U.S. Soybean Farmers Visit Mexico

February 15, 2007 -  Keeping up good relations with next door neighbors is always important, particularly when they are your #1 soybean meal and soybean oil customer. U.S. farmer/leaders Ron Limon (USB) and Glenn Janssen (ASA), both Directors serving on the International Marketing Growth Markets subcommittee, recently made calls on several of their key soybean customers in Merida and Monterrey, Mexico.

    In Merida, ASA-IM Mexico Regional Consultant Pedro Gonzalez escorted the Directors to HYSA, a crushing plant that is one of the U.S.'s largest customers crushing 900,000 metric ton (33 million bushels) of soybeans per year. As a result of an ASA-IM sponsored trip to the U.S. last year, this company made their first purchase of U.S. soybean meal.

     In Monterrey, Limon and Janssen learned about the work ASA-IM has been doing in the aquaculture sector and took part in a soybean oil processing and refining course. Mr. Gonzalez, along with ASA-IM Animal Nutrition Consultant Dr. Hector Navarro, also escorted the U.S. farmers to the University of Nuevo Leon where they met with Dr. Elizabeth Cruz and her team who conducted a series of shrimp feeding trials.

Dr. Denis Ricque and Dr. Elizabeth Cruz explain shrimp feeding trails conducted at the University of Nuevo Leon in Monterrey Mexico to U.S. Directors Ron Limon and Glenn Janssen

U.S. Directors Ronald Limon and Glenn Janssen and ASA-IM Consultant Pedro Gonzalez receive an explanation of the shrimp feeding trails focusing on the use of an enzymatic complex to improve the energy availability from soybean meal in shrimp rations.

U.S. soybean farmers Glenn Janssen and Ron Limon with staff of HYSA crushing plant attending a seminar to discuss the quality of the 2006 soybean crop and the planting intentions for 2007.