U.S. Grains Council, Key Partners Hold Corn, Ethanol Conference In Japan

Jul 15, 2024

Recently, nearly 100 industry stakeholders gathered for the U.S. Grains Council’s (USGC’s) 2024 Corn and Ethanol Conference in Tokyo, Japan. The event enhanced relationships between U.S. producers and agribusinesses and Japanese importers by sharing information on crop progress and the sustainability benefits of U.S. corn and ethanol.

The Council’s delegation was led by USGC Japan Director Tommy Hamamoto and included USGC Director of Global Ethanol Export Development Mackenzie Boubin; USGC Senior Manager of Global Ethanol Market Development Ankit Chandra; Commonwealth Agri-Energy General Manager Mick Henderson; Illinois Corn Marketing Board Former Chaiman and USGC At-Large Director Jim Reed; and Iowa Corn Growers’ Association Director Dan Keitzer.

“Japan is an extremely important market for U.S. ethanol and it’s exciting to consider how much it could still expand because of rising demand for automobile fuel ethanol and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF),” Boubin said.

Before the conference, the Council’s team met with staff from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA’s FAS) and from the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to coordinate future events and further strengthen the robust trade relationship between the countries.

The group also met with representatives from two leading automobile manufacturers to learn about their implementation of ethanol and how the U.S. industry can help them meet their goals.

Erica Summe, agricultural attaché at the U.S. embassy in Tokyo, gave opening remarks at the conference and was followed by a series of presentations on the low carbon impact (CI) of U.S. corn and ethanol and updates on corn and distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) production.

Hamamoto spoke to attendees about the Council’s Corn Sustainability Assurance Protocol (CSAP), that promotes the environmentally friendly practices of U.S. producers and gives U.S. goods a competitive advantage with climate-conscious consumers.

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Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.