U.S. Identity Preserved gets international launch

/0 Comments/in , ,

In December 2021, the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) launched a new mark, designating premium crops with verifiable origins. The U.S. Identity Preserved quality assurance plan and brand mark symbolizes a significant advancement in the verification of trust, traceability and value for food manufacturers, processors and exporters. Since the unveiling, 10 U.S. companies have joined the program and are using the mark – with several more companies currently going through the application and qualification process.

It’s now time to officially introduce U.S. Identity Preserved to the world:

On Nov. 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, SSGA will hold a special event to launch the U.S. Identity Preserved brand internationally and build global awareness of the assurance plan that ensures the high quality that comes from the U.S. system. Please join us for an in-person media and industry event at the Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers or online, as the launch will be broadcast throughout the region and the world via YouTube.

“We’re excited to come to Vietnam and launch the U.S. Identity Preserved brand there and throughout the region where there is a growing market for high-quality, variety-specific soybeans and grains,” said Eric Wenberg, SSGA executive director. “While these products may cost more than conventional crops, they provide efficiencies that save time and money during production. We’re looking forward to telling that story in person to an international audience.”

As food producers seek higher quality and better consistency in their ingredients and consumers focus on traceability and safety in the foods they purchase, U.S. Identity Preserved products fulfill those wants and needs.

“The mission of U.S. Identity Preserved is to bring together the United States’ IP industry and establish the U.S. as a quality origin for identity preserved crops,” said Bob Sinner, president of SB&B Foods, one of the first companies to join the U.S. Identity Preserved program. “The assurance plan highlights the great care and attention to detail that goes into every shipment of our high-quality, premium agriculture products and ingredients.”

The November 1st press event will include in-person-only business-to-business meetings and offer networking opportunities between U.S. exporters and Vietnamese and other southeast Asian importing companies. The following day, SSGA will offer presentations on the U.S. Identity Preserved system and go further in depth on the quality, characteristics and performance customers can expect from specialty soybeans and grains from the United States. Please join us on November 1-2 in person or on-line.

Learn more and register for the event here.

International soyfood leaders complete week of learning

/0 Comments/in ,

For Yan Small, specialty soybeans grown and processed in Minnesota are perfect for her tofu.

Sure, they’re conveniently located, as her business, MinnTofu, is based in the heart of the North Star State. But, she says, “there’s something about the soybeans here.”

Speaking to an international trade team during the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance’s “Fork to Farm” event at the historic Oliver Kelley Farm in Elk River, Minnesota, on June 10, Small showed off her locally sourced, handmade tofu and soymilk products, talked about the growth of her young tofu and sprouts businesses and touted the beans that go into them.

Attendees sampled air-fried tofu cubes with various sauces, along with chocolate and strawberry and unflavored soy milk or “juice.”

“There’s something about the soybeans here that are very pure,” Small said. “I don’t know why it’s different.”

Small’s message seemed to resonate with the international guests, who were capping a week’s worth of learning about identity preserved soybeans and the procurement of food-grade soybeans from the United States. The trade team, one of the first from southeast Asia to come to the Upper Midwest since prior to the pandemic, included food company representatives from Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. They spent the first part of the week attending a course at Northern Crops Institute in Fargo, N.D. SSGA was one of the sponsors of the course and was well-represented in its presentations.

The Fork to Farm event, sponsored by the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (MSR&PC), included a lunch, as well as opportunities for the trade team to have informal discussions with SSGA-member companies – Grain Millers, SB&B and Scoular – and an identity preserved soybean farmer, SSGA board director Keith Schrader.

Thom Petersen, Minnesota Department of Agriculture commissioner, attended as well, along with deputy commissioner Andrea Vaubel.

“In Minnesota, we have 68,000 farmers and almost 26 million acres of farmland,” Petersen said, “and identity preserved is one of the most exciting things, I think, that has the potential to grow in the coming years.”

Schrader, who raises IP soybeans and non-GMO corn, among other crops, explained the tough, late-spring planting conditions farmers have gone through, along with the transportation issues foreign buyers need to be aware of.

“For me, as a farmer, it means as much to me to get that product to you as it means to you getting the product from us,” said Schrader, who represents MSR&PC on the SSGA board. “We’re looking forward to being able to send you some really high-quality soybeans.”

