GARRISON, N.D. – U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, toured JM Grain in Garrison, ND to learn more about how their business utilizes export programs authorized by the Farm Bill to trade commodities around the world. North Dakota is a major agriculture exporter, with $4.1 billion in annual exports. Agriculture exports support more than 45,000 jobs in our state.
“Businesses like JM Grain are leading the way in expanding opportunities for agricultural producers in our state,” said Heitkamp. “In addition to the hard work and great product from our farmers and ranchers, the recent export success is due to concerted efforts at USDA to partner with North Dakota entities in developing strategies to open up foreign markets. The Farm Bill I fought so hard for strengthened USDA’s ability to support North Dakota exporters, and I will continue to work on policies that support getting our products to new markets.”
Through the USDA’s Market Access Program, JM Grain received help with arranging a trip to Colombia to develop business relationships. The company now successfully exports its product to the country. Last November, representatives from JM Grain participated in a discussion Heitkamp hosted with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Undersecretary Michael Scuse.
Heitkamp played a key role in passing the 2014 bipartisan, five-year Farm Bill which included a number of provisions she fought for that will continue the momentum the state has experienced in exporting farm crops. This Farm Bill provides funding for crucial trade programs that North Dakotans use, including the Market Access Program, Emerging Markets Program and the Foreign Market Development Program, enabling North Dakota to build on its already strong history of exporting many of its agriculture products.
Press release provided by US Senator Heidi Heitkamp
Leave a Reply