Expanding horizons - USDA's 2024 plan for agricultural trade growth

Nov 22, 2023

The USDA, under Secretary Tom Vilsack is gearing up for a proactive 2024, focusing on expanding U.S. agricultural exports. The department's plans include a series of global trade missions and the launch of the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP).

Building on a record-setting $196 billion in agricultural exports in 2022, the USDA aims to further diversify and expand U.S. agricultural products in global markets. A key aspect of this strategy is the RAPP, funded with $1.3 billion, which will support American exporters in entering new markets and consolidating their presence in existing ones. The program's regulations will be open for public comment starting November 17.

The USDA has outlined a robust schedule of trade missions for 2024, targeting key markets like Seoul, New Delhi, Vancouver, Bogota, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Casablanca. These missions are crucial for fostering trade relationships and exploring new opportunities for U.S. agricultural products.

The administration's USDA has already achieved significant trade policy victories, including opening new markets in Vietnam and Mexico and renegotiating beef tariffs with Japan. These successes are part of the USDA's broader effort to create fairer markets and enhance the U.S. agricultural sector's resilience and sustainability.

Through these initiatives, the USDA reaffirms its commitment to transforming America's food system. The focus is on building a more resilient, equitable, and environmentally conscious agricultural sector that supports farmers and producers while ensuring access to nutritious food for all communities.

Source : wisconsinagconnection

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.