U.S. Grains Council Receives Second Round of Regional Agriculture Promotion Program Funding From U.S. Department of Agriculture

Dec 20, 2024

The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) today received notice of a second round of funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under its Regional Agriculture Promotion Program (RAPP). The award will disperse $16 million to the Council for use in developing markets that will be crucial to the future of U.S. agriculture exports.

“USDA’s decision to distribute additional RAPP funding will allow our organization to continue programming it began with the initial round of funding and the new allocation enables us to expand into additional markets that were not earmarked in the first iteration,” said Verity Ulibarri, USGC chairwoman. “We thank the USDA for having confidence in our programming and look forward to using the funding to continue to achieve measurable results for U.S. producers, buyers and sellers alike.”

RAPP was launched after a request from the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry to bolster, diversify and expand market opportunities for U.S. agriculture products. The first round of the Council’s funding – $17 million – came in 2024.

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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.