Wheat Farmers Ready to Rally Around Trade Programs

WASHINGTON, DC – Wheat producers are preparing to engage with their legislators in Congress, since half of the wheat grown in the United States is exported.

Earlier this month, bipartisan and bicameral legislation was introduced to strengthen two critical trade programs in the farm bill: the Foreign Market Development program (FMD) and the Market Access Program (MAP). Both are public-private partnerships where USDA invests with commodity trade groups on a cost-share approach to grow markets and demand for U.S. commodities.

MAP’s authorized funding has not changed since 2006, and FMD funding has remained the same since 2002, allowing inflation and sequestration to erode the export promotion efforts significantly.

A recent study by IHS Market and the Agricultural Food Policy Center at Texas A&M predicted that doubling funding for these programs would generate more than $44 billion in additional exports over five years (beginning in 2024).

Last week in California, at a House Ag Committee Farm Bill Listening Session, one common theme was the importance of MAP and FMD and the need for more baseline funding in the legislation Congress will write this year.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)