The American Soybean Association (ASA) earlier this week asked soy growers to contact their House members and urge them to sign a letter supporting reauthorization of the Foreign Market Development Program (FMD) and the Market Access Program (MAP), and also include provisions of the Cultivating Revitalization by Expanding American Agriculture Trade and Exports Act (CREATTE Act) during consideration of the Farm Bill.

Congressman Dan Newhouse asked his colleagues to sign the letter to Chairman Mike Conaway and Ranking Member Collin Peterson of the House Agriculture Committee. Through the ASA Soy Action Center, soy growers asked their lawmakers to sign on to Newhouse’s letter before Thursday, March 22.

The MAP and FMD programs are two of the most impactful U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) export promotion programs. MAP allows agricultural trade associations like ASA to apply for promotion funds to support marketing efforts abroad, while FMD is also used for consumer promotion, technical assistance, market research, and other export-oriented activities. Both programs help to sustain the work of the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) and both require matching funds from recipients.

As the nation’s leading farm export, ASA strongly supports doubled funding for the Market Access Program (MAP) and the Foreign Market Development Program (FMD), both of which support the critical work of the soybean industry in both new and existing foreign markets.