Showing Up Matters

The House Farm Bill proposal more than doubles the amount of money available for the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development programs. If realized, that would be the first increase in funding for these programs since 2006. Ryan Brewster is the senior director of USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Global Programs, overseeing trade missions. “Showing up matters,” was Brewster’s message at the Ag Outlook Forum. “If you want to sell your product in a certain market, you need to go to that supermarket chain in Vietnam or that bakery in Guatemala; they want to know who they’re purchasing from, so showing up really matters.” Brewster said USDA is laser-focused on the countries with a reciprocal trade deal with the United States. Rapid-response teams are in place to build trade relationships with those trading partners.