Headed to the East

I’ve really only shared with family and some friends that I will be traveling to Asia right after Thanksgiving. This is a trip that I’m going on to represent Nebraska Corn, as part of the 2010 Corn Mission through the U.S. Grains Council. The USGC has a consulate office in each of the countries we’ll be visiting – Japan, Taiwan and China – and will have meetings with their staff and U.S. Embassy officials.

We will be first traveling to Japan. We’ll be meeting with the Japan Feed Manufacturers Association, the Japan Feed Trade Association, The Japan Starch & Sweeteners Association and the Japan Corn Grits Association. I’m most looking forward to visiting a Japanese feed mill and cattle feedlot in Ishinomaki City!

Then, we’ll hop on a plane to Taipei, Taiwan. Once there, we’ll be meeting with the American Institute in Taiwan, a lunch discussion with traders, buyers and users of U.S. corn, meeting with the Taiwan Feed Industry Association and the Good Flag Biotechnology Corporation. We’ll get to meet with a bioplastics corp. that imports NatureWorks bioplastics made in Blair, Nebr., and visit a sow farm and layer farm.

Then, we’ll hop on another plane to Shanghai, China. We will meet with some more trade organizations that import U.S. corn and distillers grains as well as visiting a sea port where corn and DDGS are shipped in and hopefully see an U.S. corn shipment.

I will be regularly blogging for the Nebraska Corn Kernels blog, so check it out starting November 28th through December 10th, and if I have time I will put posts here.

I have been to China in summer 2008 with my sister’s youth symphony, but I’m really looking forward to this exciting trip to see how global our world really is, and how agricultural ties everyone together. I would appreciate prayers for travels and for my lonely husband and dog – although I know they already have plans to do some fun stuff while I’m gone!

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