“Board teams help build personal connections between our overseas customers and U.S. wheat farmers,” says USW Vice President of Overseas Operations Vince Peterson. “U.S. wheat is the world’s most reliable source of high quality wheat, and part of that reputation comes from the people who grow it. We consistently hear how much the customer appreciates getting to know the farmer.”
This year, USW Policy Specialist Elizabeth Westendorf will lead a North Asia Board Team to Japan and Korea in early March. The team includes Darren Padget, a wheat farmer from Grass Valley, OR, and a current USW director representing the Oregon Wheat Commission; Greg LeBlanc, a wheat farmer from Crookston, MN, and a director of the Minnesota Wheat Research and Promotion Council; Clark Hamilton, a wheat farmer from Ririe, ID, and a current USW director representing the Idaho Wheat Commission; and Gary Bailey, a wheat farmer from St. John, WA and a current USW director representing the Washington Grain Commission.
The team will first meet at the USW West Coast Office and with the grain trade in Portland, OR for an orientation before traveling overseas. Over three days in Japan, the team will visit government contacts at the U.S. Embassy and Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and meet with millers, bakers and the grain trade. The second leg of the trip features three days in Korea, which includes visiting the largest fried noodle manufacturing facility in Korea, mill tours and a meeting with the Korea Flour Mills Industrial Association.