Skip to main content
News
USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has awarded fiscal year 2022 (FY22) funding to more than 60 U.S. agricultural organizations to help expand commercial export markets for U.S. goods. Under the Market Access Program (MAP), FAS will provide $175.6 million for FY22 to 67 nonprofit organizations and cooperatives, which will use the funds to support U.S. producers with marketing and promotion activities around the globe, including market research, technical assistance, and support for participation in trade fairs and exhibits. Under the foreign Market Development (FMD) program, FAS will allocate $26.8 million for FY22 to 21 trade organizations that represent U.S. agricultural producers to conduct activities that help maintain or increase demand for U.S. agricultural commodities overseas.
USDA has published the list of organizations that will receive FY22 MAP awards and FMD awards, and USLGE has been allocated $1,686,784 in MAP funds and $121,381 in FMD funds. To learn more about MAP, FMD and other FAS programs, visit www.fas.usda.gov.
Source: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
With USLGE funding support, Wisconsin's Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) will facilitate an online beef breeding webinar to help increase Wisconsin's beef and dairy genetic export to China. The broadcast will take place on December 24, 2021, China local time, and target Chinese farm managers, importers, government officials, and others about the quality, value, and standards of U.S. and Wisconsin’s beef and dairy cattle genetics. The online host will be Hoard's Dairyman China. For more details or to participate, please contact Jennifer Lu, Economic Development Consultant, International Agribusiness Center, Wisconsin DATCP: jennifer.lu@wi.gov, 608-347-1852.
Source: News, December 2021, International Agribusiness Center, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
The application deadline for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) trade mission has been extended to Friday, November 12. The UAE has long been one of the top export destinations in the Middle East for U.S. consumer-oriented food products. Join USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service on February 16–21, 2022, for its trade mission to Dubai, UAE, to explore the many opportunities that await U.S. exporters in the region. Trade mission delegates will conduct business-to-business meetings with potential customers, receive in-depth market briefings from USDA and industry trade experts, and participate in site visits, including including Dubai Expo 2020. For more information, visit https://www.fas.usda.gov/topics/trade-missions or email trademissions@usda.gov.
Source: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
AQHA (American Quarter Horse Association) International will be traveling to Slovenia and Denmark in December to host Quality Samples Program (QSP) technical educational seminars on artificial insemination with frozen semen. The Quality Samples Program (QSP) enables potential customers around the world to discover the quality and benefits of U.S. agricultural products, including genetic material from American Quarter Horse stallions. In June 2021, AQHA International was granted Federal funding via USLGE to support 2 QSP activities in Denmark and Slovenia. As part of this program, AQHA will work with affiliates in those countries to import export-qualified frozen semen from U.S. stallions to diversify the gene pool in those markets, produce more registered American Quarter Horses, and showcase the quality of U.S. exports.
Source: American Quarter Horse Association
USLGE participated in Agroexpo for the first time this year. According to Martin Sieber, USLGE President/CEO, this is a one-stop shop for those interested in importing U.S. cattle (meat and dairy), equine, swine and small ruminants, as well as their germplasm. [Article in Spanish]
USDA announced in-person trade missions will resume early next year. The first trade mission is to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), February 16-21, 2022. The last USDA-sponsored trade mission was held in November 2019, prior to COVID-related travel restrictions. Dubai will offer U.S. exporters the perfect opportunity to return to overseas trade events, visit and engage directly with foreign buyers, and boost their export sales to the UAE and the surrounding region. Trade mission delegates will conduct business-to-business meetings with potential customers, receive in-depth market briefings from FAS and industry trade experts, and participate in site visits, including Dubai Expo 2020.
The deadline to apply for the UAE trade mission is November 8, 2021. For more information, visit https://www.fas.usda.gov/topics/trade-missions or email trademissions@usda.gov.
Source: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
George E. Seidel, Jr., passed away on September 4, 2021, with his family by his side. He was well-known for his scientific contributions and as being a kind friend and colleague who always had an open door. He was a cattle rancher and boss with an unrelenting work ethic. After earning a B.S. at Pennsylvania State University in dairy science in 1965, he completed an M.S. and a Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1968 and 1970, respectively, focusing on reproductive physiology in cattle. In 1971, George took a faculty position at Colorado State University, where he rose through the ranks from assistant professor to University Distinguished Professor in 1993. From his early days of studying bull semen to his work on improving in vitro embryo production, he was highly competent in all aspects of reproductive physiology. He later became known for his work in developing methods for sexing semen and applied research for its use in animal agriculture. George received numerous awards over the course of his career for his stellar research and the creation of a graduate training program in bovine gamete and embryo biology, including being named as a member of the National Academy of Sciences and as one of the most influential people in the development of the U.S. beef industry.
Source: Colorado State University
USLGE has joined the U.S. Sustainability Alliance (USSA). Kevin Latner, USSA chair, says that “We are delighted to welcome USLGE on board. They are a great addition to our already diverse membership of American farmers, foresters, fishermen and supply chain partners. Expect to hear more over the coming months about the role that improved genetics play in sustainable livestock production.”
Brazil has become the largest importer of U.S. bovine semen. Martin Sieber, President and CEO of U.S. Livestock Genetics Export (USLGE), visited the Expointer agricultural trade show in Rio Grande do Sul and noted that Brazil’s importers focus mostly on Holsteins. [Article in Portuguese]
Source: Jornal do Comércio
USDA announced the names of individuals who will hold key staff positions in Washington, DC. Among those are Brooke Jamison as Associate Administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service and Regina Black as Chief of Staff for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs.
Source: USDA