Rogue Creamery representatives display some of their popular cheeses during a 2011 international trade show in Hong Kong. The Oregon company credits the Foreign Agricultural Service’s (FAS) Market Access Program (MAP) and industry partners for helping the company expand international sales of its award-winning cheeses. (Courtesy Photo)

For 80 years, Rogue Creamery has been passionate about the art of cheese making. This small company located in Oregon’s scenic Rogue River Valley produces a variety of handcrafted artisan cheeses using milk from its dairies. Its blue cheeses are considered “ambassadors” for the American Artisan and Farmstead cheese movements. Rogue Creamery credits the Foreign Agricultural Service’s (FAS) Market Access Program (MAP) and industry partners for helping the company expand sales of its award-winning cheeses. Read more »

A dairy cow from Ronnybrook Dairy Farm. With the help of the Agricultural Marketing Service’s export certificates, dairy producers and manufacturers can send their products to 104 countries. Photo courtesy of Garrett Ziegler

Last year marked the first time in U.S. history that our dairy farmers produced more than 200 billion pounds of milk. This was the highest year over year increase since 2004-2005 and a 5.7 billion pound increase from the previous year. In recent years, more than two-thirds of the growing demand for U.S. farm milk has been for dairy exports. Read more »

Foreign Agricultural Service's (FAS) Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) in Japan released a smart phone optimized version of their website, us-ato.jp. The optimization was done in response to the increased use of smart technology by professionals worldwide to conduct business – especially those in Japan. (Courtesy Photo)

The Foreign Agricultural Service’s (FAS) Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) in Japan recently released a smart phone optimized version of their business website, us-ato.jp, in conjunction with their “Taste of America” campaign.

The optimization was done in response to the increased use of smart technology by professionals worldwide to conduct business – especially those in Japan, said Tommy Aoki, a senior marketing specialist at ATO Japan. Read more »

A passion for agriculture is what brought 50 young farmers to the Washington, D.C., area this week, as part of a national networking forum for the next generation of producers.

“We want to let young producers know that their voice is important and they shouldn’t be hesitant or bashful about communicating with policymakers,” said Gordon Stone, executive vice president of the National Young Farmer Educational Association, or NYFEA, which sponsored Agriculture’s Promise: The Washington Forum.

Undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse joined several speakers on day two of the three-day event — held Monday, Feb. 4 at National Harbor — to provide an overview of the Farm Service Agency, Risk Management and Foreign Agricultural Service and encourage discussion about USDA’s programs and policies. Scuse mentioned a new microloan program designed to help small and family operations, beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers secure loans under $35,000. Microloans will help producers through their start-up years by providing needed resources and helping to increase equity so that farmers may eventually graduate to commercial credit and expand their operations. Scuse also spoke about the importance of communicating effectively with rural America. Read more »

The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) office in Ottawa, through its food and beverage alliance, tasteUS!, recently launched a new website that provides Canadians with information on top quality U.S.-grown food and the more than 40 U.S. cooperators whose products are found in grocery stores across Canada.

“Our tasteUS! website is a great tool for Canadians in helping them understand the agricultural goods imported from the U.S. that are available to them. We’re promoting a ‘buy regionally’ approach that can bring down grocery costs – especially in the winter months when Canadian produce is scarcer,” said Scott Reynolds, FAS Minister-Counselor for Agricultural Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa.

Found at www.tasteUS.ca, the website has detailed information on tasteUS! affiliated cooperators, relevant news articles, facts on nutrition and recipes provided by the cooperators. It allows Canadians to educate themselves about the food and beverages imported into Canada from the United States – from fresh fruit like apples, pears and peaches, to vegetables such as tomatoes, to wine, beer and fruit juices – and the producers behind it all. Some of the cooperators represent commodities not grown in Canada, such as papaya and catfish. Access to these types of foods gives Canadians even more options to support their healthy food choices. Read more »

Two teachers currently training at the new Dowa Teachers Training College that opened in Malawi Nov. 30. The college was built with the help of the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Food for Progress (FFP) program, and more than 250 qualified primary school teachers will graduate from there annually. The teachers will instruct children in the rural communities throughout Malawi. (Courtesy Photo)

School children in the rural communities of Malawi will soon have access to more qualified primary school educators, thanks in part to the Foreign Agricultural Service’s (FAS) Food for Progress (FFP) program. Read more »