WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S. — Online registration is now open for the U.S. Grains Council 2012 Annual Board of Delegates Meeting, which will be July 30-Aug. 1 in Vancouver, Washington, U.S.

"The council’s theme this year is, ‘Your Highway to the World: New Capacities, New Markets,’” said the Council’s Chairman Wendell Shauman. “And there is nowhere better than Vancouver to see how new trade dynamics are reshaping our future.”

The Columbia River is second only to the Mississippi as an export channel for U.S. feed grains, making Vancouver one of the key hubs for expanding trade with booming East Asian markets. The EGT Terminal in Longview, Washington, U.S., is the first new export grain terminal built in the U.S. in over 25 years, and the prospect of increasing exports, especially to Asia, is prompting infrastructure improvements across the upper Midwest and beyond.

While in Vancouver, the Council’s A-Teams will meet to review key strategic and policy issues confronting U.S. producers and agribusinesses, and the delegates will elect a new team of officers for the coming year. A special highlight will be a salmon fishing tournament on the Columbia River with proceeds to benefit The Grains Foundation, which funds educational and philanthropic causes related to the Council’s mission of “Developing Markets, Enabling Trade, Improving Lives.”

To register, visit: http://grains.org/index.php/registration-vancouver. For further information, contact Valerie Smiley at 1.202.789.0789.