Tennessee Corn Promotion Board Invests In U.S. Grains Council

The Tennessee Corn Promotion Board (TCPB) recently made an investment in the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) to further its market development efforts for U.S. agricultural products in international markets.

The USGC is a non-profit organization that promotes the global use of U.S. barley, corn, sorghum, and related products, including ethanol and distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS). The Council’s operations include organizing trade teams of foreign buyers and policymakers for them to learn about the U.S. agriculture value chain, investments in equipment for companies that facilitate larger commodity purchases in the future, and working with governments and inter-governmental agencies to ensure the free and fair trade of U.S. goods.

The TCPB’s contribution to the Council will go towards aquaculture industry support in Southeast Asia, promoting consumer awareness of genetically modified crops in Latin America and purchasing higher quality grains storage systems at crucial junctures around the world. Additionally, funding will help develop the Council’s industrial corn starch study, an initiative proving U.S. corn’s superior starch extractability compared to corn of other origins.

Critically, the TCPB’s investment will allow the Council to access significant funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP), which requires cooperators like the Council to receive corresponding funding from its membership.

The TCPB looks forward to the results of the Council’s programs and to a bright future of collaboration ahead with the mutual goal of expanding U.S. agriculture’s sales globally.

The Tennessee Corn Promotion Board is funded through a producer checkoff investment of one cent-per-bushel checkoff on all corn marketed in the state and is managed by nine farmer directors.  TCPB was created to implement a program of research, education, market development, and advertising to promote the increased production, consumption, and use of corn and the sale of Tennessee corn.