USDA’s Foreign Ag Service is back from a trade mission to Peru, looking to open more doors for U.S. farmers.
Ag leaders from Maryland were on hand and said they are excited for opportunities around specialty crops.
“With the GDP growing here, and the quickly increasing middle class, we do see an opportunity for value-added products and consumer-oriented goods. Maryland is historically a rye whiskey-producing state, and a couple of discussions that we’ve had here indicate that there is an opportunity for diversification in that market here,” said Maryland Agriculture Secretary Kevin Atticks.
Montana ag leaders were also on the trip, and they have their eye on Peru’s use of lentils and the opportunities for pulse processing facilities in the country.
Traders say that shift could eventually prompt the USDA to scale back soybean export projections, noting the outlook differs greatly for other grain commodities.
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USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Luke Lindberg joined us with a recap of the Malaysia trade mission and a look at USDA’s broader trade strategy moving forward.
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Mike Steenhoek of the Soy Transportation Coalition shares how extreme winter weather is affecting the ag transportation network and what producers should keep in mind as conditions slowly improve.
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