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FAS Administrator: farmers have met the challenge to supply the world with food

The head of USDA’s Foreign Ag Service says the US is on pace to have another record year for export sales in terms of value despite global and domestic challenges.

Administrator Daniel Whitley tells Brownfield American producers continue to meet demand. “In fact, we’re doing it better than we’ve ever done it before with exports forecast to reach $196 billion this year – $20 billion higher than last year.”

He says the war in Ukraine, drought in the US and skyrocketing input prices have created unprecedented volatility for farmers, but “I think we’ve really met the challenge and call of these times to make sure that we were able to continue our sort of social responsibility, which has been to supply the world at the rate we’ve always supplied the world.”

In addition to commercial exports, Whitley says USDA has used other programs to target areas that have been impacted global food insecurity.

Brownfield interviewed Whitley at the 2022 Ag Outlook Forum in Kansas City, which was presented by the Agri-Pulse and the Kansas City Agribusiness Council.