New USDA Program to Promote US Grains Overseas

More today from Andrew Brent, Director of trade policy at the US Grains Council, as he talks about the newly developed Regional Agricultural Promotion Program that he says aids US exporters and assessing new markets fostering market share expansion and overall growth.

“ RAPP stands for Regional Agricultural Promotion Program. It is money that inside the farm builders' map and FMB funding which is market access program and for market development. Those programs have been around for a long time and are the dollars we have the grants Council and other cooperators have competed for that level of mapping f&b funding has been set in stone now for 20 years it hasn't increased.”

In light of the constrained US budget. Senator John Bozeman, the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman, Debbie Stabenow, are urging USDA to use Commodity Credit Corporation funding for the program.

“This is not guaranteed money to us. But it is a new program that will make money available to agricultural cooperatives so we can compete just like we always have for mapping f&b. I believe it is $1.3 billion over five years.”

Brent says that global corn marketing is vital especially with Brazil emerging as strong competition nearly matching US production. Leveraging programs like RAPP becomes essential to expand corn sales to other nations. And he says as other countries utilize similar programs to promote their products, the US must engage in this competitive landscape on a global scale.