Northwest Horticultural Council
Market Access Program
The Northwest Horticultural Council advocates full funding of $200 million for the United States Department of Agriculture’s Market Access Program (MAP).
MAP is a joint private-public partnership aimed at increasing export demand for America’s agricultural products, using funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to help finance promotional activities for a range of U.S. agricultural products. The program also aids in the development, maintenance, and expansion of export markets.
The Pear Bureau Northwest, Washington Apple Commission, and Washington State Fruit Commission are among the active participants in the Market Access Program.
The Agricultural Act of 2014 (the Farm Bill) set funding for the MAP at $200 million annually through 2018.
The Coalition to Promote U.S. Agricultural Exports
The Northwest Horticultural Council is a founding member of the Coalition to Promote U.S. Agricultural Exports. Mark Powers, President of the Northwest Horticultural Council, currently serves as chairman of the coalition.
The Coalition to Promote U.S. Agricultural Exports is a group of organizations representing farmers, cooperatives, small businesses, regional trade organizations and state departments of agriculture which has as its primary goal the maintenance of strong funding for the MAP and the Foreign Market Development (FMD) Program.
2018 Farm Bill Reauthorization
Congress will be considering future funding levels for the MAP as it works to reauthorize the 2014 Farm Bill, set to expire on September 30, 2018. The Coalition to Promote U.S. Agricultural Exports has taken a position to support gradually doubling funding for MAP over five years to $400 million as a part of this process.
The Northwest Horticultural Council supports increasing funding for the MAP and endorses H.R. 2321 and S. 1839, identical legislation introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Dan Newhouse (R/Washington) and in the Senate by Senator Angus King (I/Maine), to double funding for MAP and FMD.
11/27/17