USDEC received a $10 million award from USDA for its work on international dairy market development under its first allocation of funding under the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP) announced May 20 following a strong push from NMPF and USDEC for increased investment in market promotion. USDA established RAPP last October to expand U.S. agriculture exports to new markets where demand for high-quality agricultural products is growing, including Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.

RAPP’s launch was prompted by requests from Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow, D-MI, and Ranking Member John Boozman, R-AR to USDA regarding the need for greater international market expansion program funding.

In advance of that request, NMPF and USDEC advocated extensively with Congress regarding the importance of that additional investment, particularly at a time of dormant administrative trade policy initiatives.