SSGA joins first ever USDA Netherlands trade mission

/0 Comments/in ,

The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance is constantly looking for opportunities to promote its members’ companies, expand exports of their high-quality products and familiarize the world with the U.S. Identity Preserved assurance plan and brand program. So, the opportunity to go to the Netherlands and be part of a U.S. Department of Agriculture trade mission there could not be passed up.

Last week, Manager of Strategic Programs Shane Frederick attended the trade mission in Amsterdam, an experience that included opportunities to engage with Dutch businesses, receive market briefings from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and industry trade experts and participate in site visits, including the largest seaport in Europe, the Port of Rotterdam.

The U.S. delegation was led by USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor and included representatives from 41 agribusinesses and farm organizations and 10 state departments of agriculture looking to expand economic partnerships between the United States and the Netherlands and markets throughout Scandinavia. The trip marked the USDA’s first-ever agribusiness trade mission to the Netherlands.

Frederick participated in the business-to-business meetings and sat down with commodity brokers, food and food ingredient importers and port logistics service representatives. He also made connections with USDA FAS staff, state and regional trade group officials, and ag department representatives from California, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, among others; networked with agribusinesses from throughout the United States; and was part of roundtable discussion with ag cooperator and advocacy groups led by Under Secretary Taylor.

“This was an opportunity to go to the Netherlands and the European Union, learn about their markets and tell our own story about identity preserved and specialty field crops available in the United States, as well as the U.S. Identity Preserved assurance plan and brand mark program,” Frederick said. “It was an opportunity to talk about the work SSGA and its members are doing, see how those efforts fits in to U.S. trade strategy and compare notes with other groups and companies.”

The Netherlands is the United States’ ninth-largest export market for agriculture and also the world’s second-largest ag exporter after the United States. In 2022, combined total agricultural and related exports to the Netherlands and the region topped $4.5 billion.

Consumer trends there include a growing interest in what they’re eating and where that food comes from and a willingness and ability to pay for healthy and nutritious foods. Their younger populations are open-minded about new concepts, products and flavors, and there’s a strong market for plant-based and sustainably certified products.

Frederick will be participating in the USDA’s trade mission to Japan this June. Feel free to contact him for more information.

More news:

https://brownfieldagnews.com/news/usda-trade-mission-to-the-netherlands/

SSGA joining USDA Netherlands trade mission

/0 Comments/in ,
Shane Frederick

SSGA Manager of Strategic Programs Shane Frederick

On April 17-20, SSGA Manager of Strategic Programs Shane Frederick will accompany USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis M. Taylor’s delegation during USDA’s first-ever regional agribusiness trade mission to the Netherlands. Taylor will head a diverse group more than 50 business, trade associations and state government leaders seeking to grow U.S. agricultural exports to the Netherlands, Scandinavia and beyond.

“This regional trade mission is part of USDA’s ongoing efforts to strengthen America’s rural economy by helping U.S. producers, exporters, and agribusinesses grow and diversify their revenue streams,” said Taylor. “Home to the largest seaport in all of Europe and an impressive network of importers, packers, processors, and distributors, the Netherlands is the gateway into the European Union, offering great business potential for U.S. agricultural exporters.”

During the mission, U.S. participants will meet with importers from the Netherlands, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

“Combined exports of U.S. farm and food products to this region totaled $4.5 billion in 2022, an increase of 10 percent from 2021,” Taylor said.

Frederick will represent SSGA member companies in business-to-business meetings and promoting the U.S. Identity Preserved assurance plan and brand mark program.

“It’s SSGA’s mission to promote the high-quality, specialty soybeans and grains available from U.S. suppliers,” Frederick said. “And making the U.S. Identity Preserved mark recognizable worldwide is vital to telling that story. I look forward to introducing the program to companies and officials next week in the Netherlands.”

While on the trade mission, participants will conduct business-to-business meetings with potential buyers, receive market briefings from USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and industry trade experts, and participate in site visits.

Donkers replaces Schrader on SSGA board

/0 Comments/in

Gail Donkers, farmer and Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council director, has been selected to finish the term of Keith Schrader on the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance Board of Directors.

