Promoting U.S. ag products abroad

Oct 16, 2019

The USDA has two trade missions planned in October

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Representatives from the public and private sectors will travel overseas this month to promote U.S. farm products.

The USDA has two trade missions scheduled in October.

The first, which kicked off Oct. 15 in Vietnam, involves about 80 U.S. delegates who will meet with buyers from Vietnam, Thailand and Burma.

All three of those countries have been good customers for the U.S. industry, and the trade delegation hopes to further strengthen those relationships.

“The size of this trade mission delegation speaks to the phenomenal potential that exists for U.S. exporters in Vietnam and surrounding countries,” Ted McKinney, undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, said in an Oct. 11 statement. “Since the United States normalized relations with Vietnam in 1995, our agricultural exports have grown exponentially, reaching a record (US)$4 billion last year.

“Sales of U.S. food and farm products to Thailand and Burma also set records in 2018, topping (US)$2.1 billion and (US)$126 million, respectively.”

While in Vietnam, the American representatives will promote specific commodities.

The reps will highlight U.S. corn, for example, to the Burmese delegation.

“Due to the rapid expansion of the Burmese livestock industry, experts predict increases in corn imports for feeding purposes,” a trade mission information document says. “In 2018, Burma imported (US)$1.1 million in corn from the world, and (US)$384,000 from the United States.”

The trade mission in Vietnam wraps up Friday.

The second ag trip takes place from Oct. 28 to 31 in Accra, Ghana and will include customers from the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Gambia.

The U.S. visitors will promote soybean products, wheat, beef, dairy and other goods to the African delegations.

Farms.com has reached out to the U.S. Grains Council and U.S. Soybean Export Council for comment.

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.