Krissek Honored For 15 Years Of Service To USGBC

Greg Krissek, CEO Emeritus of the Kansas Corn Commission and Kansas Corn Growers Association, was presented with a plaque commemorating his 15 years of service to the U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council (USGBC) during its 66th Annual Board of Delegates Meeting in Milwaukee, WI last month.

Krissek was first introduced to the Council through his work as a staff member of Kansas Corn starting in 2000. He later went on to work for an ethanol service company involved with the Council. Krissek started attending meetings regularly in 2014 as the CEO of Kansas Corn and as an interested participant in USGBC Advisory Teams (A-Teams).

"When I was CEO of Kansas Corn, I wanted to bounce between the A-Teams to get a balanced perspective of what was going on in the markets," Krissek said.

"Then I thought I would be better informed, better educated and better prepared to help our decision making in Kansas if I was on one of the A-Teams."

Krissek served on the Ethanol A-Team when it was first developed and went on to join the Middle East and South Asia A-Team from 2020-2026. As CEO of Kansas corn and an active participant in A-Teams, Krissek has engaged in many overseas missions.

"Our agricultural community is very good at producing our crop, but we need markets outside of the United States, and that is exactly what the Council is about doing," Krissek said. "Some years, one in every four bushels of corn are exported from Kansas to Mexico or outside of the U.S."

He was especially involved in missions to India before the opening of the Council's office in New Delhi. In 2020, Krissek attended Auto Expo, India's largest auto show where the Council was working with the Indian auto industry to address the economic benefits of having a robust fuel ethanol policy, including the potential for imports to help the country meet its E20 mandate.

At the expo, the Council and U.S. industry partners invited attendees to learn about the economic, environmental and health benefits of increased ethanol use. Roughly 600,000 individuals - including Indian consumers, fuel industry stakeholders and government officials - attended the show.

"I got to return to India for the opening of the Council's office in New Delhi, and it was like coming to fruition the work that a lot of people have done to make that office a reality," Krissek said.

After 15 years of service with USGBC, Krissek encourages his growers and state staff to participate in similar missions.

"I personally believe that when we see the other parts of the world and meet potential customers in their countries, we foster better relationships because of that," Krissek said.

"Hopefully it leads to the opportunity to export our high-quality products to them and create that customer relationship, but even on a personal level, being able to interact with people around the world is a good thing for us as Americans to understand and appreciate what the rest of the world is like."

Please thank Greg Krissek for his 15 years of service to the Council and for his dedication to building demand for U.S. grains and co-products around the world!