Last year, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) launched a new initiative in Southern Mexico and completed a distiller’s dried grains with soluble (DDGS) feeding trial that determined there is a large potential demand for U.S. DDGS in cattle feed rations in the region, previously was an underserved market. Today, the Council is expanding that trial to include another ruminant animal, sheep.

“In this region, there are more than 80,000 head of sheep, meaning the demand for DDGS could be large if the trial is successful,” said Julio Hernandez, Council director in Mexico. “We are conducting a trial to see how sheep will perform when consuming a feed ration containing up to 30 percent DDGS.”

While Mexico was the second largest market for U.S. DDGS in 2014 and imported more than 1.5 million metric tons, its southern region has untapped potential. The Council hopes to gain a foothold in this market for U.S. DDGS through end-user education, DDGS promotion and trade servicing efforts.