Australia’s first imported sample of U.S. distiller’s dried grains with solubles, a co-product of U.S. ethanol production, successfully cleared inspections Dec. 3 after arriving at the Port of Melbourne on Nov. 25.

The shipment will be used in feeding trials to be overseen by Australian feed supplier CopRice, a major supplier of feed ingredients, manufactured livestock and companion animal feeds.

“This is a major accomplishment for the Council and an exciting first step for CopRice,” said Mike Callahan, U.S. Grains Council senior director of international operations for Asia. “This has also shown that DDGS can meet the stringent regiments of Australia’s Quarantine and Inspection Service.”

The shipment is the result of several efforts including the 2007 International DDGS Conference held in Schaumburg, Ill., hosted by BBI International in partnership with USGC. Conversations initiated in Schaumberg continued during a USGC mission to Australia last March, during which the proposal of sending a DDGS sample for use in feeding trials was discussed with CopRice representatives.

Hawkeye Gold, a USGC member based in Ames, Iowa, volunteered to supply the sample DDGS to CopRice once an agreement was reached. The DeLong Co., Inc., another USGC member based in Clinton, Wis., donated trans-loading services for the shipment. USGC covered the freight costs.

“Thanks to the cooperation of Hawkeye Gold and the assistance provided by the Foreign Agricultural Service in Canberra, U.S. DDGS has entered Australia for the first time,” said Adel Yusupov, USGC regional director of Southeast Asia. “(We are) anxious to hear about CopRice’s progress in using DDGS during the trial period and our staff is ready and available to assist them at any time upon their request.”