ARLINGTON, VA – U.S. Wheat Associates (U.S. Wheat) celebrated the announcement that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS) has awarded more than $212 million through the Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) program to help expand export markets for U.S. food and agricultural products.
All across its supply chain, U.S. wheat depends on the successful public-private partnership between USW’s state wheat commission members and USDA-FAS export market development programs. Checkoff contributions qualify USW to apply for matching funds through programs like the MAP and the FMD program. U.S. Wheat leverages those combined funds to position the six classes of U.S. wheat as the world’s most reliable source of high-quality wheat for global milling and baking operations.
“U.S. Wheat greatly appreciates USDA’s continued investment into expanding agricultural markets under the leadership of U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Luke J. Lindberg, ” said U.S. Wheat President and CEO Mike Spier. “This annual funding allows us to match wheat farmers’ hard-earned checkoff dollars with federal resources, strengthening a public-private partnership that has proven its value decade after decade.”
The USDA announcement includes awards for 2026, which U.S. Wheat will use to connect American farmers with customers around the world through technical assistance, market promotion and the identification and removal of trade barriers. Studies consistently demonstrate that this public-private partnership continues to not only meet its intended purpose of boosting agricultural export volumes, but also supports rural economies and the U.S. economy.
