A diverse group of more than 40 agribusinesses, farm groups and state departments of agriculture visited the Netherlands in mid April to strengthen trade relationships and look for new opportunities.
USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor launches the first-ever regional USDA trade mission to the Netherlands with representatives from 41 agribusiness and farm organizations and 10 state departments of agriculture.Contributed / USDA
A diverse group of more than 40 agribusinesses, farm groups and state departments of agriculture visited the Netherlands in mid April to strengthen trade relationships and look for new opportunities.
North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said the mission, like others he has gone on with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was “a hit.”
“It is a unique opportunity. It is an opportunity to build relationships,” he said. “I believe it will serve us well. It will serve the U.S. well, and it will serve the world well.”
Goehring was among 10 heads of state ag departments on the trip and one of four who was on a call coordinated by the USDA on Wednesday, April 19, to tell members of the media about the trip. Also joining USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor on the call were California Secretary of Food and Agriculture Karen Ross, Maine Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Amanda Beal, and Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson.
The Netherlands is the “gateway to Europe for U.S. food and agriculture exports,” Taylor said in a statement prior to the trip, and the mission was to facilitate business-to-business meetings between small- and medium-sized U.S. agribusinesses and regional buyers looking to import American food and farm products. The itinerary also included meetings with Dutch officials and industry groups on trade issues, climate change and retail promotions of U.S. products. The group visited the Food Innovation Academy training center and the Port of Rotterdam, which is Europe’s largest seaport.
Company representatives from Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Norway and Sweden also attended the events in Amsterdam.
All five officials on the call spoke glowingly about the trip and the conversations they had with Dutch businesses and officials. Many conversations revolved around sustainability and, more specifically, telling the story of U.S. agriculture and agribusiness sustainability.
“That just makes farming better across every state in every country across the globe,” Ross said.
Goehring said there were conversations about things like conservation tillage and practices in both cropping and livestock that have evolved.
“I think it tells an overall story of how U.S. agriculture does at protecting its resources,” he said.
Gipson said his state’s wood pellet production was of interest to officials in the Netherlands. The state needs to thin woods to keep them healthy, and the thinned trees go into sustainable wood pellets for heating materials. In fact, Taylor said for every one tree harvested in Mississippi, three are planted.
The contingent also included small processors, and Taylor said a small processor of high-end chocolate sauces was on the trip from her home state of Iowa. The sauces found interest with businesses in the Netherlands because consumers there are “looking for a story to be told about the product.” Taylor said the 40 attendees could have given 40 different stories.
“I think that’s something we can really excel in,” she said.
“They are looking for something unique. What’s the next best thing, maybe,” Goehring said. “But I think the reality is, they want high end stuff, and we really can deliver on that.”
From North Dakota, that might include pulses, grains or something like food-grade soybeans, which Goehring said was a “very specific and perfected” market.
He said the trip also was important in identifying possible trade barriers and communicating about ways to improve relations.
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