STATEMENT FROM VICE PRESIDENT MARK RECKER
The Trump Administration has unveiled their proposed budget which calls for the elimination of funding for the Market Access Program (MAP) and the Foreign Market Development (FMD) program in the federal government’s 2018 fiscal year, starting Oct. 1, 2017. These fundamental programs support the promotion of corn in all forms in international markets. Congressional support for maintaining the level of funding for MAP and FMD programs continues to be crucial as they are the muscle of what drives our export programs.
MAP and FMD cooperators, like the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) and U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), employ staff around the world, to build and defend U.S. market share of corn in all forms, including meat, DDGS and ethanol. The Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) each year designates Iowa corn checkoff dollars to match and support international market development programs through these partner organizations. For example, the MAP & FMD programs return $28 for every dollar invested.
This move will be detrimental not only to agriculture, but also to America’s economy overall. For instance, exports of U.S. corn and corn products generated $74.7 billion to the U.S. economy in 2014, according to an analysis by Informa Economics. At a time when the farm economy is struggling, we should be investing more in these programs, not less.
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