African Mission Promotes Ethanol Co-product Use

The 2007 U.S. Grains Council (USGC) Corn Mission visited Morocco and Egypt this spring where their marketing efforts are increasing demand for the high quality offered in U.S. corn products. The USGC is developing markets worldwide for an ethanol co-product, distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS). When plants make ethanol, only the starch from corn and grain sorghum are used. The remaining nutrients - protein, fiber and oil - are the by-products used to create the DDGS feed ideal for poultry and cattle. DDGS is rich in cereal and residual yeast proteins, energy, minerals and vitamins. Recent studies show excellent nutritional value of DDGS in swine diets, and its use is increasing in the pork industry.

In Morocco, the group met with an integrated poultry producer in Agadir and toured the operation’s feed mill, which uses U.S. corn, corn gluten feed (CGF) and DDGS. The feed mill produces feed for poultry and for dairy and beef cattle. Participants heard from the owner, who visited the United States last year, about how pleased he has been with the U.S. feed ingredients. They also visited the COPAG feedlot, the first cattle feed lot in the region. The Council assisted in setting up the COPAG feedlot in 2005, which is now planning to double its capacity.

“Morocco’s feed mill sector is only running at 50 percent of capacity and less than 10 percent of that is for cattle,” said Kurt Shultz, USGC director for the Mediterranean and Africa, who accompanied the team. “By encouraging the adoption of modern feeding practices, the Council expects feed demand to increase significantly.”

The team met with FISA, the poultry industry association in Morocco, and AFAC, the feed millers’ association, to discuss joint opportunities to promote feed use. They toured the Alf Sahel Feedmill, which is exploring the use of U.S. corn, CGF and DDGS in broiler and layer rations.

“This mission has been a great opportunity to gain a better understanding of how our state’s grain checkoff dollars are being used by the U.S. Grains Council. They have developed a market in Morocco and its growth potential is considerable,” said Charles Bowling, Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board.

While in Egypt, the group learned about the Council’s dairy program, dairy buffalo program, collaborative work done with the Regional Center for Food and Feed, as well as efforts by USGC/Egypt to introduce DDGS to the marketplace.

“Participants had the opportunity to meet with a feed manufacturer that has incorporated DDGS into aquaculture feeding rations following consultations with Dr. Hussein Soliman, our Egypt office director,” said Sarah Novak, USGC Director of Membership, who participated in the mission. “The manufacturer includes 4 percent DDGS in the fish pellets and in turn, saved 2.5 percent on feed costs without changes in average daily gain or mortality rates. By using U.S. DDGS, the manufacturer is saving money and U.S. producers are benefiting as well.”

The team had the rare opportunity to visit the “flying dairy buffalo herds” that can be found throughout Cairo. Customarily, cows in these herds calve once and are not rebred and milked for a second lactation. The Council’s program in Egypt is working to identify cows with superior milking characteristics such as high production and high milk fat. These cows are then removed from the herd to be rebred, thus allowing them to have a second, third and even fourth lactation. In addition, these animals are rebred with bulls found to sire good milking dams through the Egyptian Dairy Herd Improvement Unit (EDHIU) that the Council began with the help of the Faculty of Agriculture at Cairo University.

“There’s a bigger picture here than just selling corn. We’re helping people,” said Bowling, one of seven mission participants. “When you see how these superior cows are singled out into milking herd that in turn uses U.S. feed grains in their rations, our marketing efforts make a lot of sense. You know that with a program like this, we’re helping people in Egypt and in Maryland at the same time.”

Egypt imported 5.2 million metric tons (204.7 million bushels) of U.S. corn and between 70,000 and 80,000 tons of U.S. corn gluten meal in 2006. Additionally, Egypt imported 15,000 tons of U.S. DDGS last year, but have already imported the same amount in the first quarter of 2007.

In addition to Bowling and Novak, mission participants included: Tommy Young, Arkansas Corn & Grain Sorghum Promotion Board; Fred Yoder, Ohio Corn Marketing Program; Debra Keller, Iowa Corn Promotion Board; and Jim Rapp, Illinois Corn Marketing Board and Gayle Bergstrom, Minnesota Corn Research & Promotion Council and Rest of the World Advisory Team member, also accompanied the mission.