U.S. Grains Council has a new chairwoman. Verity Ulibarri joined Jesse Allen for a conversation at the NAFB Convention.
Q: First off, congratulations on taking over and being elected as chairwoman. I know a couple of months back you assumed the lead here at the U.S. Grains Council. Let’s start there. You’re stepping into this role; U.S. Grains Council and the work you guys do is vitally important for America’s farmers and ranchers. Just talk about some of your initial thoughts, experiences here the last couple of months as chairwoman of USGC.
VU: Well, so far the journey’s been great, and for me it’s very fulfilling. I didn’t know much about the Grains Council prior to 10 years ago. I got involved in the United Sorghum Checkoff Program and that organization’s a member of the Grains Council. So we began to work pretty closely with the Grains Council.
I’m a sorghum producer, so in that world, during that point in time, we had a bit of a trade blip with our number one market at the time. And I really saw the value of what an organization like the Grains Council can do at that time. So for me, fast forwarding to now to be the chairwoman of that organization, it’s a huge honor first of all, and I take it very seriously. I just really want to do the best job I can to help promote our products of corn, sorghum, barley, ethanol, and DDGs.
Q: Well, in thinking about those products, obviously looking for new export markets, expanding our relationships; let’s talk about that. What are some of your key goals initiatives here as you lead U.S. Grains Council here through the next year? What are some of those key areas maybe you are looking at specifically?
VU: Well, with the Grains Council, our big thing is developing export markets for our primary products. We also focus on enabling trade and ultimately improving lives. And that really is in a nutshell, our mission. And that’s something I truly believe in wholeheartedly for this next year.
Really, a lot of it is continuing the relationships that we have, continuing to be solid in those markets that we currently have established and then be able to pivot when we do have potential challenges. Work with our boots on the ground to be able to continue the flow of products into these markets.
But when we look at maybe something we want to focus on other than our established markets, its … developing a market that we are not particularly established, in areas of Africa and India in particular.
India has huge population growth. They’ve surpassed China as the most populous country in the world now. And we see huge opportunity there for a number of our products – corn, ethanol, sorghum in particular. And that’s a marketplace that, similar to where we were with China years ago, and that you’ve got to start somewhere for the long game, and it realize it might take a while. But because of the potential there, it’s definitely worth it to push into that market and other areas where we’ve got established trading partners such as Japan.
Q: You mentioned India too, and I think I’ve heard so much talk about the potential in India. Some folks have said that they think it could be the next China boom for US grains and farm products. And some have said, well, maybe that’s a little too optimistic. But I think just overall the potential in India for US products is very, very great.
VU: Yes. The potential is there, you know, and you bring up a great point: you can’t just bank on a pipe dream if it’s not there. But the reality is when we think about moving product, you really do need to have increased demand. And competition for that demand is where you begin to have increased value. So whether or not the product actually being able to start moving into India more so than other markets, the fact that they become another competitor for that product is huge. And so that’s one of the driving factors there as far as our push into that market.
And then also it just allows us to get more of the voice out there in the world of what our products are, the quality of our products. And, and that’s a huge factor for us as well.
Q: Challenges you see ahead as you lead U.S. Grains Council, anything of note that is concerning to you that we’re going to have to work through?
VU: Well, I think there’s always some challenges for sure that opens up the door for opportunities also. And to be able to almost prove your value to some degree, especially organizations like the U.S. Grains Council.
(There’s) been a lot of talk of late of what’s going to happen with our new administration. And while U.S. Grains Council’s not political and we don’t want to speculate in that area, we’ve definitely positioned ourselves to be able to react to whatever might come. And that’s why we talk about diversifying markets, but also leveraging the relationships that we’ve built.
We might have some challenges with our top markets, in particular China, but we’ve been in China for over 40 years and we’ve got established relationships there with our customers, with traders and in certain areas in that marketplace where no matter what happens, we’re still going to push to be able to have our products flow there if possible.
