USDA Accepting Applications for Netherlands Agribusiness Trade Mission

Jan 18, 2023

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service is accepting applications from U.S. exporters for its first-ever regional agricultural trade mission to Amsterdam, Netherlands, April 17 – 20, 2023.

“Agribusiness producers, exporters, and growers in the United States may find the Netherlands to be a perfect gateway to Europe,” said FAS Administrator Daniel B. Whitley. “Participants will explore exporting opportunities in this mature market, which continues to grow, and meet potential buyers in surrounding regional markets.”

U.S. agricultural and related exports, including fishery and forestry products, to the Netherlands totaled $3.4 billion in 2021, ranking it the U.S.’s 10^th largest market globally. During the trade mission, U.S. participants will meet with buyers from the Netherlands, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and neighboring Belgium and Germany.

Rotterdam is Europe’s largest seaport and positions the Netherlands as a further processing and distribution hub to facilitate exports across Northern Europe and beyond. A strategic trading partner, the Netherlands is home to brokers, traders, processors (food, feed, and fuel), distributors, wholesalers, and retailers that have long-standing experience sourcing international ingredients and products. 

For U.S. companies interested in expanding sales in the Netherlands and these regional markets, strong export opportunities include, but are not limited to, oilseeds, fats and vegetable oils, grains, pulses, planting seeds, forestry products, beef (non-hormone treated cattle), dairy products, tree nuts, fish and seafood, food preparations, pet food, non-alcoholic beverages, spirits, wine and beer, confectionery and condiments and sauces. Additionally, there are increasing opportunities for U.S. products with special certifications, such as organic, and for products with unique stories to tell about their provenance or origin.

Participants will conduct business-to-business meetings with potential buyers, receive market briefings from FAS and trade experts, and participate in site visits and other networking activities while in the Netherlands.

Source : usda.gov

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.