Council Holds Training Course For Vietnamese Agriculture Sector Students

Last week, the U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council (USGBC) held its second livestock feed training program at Tay Nguyen University in Dak Lak, Vietnam for third- and final-year students preparing to enter the country's livestock and feed industries. The program promoted the nutritional and economic benefits of U.S. corn and corn co-products like including distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS), as well as U.S. sorghum, a versatile feed grain well suited to Vietnam's poultry, swine and aquaculture sectors.

The Council's delegation included USGBC Deputy Regional Director for Southeast Asia & Oceania (SEA&O) Caleb Floss; USGBC Regional Technical Consultant for SEA&O Dr. Budi Tangendjaja; USGBC Vietnam Representative Tran Trong Nghia; and USGBC Vietnam Representative Vu Ngan Giang.

"This training marks our second collaboration with Tay Nguyen University after it proved to be very effective in building connections to the next generation of Vietnamese agricultural leaders and strengthened awareness of other market development opportunities in the country," Floss said.

"Vietnam has rapidly developed into a middle-income economy with consumer demand for protein, and the Council is helping build its livestock capacity with U.S. feed grains."

The training session began with an overview of the U.S. feed grain logistics system and U.S. DDGS production, followed by a workshop showing students how to formulate feed with data sets and compare input prices.

Later sessions discussed the quality factors of ingredients and their effects on formulations, nutrition requirements by species and how to move from initial formulations to production.

Graduates and faculty members expressed strong enthusiasm during the course and a desire for more advanced, in-depth training to extend their knowledge and share information about U.S. corn, DDGS and sorghum with future classes of students. Their engagement will help build lasting local expertise and champion U.S. feed ingredients in Vietnam's next generation of livestock and feed professionals.

After the training, the Council's group visited key feed manufacturers and livestock producers in Binh Dinh, Gia Lai Province, to gather market intelligence on current business conditions, assess the commercial use and market potential of U.S. coarse grains and co-products and identify opportunities for future technical collaboration and market development.

"Promoting U.S. coarse grains and co-products through technical training for future livestock industry participants lays the groundwork for successful trade long into the future and further establishes the Council as a trusted resource for these future customers," Floss said.

"Additionally, our meetings with end-users strengthened their familiarity with U.S. corn, corn co-products and sorghum to improve their operations and create demand for U.S. growers."

Learn more about the Council's work in Vietnam on the organization's website.