Afterward, the group moved into the farm’s teaching kitchen for Small’s tofu demonstration and the opportunity to taste her products made from Minnesota soybeans.

“She’s always open to trying new varieties to see if they will improve her product or make her product more consistent,” said Craig Tomera, identity preserved crop specialist at Grain Millers. “She wants consistency, so it’s very important to her that the first batch is the same as the last batch. Using identity preserved, we can find a variety that remains identity preserved and that ensures her that there isn’t going to be any comingling of other varieties that can ruin that texture or flavor for her.”

Earlier in the week in Fargo, the caps and gowns came out, as eight members of a trade team from Myanmar were awarded certificates as “the first graduating class of SSGA University.”

The eight Burmese representatives took online classes from the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance along with more than 20 others during an event sponsored by ASA WISHH (World Initiative for Soy in Human Health) in May. Those classes were a primer for those who traveled to the United States to participate, along with several other international guests, in NCI’s Food Grade Soybean Procurement Course that began on June 6.

After participants from the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia received completion certificates from NCI, there was a surprise for the contingent from Myanmar as SSGA Manager of Strategic Programs Shane Frederick and WISHH Asia Director Alan Poock donned mortarboards and robes and took the stage to present them with their SSGA University certificates, along with their NCI awards.

“This was the first trade team to come to NCI in more than two years, since before COVID,” Frederick said, “and we wanted to make it extra special and a little fun with some pomp and circumstance. Working with our partners at WISHH and NCI and others this week, it was a joy to be around this group that was so eager to learn.”

Besides putting on the SSGA University course for WISHH and Myanmar, SSGA helped recruit other participants to the NCI course. Some of them participated in SSGA’s IP B2B events held virtually in 2021.

During the weeklong course, they heard from, among others, several SSGA-tied individuals and organizations, including Frederick; technical advisers Hoa Huynh, Raquel Hansen and Bruce Abbe; board chairman Rob Prather of Global Processing; board directors Adam Buckentine of The Redwood Group and Bob Sinner of SB&B; past chairman Curt Petrich of HC International; and Tomera of Grain Millers. The group toured SB&B’s facility in Casselton, N.D., as well as Brushvale Seed in Breckenridge, Minn., and visited Scoular’s Minneapolis headquarters.

Besides SSGA and WISHH, the course had the support of MSR&PC, North Dakota Soybean Council and South Dakota Soybean Checkoff.

Myanmar importers participate in SSGA U courses

/0 Comments/in

SSGA University held its first in-person class on May 3, as a group sponsored by ASA WISHH (World Initiative for Soy in Human Health) gathered in a hotel meeting room in Myanmar to take the first of two courses.

Photo courtesy of ASA WISHH.More than 30 people representing tofu and soymilk companies, importers, food science technologists and food science university faculty met in person, while others joined online to complete SSGA U’s Getting on the IP Highway class.

On May 10, the group gathered again to take the Value of Using Identity Preserved Soybeans: Soymilk & Tofu course.

SSGA staff ran the classes virtually, presented additional information, including information on the U.S. Identity Preserved assurance plan and brand mark, and answered questions about IP crops from the U.S. WISHH staff organized the event at the site and arranged translation services.

“This was the first time we had a large group take the SSGA University courses together, and it was a very successful educational event,” said Shane Frederick, SSGA manager of strategic programs. “I believe we’re just scratching the surface of the programming and information this platform can provide to potential buyers of identity preserved field crops from the United States and many others interested in the U.S. IP system.”

Some of the Myanmar participants used the courses as a primer, as they will be traveling to the United States with WISHH next month for Northern Crops Institutes’ Food Grade Soybean Procurement Course. Their participation in the SSGA-supported course will include participation in SSGA’s Fork to Farm Day event on June 10 in Elk River, Minnesota.

SSGA launched SSGA University in November 2021, providing online learning modules on the U.S. Identity Preserved system as well as the benefit of using IP crops in different food manufacturing.

To take an SSGA University course or for more information on the course offerings, please visit ssga-university.thinkific.com. If you are an international buyer, please reach out to SSGA first at info@soyagrainsalliance.org to see if you are eligible for a discount.

