AUDIO: Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)
Senator Joni Ernst along with three other senators introduces legislation to help promote Ag exports.
U.S. Senators Ernst (R-Iowa), Agnus King (I-ME), Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced the Cultivating Revitalization by Expanding American Agricultural Trade and Exports, or CREAATE, Act Tuesday. Ernst says the bill increases funding to successful U.S. Department of Agriculture export promotion programs.
?Our state relies heavily on exports. One in five jobs is tied directly to trade. We felt this was really important to bring up this idea and really promote export products and continue to have strength all around the globe.?
The bill will help aid USDA?s Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development Program.
?Right now we see American farmers and ranchers are struggling with low commodity prices. We do think this will help maintain those programs and strengthen our trade relationships around the world. I can?t say this will give us an edge up but it is important to bolster these types of programs,? Ernst says.
MAP was established in 1985, and allows agricultural trade associations, farmer cooperatives, non-profit trade groups, and small businesses to apply for either generic or brand-specific promotion funds to support exporting efforts. Generic commodity funds are issues with a 10-percent minimum matching fund, while brand-specific funds require a funding match of at least 50%.
FMDP was first developed in 1955, and is largely used for the promotion of bulk commodities, helping agricultural trade associations establish permanent presences in important markets. It also includes a matching fund requirement.
USDA export programs like MAP and FDMP have added an annual average of $8.15 billion to the value of American agricultural exports, and added up to 239,800 full and part-time jobs, including 90,000 farm sector jobs.
Despite these successes, MAP and FDMP funding has not increased since the 2002 Farm Bill, even as competitors increase their efforts; for example, the European Union?s spending for the promotion of wine exceeded the total budget of MAP and FMDP in 2017. The CREAATE Act would curb this trend by providing the agricultural community with the level of support they need.
