Council Markets DDGS In Southeast Mexico

Jan 25, 2023

When thinking of emerging markets for U.S. grains and co-products, places like Africa and Southeast Asia may easily come to mind. Southeast Mexico, however, may hold the key to new opportunities in a country that has been a strong partner for U.S. agriculture throughout the years.

Last week, U.S. Grains Council (USGC) staff spent time in the southeastern region of Mexico, sharing the results of distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) trials with ranchers in the area who have not been aware of the product and its nutritional components in their animals’ feed.

“Southeastern Mexico is the country’s source for feeder cattle in northern Mexico. Producers rely on grassing and dual purpose to manage their cattle. By teaching how to supplement their cattle with DDGS-based concentrates, we are helping them become more efficient and productive,” said Javier Chávez, USGC marketing specialist in Mexico.

“This market is very spread out, and no grain company has the ability to reach them as the Council does with their programs. Perhaps, in the short term, the results are difficult to measure, but as some of them grow, they will have the backing that our educational program has given them along with the development of suppliers to the region that we hope will become important end users as well.”

crop

To close the program, the team traveled to Campeche, Mexico, where they presented the results of two different DDGS trials – one on calves and the other on dairy cows – to the Nuevo Durango Mennonite camp. USGC Consultant Eduardo Christensen (pictured) presented the results before USGC memorandum of understanding (MOU) partner PROMEXA offered an overview of its DDGS base concentrate.

Click here to see more...

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.