SSGA to hold webinar, IP B2B for China

/0 Comments/in ,

On the heels of our virtual, business-to-business matchmaking meetings in Southeast Asia in 2021, the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance will host a U.S. Specialty Soya and Grains Webinar and IP B2B – China on March 30 (March 31 in China).

The informational webinar portion of the event will take place 8-9:30 p.m. CDT (9-10:30 a.m. China Standard Time) and is open to all. The webinar will showcase the U.S. Identity Preserved system and highlight the traceability, reliability and safety of IP soya and specialty grains from the United States.

IP B2B matchmaking sessions will start immediately after the informational webinar. IP B2B provides SSGA member companies that supply U.S. Identity Preserved field crops one-on-one meetings with foreign food manufacturers. IP B2B is limited to pre-registered importers and exporters.

The event will be held in coordination with U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) and China Chamber of Commerce of Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products (CFNA) and will include presentations and remarks from IP experts, representatives of SSGA and industry members.

An agenda can be found on the registration page.

SSGA brings IP message to Commodity Classic

/0 Comments/in

The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance met with farmers from all around the United States and others about the organization and the U.S. Identity Preserved assurance plan and mark during 2022 Commodity Classic in New Orleans earlier this month. SSGA invited trade show attendees to “have a seat at the table” and join us at one of our custom U.S. Identity Preserved-branded picnic tables to talk about IP opportunities in their states and regions.

“With growing demand for identity preserved field crops from the United States, Commodity Classic presented a prime opportunity for SSGA to speak directly to farmers about considering IP as part of their production,” said Eric Wenberg, SSGA executive director. “The conversation never seemed to stop over the 2 ½-day trade show.”

SSGA board director and farmer Andy Bensend talks about growing identity preserved crops in Wisconsin as Eric Wenberg looks on during Commodity Classic.

Identity Preserved growers and SSGA board members Keith Schrader of Minnesota and Andy Bensend of Wisconsin assisted in the booth and talked about their own farming practices, explaining that, although IP crops require extra steps in the process, it does offer growers an opportunity to increase the diversity and value of their products and derive premiums.

SSGA Chairman Rob Prather of Iowa-based Global Processing, also worked in the booth, along with Wenberg, Manager of Strategic Programs Shane Frederick and Membership Manager Jodie Arndt.

SSGA handed out Fork to Farm utensil sets made from wheat straw that promoted USidentitypreserved.org and the traceability and feedback aspect of identity preserved field crops from the United States. The tableware quickly proved to be one of the more popular giveaways at Classic, and one farmer from Oregon declared that the SSGA booth was one of the most interesting at the trade show.

SSGA held a drawing for two custom picnic tables, and the winners were Mary Beth Adam of Harper, Iowa, and Stan Ryan of Blue Mound, Illinois. The foldable tables and benches will be shipped to the winners later this spring.

 

 

Transportation Go! brings ag shipping industry to Milwaukee

/0 Comments/in ,

Agricultural transportation has myriad challenges, no matter the mode of movement, and representatives of all points on the supply chain gathered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, last week to discuss issues and look ahead to the future.

“The most important thing is open and continuous communication, and that’s what this conference is,” said the conference’s emcee, Dr. Richard Stewart, professor at the University of Wisconsin-Superior and director of the university’s Transportation and Logistics Research Center. “We need to continue this conversation at every level we can.”

The conference, being in the home city of Port Milwaukee, focused on the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway system, an area of great growth potential for ag exports, especially with many infrastructure investments and developments underway.

Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Dan Maffei, Surface Transportation Board member Robert Primus and MC Richard Stewart

Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Dan Maffei, Surface Transportation Board member Robert Primus and MC Richard Stewart

“We want to grow the options the shippers have out of this region,” said Peter Hirthe, international trade specialist for the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. “There are some exciting developments. We have the capacity. We have the investment.”

Transportation Go! featured a robust agenda with presenters from Great Lakes ports, as well as those representing ocean shipping, railroads, intermodal trucking and national commodity groups.

Daniel Maffei, chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission, and Robert Primus, member of the Surface Transportation Board, were part of a spirited discussion about finding solutions to challenges such as container availability, from rail to sea, including a bipartisan Ocean Shipping Reform Act currently making its way through Congress. (A House version has been passed, while a Senate version was introduced last month.)

