News

Chinese Dairy Industry Reps Visit Landus Cooperative

This month Landus Cooperative partnered with the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) to host key representatives from China’s dairy industry with a week-long U.S. Soy Bypass Dairy Mission. Eleven dairy industry representatives (and two USSEC representatives) traveled from China to Iowa to spend the week learning about Landus Cooperative, our Dairy Nutrition Plus product line, and dairy nutrition practices in the United States. We had the opportunity to highlight our unique supply chain advantage as we took them on a tour of the lifecycle of our soybeans throughout the week.

They got to visit Boone County farmer and Landus Cooperative board member Craig Heineman’s farm and were they were excited to learn of the multi-generations of family who have farmed that land, and see the faces of the farmers growing our soybeans. They visited the Jefferson grain facility to learn about how our incoming grain is handled and stored. They toured the SoyPlus facility in Ralston to see how we transform locally-grown beans into SoyPlus, a value-added dairy feed ingredient that can benefit dairy cows worldwide. They then visited one of our Dairy Nutrition Plus customers, Blood Dairy in State Center, IA, to learn how our ingredients have benefited their dairy rations.

This week-long event with USSEC comes one year after Landus Cooperative sent a team to China to introduce our product offerings and learn more about the Chinese industry. Events like these bring to light our global reach, and help us showcase how much our local touch matters to producers around the globe.

Approximately 2/3 of our total soybean sales this year have gone to export. Approximately 10% of SoyPlus sales and 15% of SoyChlor sales are sold internationally. This month’s mission highlighted local concerns regarding a potential trade war with China. As our team traveled around our trade area this month with our Chinese guests, we chatted with locals—farmers and not—at gas stations and restaurants, and with employees at locations. We heard lots of questions and concerns about what a possible trade battle would mean for local farms.