More than 120 members of the Coalition to Promote U.S. Agricultural Exports are urging leaders of the House Committee on Agriculture to increase funding for USDA export promotion programs in the new farm bill.
The coalition ssent a letter asking them to increase funding for the Market Access Program (MAP) to $400 million annually and the Foreign Market Development (FMD) program to $69 million annually, phasing in the additional funding over the life of the next farm bill. Coalition members include virtually all of the major commodity organizations, as well as state and regional groups, representing everything from apples to wine.
Mark Powers, president of Northwest Horticultural Council and chairman of the coalition. In this interview, Powers talks about how successful the programs have been and how important exports are to specialty crop producers, and you can learn more at AgExportsCount.org. Interview with Mark Powers, NW Horticultural Council