Gail Donkers

Donkers farms in Faribault, Minn., raising soybeans, corn, alfalfa, hogs, dairy beef and sheep alongside her family. She grew up on a dairy and diversified livestock farm near Wanamingo, Minn., and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in animal industry marketing and a minor in technical communications.

“At the Identity Preserved International Summit, I saw first-hand what SSGA is doing to broaden the identity preserved field crops market,” Donkers said. “I’m excited to be a part of the organization that is working to develop this potential.”

Donkers will finish Schrader’s term ending in 2023 and will be eligible to run for reelection. The SSGA board approved the move during its March 24 meeting, which was held virtually.

Schrader has served on the SSGA board since it formed in 2019, representing MSR&PC and previously serving as treasurer. Before that, he served on the board of SSGA’s predecessor organization, Midwest Shippers Association, starting in 2010.

Schrader felt it was time for another farmer to take over his position on the SSGA board. He recommended Donkers and thought her experience on her farm and other professional roles would lend itself well to SSGA.

“I’m ecstatic that such a quality person like Gail can join the SSGA board,” Schrader said. “She is very involved on her farm but also has extensive experience working for other ag associations and communications roles. She’s a person who can cover all of the bases and do it well.”

Although retiring from the SSGA board, Schrader will still be involved in the organization as a member and as part of the agronomy action team.

“This is such a close-knit industry, and I’ve loved working with these people,” Schrader said. “Even though these businesses are in competition, I admire the way they work as a team to better the industry.”

SSGA elects two new board members; tabs Sinner as chair

/0 Comments/in ,

The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) welcomed two new members to its board of directors during the group’s annual meeting on Thursday, as Jake Noll of Minnesota-based Richland IFC and Chuck Kunisch of Michigan Agricultural Commodities were elected to two of three open seats.

For the other open seat, Darwin Rader of Michigan-based Zeeland Farm Services was reelected to the eight-member board during the meeting, held at the office of the Indiana Soybean Alliance.

Bob Sinner of North Dakota-based SB&B Foods was selected to chair the SSGA board for a second time.

“SSGA has really gotten its legs,” said Sinner, who previously served as SSGA chair in 2021. “I think everybody understands and realizes what SSGA means to the identity preserved world. We’ve had some great successes, and there are some great things on the horizon for the industry. I’m just proud to be able to assist the leadership in continuing to grow the organization.”

Rader was elected as SSGA vice-chair, while Colby Eymann of Scoular was reelected as the group’s secretary/treasurer.

“I am so honored that the membership has faith in me to continue to serve their needs,” said Rader, who has served as chair of SSGA’s competitive shipping action team. “And I’ll do my best to fill their expectations in that role.”

Although they had not previously served on the board, both Noll and Kunisch also have taken on action team leadership positions as SSGA members.

“I’m glad to have been elected,” said Noll, chair of SSGA’s food grade soya action team. “I hope to further what SSGA has been doing, and I look forward to working with our group of board members and everyone involved in the Alliance.

Kunisch is chair of SSGA’s specialty grains action team.

“I really appreciate everybody’s vote and confidence to do the job,” Kunisch said. “I hope I can help further advance the goals of SSGA.”

Noll and Kunisch replaced outgoing board directors Adam Buckentine and Andy Bensend, who did not seek reelection to their seats. Each was honored by SSGA with a retiring director’s award.

SSGA’s other board directors are Rob Prather of WeFARM Organics; Keith Schrader representing Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council and Bryan Stobaugh of Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council.

Chair Rob Prather with retiring director Andy Bensend
« ‹ of 3 › »

SSGA also awarded its Alliance Honors to the American Soybean Association’s WISHH program; Fawad Shah of Minnesota Crop Improvement Association; Duluth Cargo Connect and the late Robert (Bob) Karls, former executive director of the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board.

Philippines trip sparks fruitful conversations

/0 Comments/in ,

The Philippines is a country that relies on agricultural imports for food and food ingredients and also has a strong affinity for American brands, making it an ideal place for the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance to visit and talk about the high-quality, identity-preserved field-crop products supplied by its members.