“I’m taking all this stuff back to Washington, and everything I believe I can do I’m going to do,” Maffei said.

Maffei testified to a Senate committee prior to going to Milwaukee and announced that FMC’s audit team will expand its scope to get information from carriers on their handling of exports and how to do better. Also, FMC’s Bureau of Enforcement is prioritizing cases involving exports.

Primus touted the U.S. rail network but said there are concerns about the lack of good, reliable service and those problems have affected customers including Transportation Go! attendees.

“Everyone who attended Transportation Go! appreciated the opportunity to share and discuss transportation challenges and solutions,” said Eric Wenberg, executive director of the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance, which hosted and organized the event. “Having speakers like Dan and Robert there to talk to ensured that everyone left the conference looking forward, not back, with action items to advance ag transportation.”

In a recap of the “bright ideas” that came out of Transportation Go! Jason Tutrone, transportation attorney with Thompson Hine, said: “This is really an opportunity for us to strengthen our supply chains and ensure we have a regulatory framework in place. The stars are aligned on the regulatory side to make some much-need reforms. …

“I encourage all of you to engage your trade association on these issues. They’re a strong voice that are capable of getting thigs done in Washington.”

Transportation Go! was made possible by its sponsors: Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board, Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation and Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (platinum); CHS, SB&B, Scoular, North Dakota Trade Office, The Redwood Group; Scoular, Illinois Soybean Association, and Global Processing (silver); Port Milwaukee, South Dakota Soybean Research & Promotion Council and Soy Transportation Coalition (social hour); Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (name badge/lanyard).

“We appreciate our sponsors including Wisconsin and our other state sponsors who pulled the region together,” Wenberg said.

Transportation Go! early bird registration extended

/0 Comments/in ,

The early bird registration price for Transportation Go! has been extended through Friday, Feb. 11. Transportation Go!, the premier conference for soybean and grain transportation and trade issues in the Upper Midwest, will be held March 3-4 in Milwaukee. Special hotel room rates will also be available through Friday.

The Transportation Go! conference is focused on improving the competitive shipping environment for U.S. agriculture shippers and exporters everywhere with an emphasis on the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway. Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Daniel B. Maffei and Surface Transportation Board member Robert E. Primus have agreed to appear at this year’s conference, among other leaders in the agriculture and transportation industries.

Formerly known as the Northern Commodity Transportation Conference, Transportation Go! will bring in the industry’s top stakeholders, from boots-on-the-ground commodity growers and organizations to traders and shippers of specialty crops, along with representatives from key ports along the Great Lakes and more.

This highly engaging conference will provide the opportunity for in-depth discussions about the global supply chain and how it affects the vital movement of agricultural products both domestically and around the world. It will be an opportunity for attendees to weigh in on solution-seeking ideas and identifying priorities.

Besides presentations from Maffei and Primus, Transportation Go! will feature a robust agenda with discussions on rail, truck, ocean shipping and more, including a market development and outlook panel featuring commodity organization leaders from the U.S. Grains Council, U.S. Wheat Associates and the U.S. Soybean Export Council.

Transportation Go! will take place March 3-4 at the Hyatt Regency in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Register today at www.transportationgo.com.

Federal Maritime Commission chair, Surface Transportation Board member to appear at Transportation Go!

/0 Comments/in , ,

Daniel Maffei, Robert Primus to discuss agricultural transportation issues

Transportation Go!, the premier conference for soybean and grain transportation and trade issues in the Upper Midwest, is pleased to announce that Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Daniel B. Maffei and Surface Transportation Board member Robert E. Primus have agreed to appear at this year’s conference, March 3-4 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The Transportation Go! conference is focused on improving the competitive shipping environment for U.S. agriculture shippers and exporters everywhere with an emphasis on the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Surface Transportation Board member Robert Primus

Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Daniel Maffei

Maffei has been invited to discuss FMC’s efforts to find solutions to the global container shipping crisis and to protect the ability of U.S. inland agriculture container export shippers to serve their food manufacturing customers overseas.

Primus has been asked to address initiatives aimed at increasing competition and options for railroad service of agriculture shippers, including connectivity improvements among Class I railroads, regional and short line railroads and intermodal service.

