URBANDALE, Iowa - The Japan Tofu Trade Team will visit Iowa Sept. 26 and 27 as part of a tri-state tour. The group will observe Iowa’s food grade soybean crop, which can be used to make tofu.

The trade team will have the chance to learn about the availability and safety of U.S. soybeans. A stop in Iowa was a natural choice when planning the tour as Iowa ranks number one in soybean production in the United States. Not only is this a great opportunity for the Japan team to hear about food grade soybeans from knowledgeable Iowa soybean producers, but it is also an ideal opportunity for the State of Iowa to showcase its expertise in the soybean field. Iowa has the ability to provide the quality, quantity, and the variety of soybeans that Japan needs to produce tofu.

The Japan Tofu Trade Team starts its tour in Minnesota on Sept. 24. The team will visit a variety of sites in Minnesota before traveling to Iowa on Sept. 26 where it will tour Latham Farms near Alexander, visit the Dennis Friest farm near Radcliffe, and have dinner at the home of Linda Funk in West Des Moines, Iowa. Sept. 27 will include a visit to Pattison Brothers near Fayette, Iowa, where the group will be taken to the Pattison Brothers’ Clayton county facility on the Mississippi River. The team then moves on to Illinois, where it will make several stops. The tour concludes on Sept. 30.

Don Latham is the president of Latham Farms, LLC, and a former chairman of the Iowa Soybean Promotion Board, now the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA). Friest is also a past director for ISA and Funk serves as the ISA director of food marketing. Pattison Brothers is an exporting elevator, specializing in food grade exports.