The organic market is becoming a cornerstone of American agriculture. As demand for these products increases, USDA is working to open up new opportunities for home-grown organic producers to meet the needs of our growing international consumer base. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service has implemented equivalency agreements with several other nations that help both farmers and consumers benefit from international organic markets worth more than $35 billion. By building on our international trade relations, we ensure that American producers continue to be the gold standard in organic products.
Hear from Monique Marez, Associate Director for International Trade for the Organic Trade Association. She explains how organic equivalency trade agreements have enabled our producers to export to places like Canada, the European Union, Switzerland, Japan and South Korea with less paperwork while ensuring that consumers can have confidence in the integrity of the organic seal no matter where they are.
Join us throughout the month of June as we continue to explore how American agricultural exports have served as a bright spot for the U.S. economy since 2009 while helping to ensure our ambitious goals of ending poverty and hunger are met. Follow along on usda.gov, on the USDA blog and by using #USDAResults, or catch up on Chapter VI on our Medium site.
In June, we’ll look at how American agricultural exports have served as a bright spot for the U.S. economy since 2009 while helping to ensure our ambitious goals of ending poverty and hunger are met.
Exporting is still new to Mike’s Hot Honey and Michael Kurtz, founder of the Brooklyn-based company, is excited to where it takes him. Kurtz says that dealing with international laws and logistics can be a challenge for a small business like his, but that he’s succeeding thanks to the support of USDA.
Trade agreements have helped drive U.S. farm exports for nearly 70 years.
It takes more than just a bountiful harvest to succeed in today’s agricultural marketplace. Many farmers find strength in numbers by pooling resources and expertise to grow and sustain their businesses in both the U.S. and international markets.
U.S. Soybeans Help Feed the World
It takes more than just a bountiful harvest to succeed in today’s agricultural marketplace. Many farmers find strength in numbers by pooling resources and expertise to grow and sustain their businesses in both the U.S. and international markets. For soybean farmers, the United Soybean Board (USB) works to maintain and expand domestic and foreign markets and uses for soybeans and soybean products.
Secretary Vilsack Visits Puerto Rico to Talk Climate Change and Caribbean Agriculture
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited the Caribbean Climate Hub in Puerto Rico earlier this month to lead a roundtable discussions with local agricultural officials, farmers and ranchers, USDA agency leaders, economic investors, and scientists, and to view first-hand the Hub’s pioneering work in climate change research, education and outreach.
Local Experience Plants Seeds of Positive Youth Development Abroad
Raising children to be their very best is not a concept unique to any particular country; rather, teaching youth to make better choices and create positive change in their communities is a common theme.
FAS Tariff Tracker Tool Now Includes TPP Data
The United States has free trade agreements (FTAs) with 20 countries around the world and those agreements have expanded export opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural producers. The pending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, between the United States and 11 other nations, will provide even greater opportunities for exporters by reducing or eliminating tariffs on a host of food and farm products.
A Little Bit of Progress in Lifting Trade Barriers with Cuba
The number two official at the Agriculture Department says U.S. farmers may be one step closer to seeing trade restrictions with Cuba lifted. (Gary Crawford and Sec'y Michael Scuse)
Actuality: U.S. Has One Big Advantage Over Other Nations in Cuba
Acting Deputy Agriculture Secretary Michael Scuse talking about one major advantage the U.S. agricultural sector would have in the Cuban market if barriers to financing and travel were lifted.
Cure For Increased Ag Surpluses? Increased Markets
A leading ag economist notes how increased export opportunities through trade deals could help reduce growing US commodity supplies. (Rod Bain and Bob Young of the American Farm Bureau Federation)
A View Of Puerto Rican Agriculture And Forestry
The Agriculture Secretary explains some of the takeaways of Puerto Rico's farm and forest sector after a recent visit to the island. Rod Bain reports. PARTICIPANTS: Rod Bain and Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Significance Of Cuban Soybean Oil Purchase From US
What are some of the possible takeaways from a recent sale of US soybean oil to Cuba? Rod Bain reports. PARTICIPANTS: Rod Bain. USDA oilseed analyst Keith Menzie. Ron Moore of the American Soybean Association.
Nespresso to bring Cuban coffee to US soil for first time in 50 years (Food Navigator USA)
It has been half a century since the US embargoed trade with Cuba, and now Nespresso is jumping on the first opportunity to bring the storied coffee beans of this tropical island country to the US. It will be the first time Nespresso will sell coffee from Cuba in any market ever, a spokesperson told FoodNavigatorUSA. The product, called Cafecito de Cuba, will be available as a limited edition in the fall of 2016, with plans to grow in the longrun.
A Rush of Americans, Seeking Gold in Cuban Soil (New York Times)
Being an agricultural official in Cuba these days is like living in a resort town all your friends want to visit. You rarely get a moment to yourself. For months, Havana’s government offices and its prettiest urban farms have been filled with American bureaucrats, seed sellers, food company executives and farmers who spend their evenings eating meals made with ingredients often imported or smuggled into restaurants that most Cubans can’t afford.
USDA: Conservation efforts reducing Mississippi River Basin runoff (Des Moines Register)
Conservation measures by farmers have reduced nitrogen and phosphorus runoff in Iowa and other states in the Upper Mississippi River Basin, according to a federal government study released this week. Using existing water quality data, researchers at the Agriculture Department and the U.S. Geological Survey determined voluntary agricultural conservation practices helped reduce nitrogen downstream in the Upper Mississippi River Basin watershed by as much as 34 percent.
How U.S. ag is a global leader and why consumers should care (Beef Daily)
As the election season heats up, America’s global competitiveness is in the spotlight as candidates on both sides of the aisle debate their strategies for “making America great again.” This slogan, and the impression that America isn’t a worldwide leader in many areas, is very misleading in my opinion. It’s interesting to note that in spite of the negative rhetoric, our country ranks third competitively out of 140 countries, according to the World Economic Forum. … In his column, Gorham writes, “The American agricultural industry wins on productivity, price, quality, and environmental stewardship, and it’s time we acknowledge and take pride in that.”
Women Take Over the Family Farm (The Atlantic)
The face of the American farmer today may look a little bit like Diane Henry Freutel’s. She is wearing pearl earrings, a blue hard hat, a denim shirt, jeans, and running shoes as she saws down a small tree on the farmland she inherited from her parents. Later she will drag the tree, along with other scraps and weeds, into a pile, and burn it. It’s all part of managing the 100 acres of farmland that unexpectedly became hers when her father and brother died in rapid succession two years ago.
26 million trees have died in the Sierra since October, raising fire risk (Los Angeles Times)
The lethal combination of drought, heat and an infestation of ravenous bark beetles has killed 26 million trees in the Sierra Nevada since October, an "unprecedented" die-off that heightens an already high wildfire risk, officials said Wednesday. The new estimate by the U.S. Forest Service brings the loss of trees to at least 66 million since 2010 -- a problem that grew worse despite an average winter of rain and snow that brought some relief to urban Californians. The dire report comes as fires have raged across the California, burning thousands of acres, forcing evacuations and closing freeways.
Will Skyscrapers of the Future Be Built From Wood? (Smithsonian)
New York City is home to some of the most famous skyscrapers in the world, from the Chrysler Building to the Empire State Building—structures of concrete and steel that, when built, seemed to defy both the bounds of human innovation and the laws of physics. But visitors to New York City’s West Chelsea neighborhood might have another surprising building to admire in a few years—a ten-story residential high-rise built from wood.
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