Last week, SSGA Chair Rob Prather and Manager of Strategic Programs Shane Frederick traveled to Manila to participate in a U.S. Department of Agriculture-sponsored trade mission that included opportunities to engage with potential buyers, receive in-depth market briefings from Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and industry trade experts and participate in site visits.

They were part of a U.S. delegation, led by FAS Administrator Daniel Whitley, that included representatives from 29 agribusinesses and farm organizations, as well as representatives from several state departments of agriculture. The trade mission’s goal was to promote two-way cooperation and build trade opportunities between the United States and the Philippines.

“The Philippines is an excellent market for U.S. farm and food products, and we look forward to introducing a diverse group of companies and organizations to new export opportunities there,” Whitley said prior to the trade mission. “U.S. brands sell very well in the Philippines, where consumers regard our products as safe, reliable and of good quality. The United States has enjoyed a long and prosperous trading relationship with the Philippines, and this mission is an ideal opportunity to further expand our exports there.”

During two days of business-to-business meetings, SSGA was able to connect with about 20 companies. Frederick directed buyers to the SSGA Trades Lead web page, as well as to SSGA University, where they could learn more about the U.S. identity preserved system and how identity preserved field crops can make their products better. Additionally, it was an opportunity to show the new U.S. Identity Preserved mark and assurance plan and talk about it with businesses, FAS officials and others involved with trade between the United States and the Philippines.

“This trip was a great opportunity to start new relationships and continue conversations we started with some of the virtual events and presentations we participated in over the last two years,” Prather said. “As successful as some of those online opportunities were, it was just as important for us to meet those businesses in person and see the potential for ourselves.”

Prather spent the previous week in Vietnam along with SSGA Technical Adviser for Southeast Asia Hoa Huynh. In the coming months, technical advisers Alyson Segawa (North Asia) and Philip Shull (South Asia) will travel to Japan and India and Nepal, respectively, along with SSGA board directors.

These are important and growing markets for SSGA’s processing and exporting members. In the Philippines, which is the eighth-largest market for U.S. agricultural products, averaging $3.1 billion, there is both a need for imported food and food ingredients to keep up with the pace of growth and stave off shortages, as well as a growing middle class that is buying higher-quality foods. The latter category is willing to spend more and has an affinity for products from the United States or products that contain U.S. ingredients.

Prather and Frederick took part in tours of a membership shopping center (think Costco or Sam’s Club) and a grocery store in Manila where U.S. foods were prominently featured. The Robinson’s Supermarket chain, for instance, was highlighting U.S. brands as part of a monthlong “American Festival.”

SSGA goes globetrotting

/0 Comments/in , ,

The second half of 2022 will be one of outreach for the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance. Travel is underway, as SSGA spreads the message of high quality to our customers abroad. This week already, SSGA Chair Rob Prather is on the road, traveling to Vietnam along with Hoa Huynh, technical adviser for Southeast Asia.

Following their visit with Vinasoy, a Vietnamese soymilk and soy drink producer, Huynh believes the prospect of Vinasoy importing U.S. Identity Preserved soybeans to be high. Vinasoy staff recently returned from the Food Grade Soybean Procurement Course at Northern Crops Institute in Fargo, N.D. Prather and Huynh also met with Dabaco, a feed and food production company and have more visits planned.

Next week, Prather will meet up with Manager of Strategic Programs Shane Frederick in the Philippines for a USDA trade mission to Manila that features several state departments of ag, state and national commodity associations and agribusinesses for tours and business-to-business meetings.

In both countries, SSGA is talking about the U.S. Identity Preserved assurance plan and brand mark and preparing for an international launch later this year in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

“After spending much of the last two years talking to customers virtually about identity preserved soybeans and specialty grains, we are thrilled to be able to start having those conversations in person,” Frederick said. “This USDA trade mission to Manila and other trips are perfect opportunities to highlight the new U.S. Identity Preserved mark and explain what it represents – the great care, commitment and close attention that IP farmers, processors and shippers undertake to fulfill the needs of their customers.”

