NCC members are encouraged to visit www.AgExportsCount.org. This new "Ag Exports Count" site houses a public resource for educational information on agricultural export market development programs that help drive U.S. agricultural trade. Also included is information on these programs' successes and their challenges.
Visitors to the site can learn, for example, that a new study conducted by noted land grant university economists revealed that the demand-building Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) program accounted for 15 percent of U.S. agricultural export revenue generated between 1977-2014. Agricultural export market development programs funded through federal farm law in those same years have, in fact, contributed an average of $8.2 billion per year (a total of more than $309 billion) to farm export revenue.
Additional content, including success stories, will be posted on the website in coming weeks and months. Industry members can provide input and submit questions in the website's "Contact Us" section at www.agexportscount.com/contact/.
The website also serves as the foundation of a unified public presence for the multiple coalitions and individual organizations that support USDA's MAP and FMD program. Support is provided from 75 organizations, including the NCC, that represent farmers and ranchers, fishermen and forest product producers, cooperatives, small businesses, regional trade organizations and the state departments of agriculture. Website sponsors include: the Coalition to Promote Agricultural Exports (MAP coalition); the Agribusiness Coalition for Foreign Market Development (FMD coalition); the U.S. Agricultural Export Development Council; and individual cooperators who have supported this effort through time, treasure and sharing stories of their success.
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