the right direction toward more removal of the trade barriers hurting U.S. farmers."

Sales of U.S. food and agricultural products to China have grown by 80 percent in 3 years

AMES, Iowa, March 1, 2012–Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will lead an agricultural trade mission to China at the end of March to strengthen partnerships between U.S. and Chinese businesses and enhance job growth in the United States. The trade mission is expected to be USDA's largest to date, with more than 40 U.S. agribusinesses and representatives from six State Departments of Agriculture set to accompany Acting Under Secretary Michael Scuse to Chengdu and Shanghai, two of China's largest cities. In 2011, China moved into the top spot as the number one market for U.S. agricultural goods, purchasing $20 billion in U.S. agricultural exports. U.S. farm exports to China supported more than 160,000 American jobs in 2011. "This trade mission, USDA's largest to date, offers American businesses the opportunity to position themselves to enter or expand their presence in China, one of our strongest trading partners," said Vilsack. "China and the United States share a special relationship, and we embrace this opportunity to continue our in-depth dialogue on issues of mutual concern. At the same time, we want to ensure that our American farmers, ranchers and producers continue to be recognized across China and the Asia Pacific as reliable suppliers of the highest-quality food and agricultural products." Last month, Vilsack hosted China's Vice President Xi Jinping and Agriculture Minister Han Changfu at the first U.S.-China Agricultural Symposium in Des Moines. The agriculture ministers signed a Plan of Strategic Cooperation that will guide the two countries' agricultural relationship for the next five years. The plan focuses on agricultural science, trade and education, and looks to deepen cooperation through technical exchanges and strengthen coordination in key priority areas, including food security and emerging technologies. Scuse will lead the trade mission to China from March 23-28, beginning in Chengdu, one of the most important economic, transportation, and communication centers in western China and home of USDA's newest Agricultural Trade Office. Participants will then travel on to Shanghai, a hub of global commerce and the most populous city in the world. The goal of the mission is to provide U.S. participants with first-hand market information, access to government decision makers, and one-on-one meetings with business contacts, potential agents, distributers, and importers so they can position themselves to enter or expand their presence in China. While in China, Scuse will meet with Chinese government and agricultural officials and U.S. agribusiness, and will visit agricultural production and development sites. Ambassador Islam Siddiqui, Chief Agricultural Negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, will also join Scuse to open the USA Pavilion at the Food Ingredients China Trade Show in Shanghai on March 28. The Obama Administration, with Agriculture Secretary Vilsack's leadership, has aggressively worked to expand export opportunities and reduce barriers to trade, helping to push agricultural exports to record levels in 2011 and beyond. U.S. agriculture is currently experiencing one of its best periods in history thanks to the productivity, resiliency, and resourcefulness of our producers and agribusinesses. Today, net farm income is at record levels while debt has been cut in half since the 1980s. Overall, American agriculture supports 1 in 12 jobs in the United States and provides American consumers with 83 percent of the food we consume, while maintaining affordability and choice. Strong agricultural exports contribute to a positive U.S. trade balance, create jobs, boost economic growth and support President Obama's National Export Initiative goal of doubling all U.S. exports by the end of 2014. #

At my last routine checkup, my doctor brought in a physician's assistant who was 'in training' and there to observe.  He stood there, scribbling, as I chatted about my insomnia, my diet, my stomach issues.  I had to trust that he really was there to learn, maybe even add new information about recommended prescriptions (being a new medical school graduate, he should have the latest information, right?) or help spot impending signs of illness or concern.  I had to trust he was there to learn, not there because he might 'dish' about private information he learned about recognizable patients in this respected doctor's office.

If I sound hesitant, it's because I've had my medical privacy invaded many times when I was a TV news anchor in Des Moines, so have others I've worked with.  I'm sure you'd agree it's absolutely justifiable to expect that everyone who helps care for their personal or family medical needs  is well-trained and professional enough to let them know immediately if they saw something 'out of line', 'out of whack' or potentially dangerous.

Putting those same concerns in another setting, it also seems reasonable to expect that if a person comes to work on an Iowa livestock farm, they're well-trained and professional enough to let a farmer (or law enforcement agent) know immediately if they see something 'out of line,' 'out of whack' or potentially dangerous when it comes to animals that are raised for our food.

Consumers are justifiably concerned about how animals they eat are treated on farms in Iowa.  I'm not saying the Ag Protection Bill just passed at the Statehouse is perfect, but at least it gets to the heart of the matter: trust.  I want to trust that if an animal is being mistreated on a farm, the person who sees it says something, and the person who does it, is removed or punished immediately.  It would also be nice if farmers could trust that people who work on their farms know what they're doing and stand up to correct or report bad behavior.

I understand we all are concerned about animals; we don't have to live and work with livestock animals every day to get that they deserve good food, timely medical attention and a compassionate, safe environment during their (somewhat short) lives.   Maybe that's why the majority of farmers speak out against bad actors when they see it because it's not just the industry that gets smeared when some grainy, heavily-edited, undercover video emerges; it also smears the character of the 99.9% of farmers who also wonder why someone would just stand there and watch.