WISHH trade team visits Zach Johnson’s Minnesota farm where Zach, his father Nate and Kim Nill, director of market development, Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, spent the afternoon answering the trade team’s wide range of questions on the nuances of producing soybeans.

ASA WISHH’s August U.S.-based training programs have introduced 12 strategic partners from Central America, Asia and Africa to new ways to grow demand for products made with U.S. soy protein. Multiple participating companies have $1 billion-plus in annual food and beverage product sales while a government agency official and a director of a national nutrition program are responsible for managing meals that reach tens of thousands of people. Each business or government agency made a financial commitment to send their representative to the United States in August for WISHH’s programs on how to innovate with U.S. soy as well as the opportunity to visit U.S. soybean farms that are a source of important nutrition for government as well as private-sector food purchases in their countries.

“I’m taking home with me the knowledge that we can literally dream anything in the area of food processing, and the technology and solid science is there that will enable us to add soya to any food or beverage product,” said Esi Amoaful, deputy nutrition director of the Ghanaian government’s public health agency. “We visited Zach Johnson’s farm, and we saw that technology and solid science are also on the soya farms. This allows U.S. farmers to grow soya with sustainable cropping practices, which preserves soya’s nutrients and benefits my people.”

WISHH works with the companies and other strategic participants before, during and after their U.S. training by leveraging QSSB funding with USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service programs. The trade teams reported that training at the Northern Crops Institute in Fargo as well industry presentations will drive their innovation and investments in food research and development to make a wide array of soy-based foods ranging from protein drinks to yogurts and sausages. WISHH also took participants to the ZFS Creston soy processing plant in Iowa.

Last week, WISHH staff and strategic partners from Cambodia and Ghana attended the U.S. Soy Global Trade Exchange & Specialty Grains Conference in Chicago. The Conference participation further assisted these feed and food companies to contribute to increased U.S. soy exports.