In an effort to increase awareness of U.S. Soy among end users and mingle with international customers, USSEC participated at the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) 2020, the largest poultry and feed industry tradeshow in the world. Held annually in Atlanta, the IPPE is jointly organized by the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, American Feed Industry Association, and the North American Meat Institute. This year, a record number of more than 1,360 exhibitors participated in the trade show, promoting their products and technologies across 573,000 square feet of space in three halls, making it the biggest exhibition in the event’s history. 32,000 visitors attended the trade show, including over 8,000 international delegates from over 130 countries.
USSEC invited a select group of European customers, U.S. soy end users from Greece and Romania, to visit the three-day event to gain firsthand information on soy quality, get access to exporters, and stay up to date with poultry farming and feed milling equipment and technology. They valued and took advantage of the opportunity to attend IPPE 2020 because meeting with fellow farmers allows them to gather more knowledge than they can get through accessing online information. The IPPE trade show proved to be a business platform for both U.S. Soy and foreign importers, as they succeeded to expand their network to access soy exporters, hear more ideas for poultry and feed production, and find out how to make poultry farming business more efficient and profitable.

The USSEC booth captured the attention of trade show visitors, where they engaged in conversations with U.S. soy grower leaders and staff who offered information on U.S. soy quality, sustainability, and export opportunities.

A USSEC luncheon and learning event was organized at the Georgia World Congress Center and brought more than 150 participants together under one roof, including U.S. soy customers, grower leaders, and industry friends for food, keynote addresses, and networking.

The meeting was opened by USSEC CEO Jim Sutter, who gave the keynote presentation “U.S. Soy Update – Helping Everyone Win: Update on the Supply of U.S. Soy for 2020. He discussed understanding U.S. soy quality, sustainability, opportunities with U.S. Soy, and the Protein First initiative.

Information presented by the U.S. farmers updated the audience on production and distribution system and demonstrated the advantages of U.S. soybeans, the achievements made by the U.S. soybean industry in terms of sustainable farming practices, innovation, and consistent supply. Both grower leaders emphasized the great importance of a stronger partnership with the international customers. The meeting ended with a pooling question session conducted by USSEC Senior Director – Soybean Meal Feed Markets Carlos Salina to engage the participants in positioning and discovering the value of U.S. Soy. Participants appreciated the hospitality and information gained about U.S. soy quality, advantages, and price advantages in the current market context.
IPPE was an excellent opportunity for USSEC staff and consultants from Europe, the Middle East, South America, and China to meet for breakfast, where they reported the latest updates from the regional markets and progress on USSEC activities’ implementation. A topic of high interest, the release and adoption of the new software tool meant to help customers to discover the value of U.S. Soy, was introduced to the USSEC team by Mr. Salinas.

“Trade shows remain an important and effective means of rekindling old relationships and finding new ones, both being the base of future cooperation between U.S. soy farmers and end users around the world,” stated Dr. Iani Chihai, USSEC consultant – Southeast Europe. “Thanks to U.S. soy farmers for making possible our participation at IPPE and thank you to all customers that joined the USSEC activities at IPPE 2020. We all had the chance to explore the benefits associated with the U.S. soy: best quality, sustainability, reliability and cost effectiveness.”