Proposed MAP changes shot down

   A group of agriculture industry associations are credited with persuading a majority of senators from including in the pending Farm Bill a 20 percent cut in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Market Access Program (MAP).
   The amendment was defeated by a vote of 69 to 30.
   The amendment would have meant a reduction of $40 million a year for export promotion programs supported by MAP.
   “U.S. agriculture trade is one of the few U.S. trade areas that maintains a surplus,” said Wendell Shauman, U.S. Grains Council president, in a statement on Wednesday. “Without MAP funding, U.S. grains exports will face a much tougher uphill battle.”
   The National Corn Growers Association, National Sorghum Producers, National Barley Growers Association, and other allied organizations are credited for lobbying the Senate to preserve the existing MAP in the proposed Farm Bill.
   MAP is a longstanding program through which the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service partners with “co-operator” organizations to work jointly on trade improvement projects. The U.S. Grains Council, for example, has used MAP funds for a variety of programs that expand and defend export markets for U.S. corn, sorghum, barley, distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), and other value added products. The council’s current programs encompass more than 50 countries.
   Global corn production continues to rise as technology drives yield increases and new competitors such as Brazil, Argentina, and the Ukraine ramp up production for export. Global grains markets are intensely competitive. “MAP is an important tool in assisting U.S. producers and agribusinesses in developing and defending export markets,” the U.S. Grain Council said.