At the 2024 CattleCon held in Orlando, Florida, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays talked with the president and CEO of the United States Meat Export Federation, Dan Halstrom, about the value of MAP (Market Access Program) and FMD (Foreign Market Development) funding for foreign beef exports.
Our coverage from the 2024 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in Orlando is being powered by Farm Data Services of Stillwater.
There has been much discussion during this farm bill cycle about the need to update MAP and FMD spending levels for commodity programs, including for USMEF efforts to promote beef and pork exports. Halstrom said additional funding would be put to work right away.
“The potential is huge with additional investment,” Halstrom said.
Halstrom said a new program that is being rolled out, the Regional Agriculture Promotion Program (RAPP), follows a similar concept to MAP and FMD regarding what those funds can be used for.
“It can increase our presence of the industry globally whether it is beef or pork,” Halstrom said. “We can go into some newer regions of the world…”
Halstrom also discussed why disease traceability methods in the U.S. provide a marketing opportunity for exploring different countries.
“If we had a more robust system, or at least the parts of the system that are effective, we will be the first ones to return on trade,” Halstrom said. “That is the crisis management side that has to be taken into consideration.”
Trading partners are interested in more disease traceability, Halstrom said, as prepping now is better than prepping after a crisis.
“Without a doubt, that should be, and is in the bullseye of our focus going forward to do what we can to enhance those systems prior,” Halstrom said.
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