USSEC Hosts 700 Attendees at Americas Buyers Conference
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From covering the issue of the future of freight to the nutritional benefits and efficiencies that come from feeding U.S. Soy, the Americas Buyers Conference featured world-renowned speakers and covered a range of topics.
The U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) spotlighted the value of U.S. Soy to international buyers during the Americas Buyers Conference, held virtually Sept. 23-25.
Hosted by the Americas region, Carlos Salinas, USSEC regional director and senior director of soybean meal, said the goal of the program was to focus on the changes taking place in the environment and the opportunities stemming from that change.
“With 96% of consumers being outside the United States, the international market is the largest consumer of U.S. Soy,” Salinas said. “Through a robust set of topics and world-renowned speakers, we were able to highlight the U.S. Soy Advantage — that being exceptional composition, consistent supply, sustainable farming practices and innovation beyond the bushel.”
This message was heard by the more than 700 attendees who participated in the three-day event. Topics and speakers included:
- A Grower Leader Perspective on U.S. Soy, by April Hemmes of Iowa.
- COVID-19: Contraction and Decadence for Agricultural Commodities, by Arlan Suderman of StoneX.
- Risk Management Forum: Bulls vs Bears, by Celina Mesquina of RJO’Brien, Carlos Silva of CIH and Rodrigo Martinez of StoneX.
- Where is the Freight Market Going?, by Ken Ericksen of HIS Markit.
- 2020 Update: Comparison of the Composition of Various Origin’s Soybean Meal, by Gonzalo Mateos of Polytechnic University of Madrid.
- How the Ever-Changing Environment Challenges Agribusiness Future, by Jayson Lusk of Purdue University.
- U.S. Soybean Oil – the “Gold Standard” of Feed Fats and Oils, by Gerald Shurson of the University of Minnesota.
There was an entire day dedicated to sustainability and innovation, with attention given to biosecurity, blockchain, green financing and sustainable shipping.
“When you look at your own strategy, I think you’ll find it’s easy to articulate why U.S. Soy should be a core component,” said USSEC’s CEO Jim Sutter. “There are growing business opportunities for companies that can prove sustainability.”
Salinas added that each of the above topics has great significance as we look at transparency, traceability and meeting consumer demand.
In his concluding thoughts, Sutter said: “Right now, farmers are getting into their fields, the combines are starting to roll and it will only be a couple of days before we start seeing the 2020 crop move through our export channels. We’ve got a strong crop this year. Our farmers are resilient, and U.S. Soy is open for business.”