In the coming months, SSGA technical advisers Alyson Segawa (North Asia) and Philip Shull (South Asia) will be traveling to Japan and India and Nepal, respectively, along with board directors, and our alliance is looking ahead to more opportunities in the future. In India and Nepal, SSGA representatives will participate in three seminars organized by the U.S. Soybean Export Council that will extol the quality and value of U.S. identity preserved soybeans. In addition to meeting with the trade, SSGA will meet with India’s Soy Food Processors Welfare Association (SFPWA) and Foreign Agricultural Service-New Delhi to discuss SFPWA’s efforts to secure a tariff rate quota for food grade soybeans from the Indian government.

Look for reports on each of these trips in future SSGA newsletters.

SSGA addresses buyers in Indonesia

/0 Comments/in ,

With food availability a concern in Indonesia, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Agriculture Counselor Rey Santella emphasized the need for the United States and Indonesia to keep trade open to help feed each other in his address at the Asia Soy Excellence & Protein Summit.

SSGA had the opportunity to weigh in on that concern during the conference, hosted by the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) June 21-22 in Bali. Presenting virtually, SSGA Executive Director Eric Wenberg and Chair Rob Prather briefed about 150 attendees on current identity preserved (IP) crop production issues, logistics and container shipping during the hybrid event. Steve Peach, a Michigan farmer and member of the Michigan Soybean Committee, and Troy Berndt, a grower relations specialist in Wisconsin, updated attendees on the 2022 growing season in their respective states/regions.

Attendees were interested to learn about container shipping challenges. While most of these challenges likely will continue into the next shipping season, they are expected to progressively improve. Prather encouraged buyers to order from U.S. exporters as soon as possible, not only to help plan logistics but to allow U.S. farmers ample time to grow IP crops with the exact qualities and characteristics requested by the end users. Ordering IP crops in advance also improves efficiencies in production plans for manufacturers focusing on quality.

Wenberg and Prather also emphasized the importance of partnerships between groups like SSGA and USSEC and how buyers should seek out educational materials, such as SSGA University and the U.S. Soy Excellence Center. Wenberg also spoke of SSGA’s international launch of the U.S. Identity Preserved brand mark, which is scheduled to take place in Southeast Asia in November.

 

Member Profile: Bryan Stobaugh, Missouri Soybeans

/0 Comments/in

Bryan Stobaugh kicked off his collegiate career majoring in biology and chemistry at Arkansas Tech. But fate led him to a graduate assistantship in soybean breeding at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville.

“In essence, I was pre-med, but I ended up falling in love with genetics,” Stobaugh said. “I applied to every genetic course that offered graduate school in all the surrounding states.”

Today, Stobaugh is the Director of Licensing and Commercialization at the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council.

Missouri Soybeans first heard about the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) through their contacts at Minnesota Soybean. After a conversation with Minnesota Soybean CEO Tom Slunecka, Stobaugh and his colleagues took the leap and Missouri Soybeans became a member of SSGA.

“Gary Wheeler, our CEO and Executive Director, is always interested in and looking at what the added benefit is and what could be done differently,” said Stobaugh. “SSGA was an opportunity for us to expand our portfolio.”

Two years ago, Stobaugh applied for an SSGA board position. Though he wasn’t elected to the board, he was asked to chair the agronomy action team because of his strong background in agronomy.

“We worked on deciding what the plan could be for an organization that had never had an agronomy action team before,” Stobaugh said.

A year later, he resubmitted his application and earned a spot on the board.

“It’s been a learning experience because there are avenues that we don’t touch in our normal realm that SSGA can,” said Stobaugh. “SSGA represents that opportunity for the farmer to continue in their conventional space but add an extra premium to their bottom line by doing something different than their normal day.”

SSGA performs multiple roles, but in Stobaugh’s eyes one of the most important roles is helping farmers make sense of the complicated world of specialty soy by providing resources that they wouldn’t normally have access to, making the process a little less daunting, especially for prospective growers.

“SSGA has a network for people to learn how to grow the crops and use the chemistries,” said Stobaugh. “And then all the way through to harvest to know how to have it cleaned and packaged and who they’re going to aggregate the crop to at a specific delivery point. It’s just a big learning process.”