“The future of agriculture comes from the future of transportation,” said Eric Wenberg, executive director of the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance, host of the Transportation Go! conference. “We can’t build the future of agriculture without these organizations and leaders helping us.”

Maffei was designated as FMC chairman by President Biden in 2021. He was first nominated to serve on the commission in 2016 by President Obama and again in 2019 by President Trump.

Primus was STB vice-chairman in February of 2021 – January 2022, shortly after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a board member in January 2021.

“Making a difference in agriculture means being vocal to build a solution,” said Bruce Abbe, SSGA strategic adviser for trade and transportation. “We are grateful that Chairman Maffei and STB member Primus are traveling to speak to our group and help build a reliable, efficient North American agricultural supply chain.”

Formerly known as the Northern Commodity Transportation Conference, Transportation Go! will bring in the industry’s top stakeholders, from boots-on-the-ground commodity growers and organizations to traders and shippers of specialty crops, along with representatives from key ports along the Great Lakes and more.

This highly engaging conference will provide the opportunity for in-depth discussions about the global supply chain and how it affects the vital movement of agricultural products both domestically and around the world. It will be an opportunity for attendees to weigh in on solution-seeking ideas and identifying priorities.

Besides presentations from Maffei and Primus, Transportation Go! will feature a robust agenda that includes discussion on these topics and more, including a market development and outlook panel featuring commodity organization leaders from the U.S. Grains Council, U.S. Wheat Associates and the U.S. Soybean Export Council.

Transportation Go! will take place March 3-4 at the Hyatt Regency in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Register today at transportationgo.com. Early bird pricing is available through Feb. 8. Special hotel rates are also available through Feb. 11.

Let’s go! Transportation Go! conference puts focus on Great Lakes for ag exports

/0 Comments/in ,

With great investments coming to the Great Lakes, the time is right to focus on the United States’ inland seas and the St. Lawrence Seaway for agricultural shipping.  

Transportation Go!, the premier conference for soybean and grain transportation and trade issues in the Upper Midwest, will take place March 3-4 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, home to Port Milwaukee, one of the gateways to the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway. 

With growing and emerging markets in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, there is more than enough capacity on the Great Lakes to increase agricultural trade to those regions, and that should only grow considering: 

  • The Port of Cleveland’s Cleveland-Europe Express liner service expanded with ocean carrier Spliethoff adding a dedicated container vessel to its schedule in the fall of 2021.  

Formerly known as the Northern Commodity Transportation Conference, Transportation Go! will bring in the industry’s top stakeholders, from boots-on-the-ground commodity growers and organizations to traders and shippers of specialty crops, along with representatives from key ports along the Great Lakes and more. 

This highly engaging conference will provide the opportunity for in-depth discussions about the global supply chain and how it affects the vital movement of agricultural products both domestically and around the world. It will be an opportunity for attendees to weigh in on solution-seeking ideas and identifying priorities, whether it’s reimagining rail service in the Midwest or solving the container-access crisis. 

Transportation Go! will feature a robust agenda that includes discussion on these topics and more, including a market development and outlook panel featuring commodity organization leaders from the U.S. Grains Council, U.S. Wheat Associates and the U.S. Soybean Export Council; as well as presentations from invited leaders from the Surface Transportation Board and the Federal Maritime Commission 

Transportation Go! will take place March 3-4 at the Hyatt Regency in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Register today at transportationgo.com. Early bird pricing is available through Feb. 8. Special hotel rates are also available through Feb. 8.  

SSGA presents to Indian soy food experts

/0 Comments/in ,

On Dec. 22, SSGA was invited to present virtually to the International Conference on the Role of Soy as a Sustainable Protein Source for Health and Wellness, an event that took place in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. 

Newly elected SSGA Chairman Rob Prather was a co-chair for the virtual session and also presented on buying Identity Preserved field crops from the United States. SSGA Manager of Strategic Programs Shane Frederick then presented on the new U.S. Identity Preserved Assurance Plan and brand mark, which was launched on Dec. 2, and SSGA University. 

The fifth-annual conference was put on by India’s Soy Food Promotion & Welfare Association and included industry experts from India and around the world. Invitees also included officials from Indian government departments and ministries. 

The virtual session on U.S. soy also included presentations from USSEC and IFF Nourish.