The first trade mission, which begins Wednesday, Oct. 1, will take buyers on a three-day tour of the state's dairy industry. Stops include a dairy farm and a feed supplier in Quincy and a manufacturer of milking equipment in Naperville.
The second trade mission is scheduled Oct. 6 - 9 and will demonstrate Illinois' vast grain production and distribution capabilities. Potential foreign customers will visit the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center in Edwardsville, grain farms in Auburn and Champaign and a firm in Assumption that produces grain storage products.
"Our goal is to turn one-time visitors into long-term customers and increase agricultural exports," Acting Agriculture Director Tom Jennings said. "Agriculture is Illinois' top industry and much of its success is owed to foreign trade."
With sales of $3.8 billion, Illinois ranks as the fourth-leading agricultural exporter in the United States. Those sales comprise more than 40 percent of the industry's annual cash receipts.
"I like to think our Bureau of Marketing and Promotion has helped sustain Illinois' status as a world supplier of food and agricultural products," Jennings added. "Department-sponsored marketing activities such as these dairy and grain tours have generated $320 million in actual and projected sales for Illinois agribusinesses and food companies the past six years alone."
Each trade mission will have approximately 35 participants, primarily from Mexico and Columbia. Participants were recruited through the department's Latin American trade office in Mexico City.
Both tours will conclude with a trip to the Chicago Board of Trade and Mercantile Exchange. The itineraries follow:
Illinois Dairy Tour
Wednesday, Oct. 1
10:00 a.m. Silver Creek Farms, Quincy
1:15 p.m. ADM Alliance Nutrition, Quincy
Thursday, Oct. 2
8:00 a.m. University of Illinois Dairy Farm, Champaign-Urbana
2:15 p.m. Westfalia-Surge, Inc., Naperville
Friday, Oct. 3
9:30 a.m. Chicago Board of Trade and Mercantile Exchange, Chicago
Saturday, Oct. 4
Depart for World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis.
Illinois Grain Tour
Monday, Oct. 6
8:45 a.m. National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center, Edwardsville
12:30 p.m. Tim Seifert Farm, Auburn
Tuesday, Oct. 7
8:30 a.m. GSI, Assumption
2:30 p.m. Terry Wolf Farm, Champaign
Wednesday, Oct. 8
10:30 a.m. Marquis Ethanol, Hennepin
Thursday, Oct. 9
9:30 a.m. Chicago Board of Trade and Mercantile Exchange, Chicago
