International trade teams who participated in the 2014 U.S. Soy Global Trade Exchange not only kept busy in Milwaukee, but visited many sites before and after U.S. soy’s biggest event.  Some highlights include:
Americas
The Americas team visited the farm of United Soybean Board (USB) director Nancy Kavazanjian in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.  The delegation saw soybeans in the fields and discussed farming with soybean farmer Charles Hammer and Ms. Kavazanjian
The team then headed to Chicago to visit the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), where they watched the opening of the markets and took a floor tour.  They heard an introduction to the CME Group from CME executive director Charles Farra, who spoke about risk management.  Richard Jelinek, Director, Client Development & Sales, Intermediaries at CME Group, talked to the group about the importance of risk management and hedging and provided an introduction to futures and options.  The team also heard about FX exposure and hedging alternatives before heading to Commodity & Ingredient Hedging (CIH) for a hedging workshop.

European Union
The EU trade team visited Chicago before heading to the U.S. Soy Global Trade Exchange.  In Chicago, one group visited CME while another took a risk management course and had lunch with Intl FCStone Inc, afterwards touring soybean grower and Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board President Mike Cerny’s farm in Sharon, Wisconsin.  The Beerze Dairy Group farm in Pie River, Wisconsin was the final Midwest stop for the team.
After the conference, the delegation headed to New Orleans, where part of the group toured Thionville Labs and the other part visited Cargill before heading home.
Hong Kong
The Hong Kong trade team visited CME in Chicago prior to the trade show and visited several Ohio soybean farms after the event.
The delegation toured Bluegrass Farms of Ohio in Jeffersonville, KAPI in Marysville, and IOM Grain Portland, Indiana before winding up their visit at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.
Korea Food Bean Trade Team
The Korea food bean trade team, escorted by The DeLong Company’s non-GMO marketing manager Austin DeLong, visited an identity preserved (IP) soybean farm in Clinton, Wisconsin, before heading to DeLong’s Chahannon, Illinois facility.
This team also visited the Scoular Company’s headquarters in Downers Grove, Illinois for a presentation, meetings and lunch before heading to Scoular’s Andres, Illinois facility.
Middle East/North Africa
The MENA team visited the Monticello, Wisconsin farm of American Soybean Association (ASA) director and Wisconsin Soybean Association president Dan Roe.  They next traveled to Chicago where they met with CME and Trilateral, Inc.