First week on the internship with US Grains Council

By Bryce Vaughn, U.S. Grains Council intern

I am happy to announce that I have completed my first week of my last internship of my college career at the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) in Washington D.C. I was assigned to work primarily for the Global Programs department which is directed under the leadership of Kim Karst.

During my first week I have had the opportunity to assist the team with completing the 2014 Unified Export Strategy (UES). The UES is the USGC’s strategy for the following year which is presented to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service. The UES proposal is submitted every year and provides the funding for the USGC to carry out their market development efforts. This is a major project for the office since the UES is due at the end of the month and the funding requested for the following year totals close to $15 million.

In addition to working on the UES, I have also been engaged in program coordination. In June, USGC staff and members will travel to Panama for the Latin America Co-Products conference. I have been assisting in the preparation of travel briefs for staff and consultants that will be traveling on behalf of the Council.

The main project for my internship will likely be working on two trade mission programs. A Taiwanese DDGS and corn team will travel to Minnesota, Illinois and Washington, and a Korean Biotech Team will travel to Washington, D.C. and Iowa. Both teams will travel to the U.S. in July, so this will give me the opportunity to participate in efforts from step one to the conclusion of their mission.