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USSEC, Kansas farmer in Peru promoting U.S. soy, relationships

Members of the United States Soybean Export Council have been in Peru this week working to build relationships with Latin American buyers of US soybeans.

Kansas farmer Lance Rezac, a USSEC board member, tells Brownfield increasing exports is a priority. “We try to help the Latin American countries out or businesses here as much as we can because as a region, they are the #2 U.S. soy buyer behind China.”

Rezac is attending the Latin America U.S. Agricultural Cooperators Conference, which is supported by USSEC, USA Rice, U.S. Wheat Associates and the United States Grains Council.

He says he met with the head buyer for a soy crushing facility in Monterrey, Mexico. “He’s really interested in buying beans in our region because rail lines go right into Monterrey.  I thought that was kind of a highlight and we talked about sustainability and even in Latin America, they’re talking about sustainability.”

And, Rezac says, several farmers provided an update on U.S. crop conditions. “We got an update from around the nation what the crop outlook was like. They wanted to know how much we have priced and things like that.  We just shared with them some transparency and that one-on-one meeting people is really good.”

Rezac says some counties like Columbia are expanding aquaculture by building in-pond race ways that use soybeans as a feed source. “Columbia has 450 and want to grow to over 600 in-pond race ways this year. It’s a healthier way to raise fish.  They keep the water moving and feed them more regular and it’s a better way to raise fish.”

Rezac was joined by farmers from Minnesota, Ohio and Illinois.