Looking ahead, Stobaugh is excited for the potential of large seed trials. Though he recognizes that large trials have logistical issues and take years to plan, he knows how important they are to farmers and wants to use them as a chance to show seeds’ diversity.

“Large trials don’t mean varieties are competing with each other,” he said. “They’re saying look at the variety we have in specialty soy.”

Member Profile: Colby Eymann, Scoular

/0 Comments/in

Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) Treasurer Colby Eymann grew up in Kansas City, but agriculture and farming runs deep in his family for generations.

Eymann returned to agriculture after finding a passion through his college classes and listening to a guest speaker at the University of Kansas. His interest in agriculture led Eymann to his job at Scoular, where he currently works as the product group manager on its Select Global Grains & Oilseeds team.

“I’m within my first six months on the board of SSGA,” Eymann said. “I really got involved when Scoular decided to join SSGA. We have a growing identity preserved and other grains program here, so we sought out SSGA as an important industry advocacy group. We wanted to be a part of it, and I was granted a board seat.”

In his first hour of being on the board, Eymann was elected treasurer. He was happy to jump right into the position as an active board member. Working at Scoular gives Eymann some insights to bring to his fellow board members.

“I’ve enjoyed what the agriculture industry has brought up, it’s always changing, always keeps you on your toes, beyond fascinating industry,” Eymann said. “And what I like about it, is it’s really built on people and relationships.”

Scoular has a history of more than 125 years and is involved in numerous different areas of agriculture, such as the food and freight sectors. It works with elevators and a wide range of products, including identity preserved soybeans.

One attribute that drove Scoular to join SSGA was its U.S. Identity Preserved brand and program, which was unveiled in December 2021. Scoular is currently working on its application to bear the trademark that SSGA has worked to create.

Eymann said Scoular likes the direction and initiatives SSGA is putting out and wants to help drive the value of identity preserved products and agriculture products from the U.S. He believes the staff and board members of SSGA move the needle for the organization and industry to grow it even further.

“I think there’s a lot of opportunity with SSGA,” Eymann said. “What’s really great about SSGA is it can really kind of augment and help cover what other organizations do on a more commodity front.”

Abbe steps down as SSGA adviser

/0 Comments/in , ,

Bruce Abbe, the longtime leader of the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance’s (SSGA) predecessor organization, has stepped down as SSGA’s strategic adviser for trade and transportation.

Bruce AbbeSSGA is grateful for Abbe’s service as it has grown into a national business organization.

Abbe has been in his advising role since SSGA was formed in 2019 as a merger between Midwest Shippers and the Northern Food Grade Soybean Association. Abbe was the president and CEO of Midwest Shippers for more than a decade prior to the merger.

“Bruce showed me the path ahead when I became director of SSGA three years ago,” said Eric Wenberg, SSGA executive director. “He has been a constant adviser and friend as we took on more and bigger tasks. What I understand about intermodal shipping comes from him.”

Abbe has more than 35 years of professional experience in public affairs, communications, trade promotion and organizational management for agricultural business organizations. In 2020, he received the William K. Smith Distinguished Service Award for outstanding leadership and contributions to private sector freight transportation from the University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies. Later that year, SSGA awarded him with its first SSGA Alliance Honor for Advancing Transportation.

SSGA will continue to lean on Abbe’s expertise in training, presentations, events and projects as it looks to update the advisory position. SSGA has truly grown into an organization that tackles shipping and transportation issues at a national level. As SSGA conducts a search, Katelyn Engquist will be the staff lead for SSGA’s Competitive Shipping Action Team on behalf of chair Darwin Rader. The action team follows and listens to major concerns of SSGA members seeking container supply chain solute ions and solutions to other present-day problems, as well as educates customers about container shipping in order to build a brighter future for intermodal exports of high-quality grains and oilseeds.

Please wish Bruce well and express your thanks, as we do to him at bruce@abbecommunications.com. For more information on SSGA’s Competitive Shipping Action Team, reach out to Katelyn at kengquist@soyagrainsalliance.org or Darwin at darwinr@zfsinc.com.