USSEC Holds Oilseed and Grain Purchasing Program at IGP Institute

By utilizing educational and training resources through USSEC, the collaboration of USSEC and the International Grains Program (IGP) Institute helps expand the impact of the feed industry to international customers for exports of U.S. soybeans.
This was accomplished through USSEC’s Oilseeds and Grains Purchasing Resources and Tools Program held July 18–20 at the IGP Institute Conference Center at Kansas State University. The program trained 29 participants from 10 countries representing the Central and South American and Caribbean regions.
“It’s interesting to know about all of tools from this course for risk management,” says Alfonso Pérez, purchasing manager at Productora Pecuaria Alpera Sapi De CV in Tepic, Mexico. “They will be beneficial to make better purchases for our company."
The program included presentations and workshops led by faculty and staff of the IGP Institute, USSEC, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)–Foreign Ag Service (FAS) and experts from private companies such as Intl' FCStone Merchant Services, LLC.; ADM North America; Simpson, Spence and Young, Limited; and Commodity and Ingredient Hedging, LLC.
The training also included a trip to the Kansas Soybean Commission in Topeka, Kansas and a tour of Kansas Soybean Commissioner Bob Haselwood's soybean farm near Topeka.
Presentations included topics such as USDA's export credit guarantee and facilities guarantee programs, options on futures trading, CFTC's commitment of traders, technical analysis, option trading and the Greeks, the impact of the origin of soybeans in soybean meal, U.S. soy sustainability, and hedging workshops.
"Participants heard from industry experts and have been very good at engaging with not only the instructors but the other attendees as well," says Jay O'Neil, IGP Institute senior agricultural economist. "They've heard from expert presenters from the industry and this group of participants have been having a really good give and take session with the presenters and it's been a fantastic week."