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Distillers Grains Takes the Stage

Posted: October 20, 2008 at 09:49 AM CST

Today (Oct. 20) marks the first full day of the International Distillers Grains Conference and Trade Show in Indianapolis, Ind. The annual event continues to provide a tremendous gathering space for those invested in the distillers grains industry.

For those unable to attend the event, EthanolProducer.com has got you covered. Staff writer Erin Voegele will be giving us updates throughout the conference. Also, look for more in-depth coverage in the First Quarter 2009 issue of Distillers Grains Quarterly (www.DistillersGrainsQuarterly.com).

The U.S. Grains Council again brings a large group of international representatives, which should help to spur business throughout the world. Together with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, the USGC is sponsoring the attendance of approximately 140 major foreign buyers, nutritionists and feed ingredient importers. The purpose is to provide U.S. distillers grains exporters with direct marketing opportunities to a diverse audience.

Judging from the many hallway conversations overheard at the 2007 event, business is booming. In fact, distillers grains exports for 2007-’08 are expected to hit 3 million metric tons valued at an estimated $600 million. Exports for 2008-’09 are projected to reach at least 4 million metric tons.

More than 600 people attended the 2007 event held in Schaumburg, Ill. Variability, a lack of price discovery and transportation infrastructure were the biggest hurdles at that time to expanding the worldwide market for distillers grains. As worldwide usage and growth continues, it’s clear some of those hurdles have been lessened. It will be interesting to see what attendees at this year’s event feel are the biggest remaining challenges.

One final shameless plug—Distillers Grains Quarterly is a quarterly supplement for Ethanol Producer Magazine. However, it’s also available online at www.DistillersGrainsQuarterly.com. To read past issues, use the “Search Archive” function on the Web site’s menu.

-Dave Nilles