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Ag Export Coalition calls for full funding support

Nearly 130 ag organizations are asking the U.S. House and Senate Ag Appropriations subcommittees to fully fund USDA programs that support ag exports for the next year.

The Coalition to Promote U.S. Agricultural Exports, which includes the American Soybean Association, U.S. Dairy Export Council, U.S. Wheat Associates, and serval other state and national ag groups representing a diverse mix of commodities, says farmers need continued investment in the Market Access Program (MAP) and the Foreign Market Development (FMD) Program as markets reopen from COVID-19.

American Soybean Association Chair Bill Gordon, a Minnesota farmer, tells Brownfield about every other row of soybeans grown, or about 60 percent of U.S. soy production, is exported and market development programs are crucial for building and maintaining relationships with trading partners.

“Seventeen billion dollars of trade plus with China in 2020 and looking into 2021 and it looks like we’re going to have similar markets going forward—all that stems from these market access programs.” he says.

The coalition is requesting $255 million for Agricultural Trade Promotion and Facilitation which funds the MAP and FMD programs. 

Those two programs are cost share based, leveraging private/public dollars which the coalition says returns more than $28 in export gains for every dollar invested.

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