USDA has allocated $300 million to 66 organizations in the United States - including the Cherry Marketing Institute, the U.S. Grains Council, and the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council - to create demand for the export of American food and agricultural products in high-potential markets worldwide.
Through the new Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP), USDA has authorized $1.2 billion in funding from the Commodity Credit Corp. to help U.S. exporters expand their customer base beyond established markets. The regions targeted are Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, South and Southeast Asia.
Among the beneficiaries are the Cherry Marketing Institute, which will receive $450,000, the USGC, which will receive $17 million in funding, and the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, which will receive $1.3 million. The American Soybean Association received the largest amount of funding, totaling $28.5 million.
"These funds will go to over 60 partner organizations that will help create demand for U.S. agricultural and food exports in high-potential markets worldwide," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
"We will fund hundreds of projects, covering a wide and vast variety of products and markets, from creating demand for American meat exports in Africa to promoting American olives in Latin America, to breaking down trade barriers for white coffee in Japan."
Read the full article: Farm Progress
Image: AgMRC
03 Jul 2024
'Thanks to the early blossoming this year, the harvest is particularly early,' explains Claus Schliecker, president of Landvolk Niedersachsen. He and his colleagues invest around EUR 120,000 per hectare to cover the cherry trees with rain covers and insect nets.
16 Jun 2025
In Michigan’s cherry heartland, Talon Felker shares life on the farm through apples, cherries and digital tools. From pest control to social storytelling, his Cherry Ke farm proves how innovation and tradition can shape modern U.S. fruit cultivation.
14 Aug 2026
Poland’s Łutówka sour cherry harvest is nearing its end, while processors have raised prices only slightly. Growers say returns remain below production costs, raising concerns about the future of investment in orchards, modern machinery, crop protection and fertilisers.
14 Aug 2026
Interest in industrial cherry orchards is growing in Ukraine as demand, prices and mechanized harvesting shape growers’ decisions. Stable yields, regional competition and access to processing are becoming major factors for profitability and new investments in the sector.
