U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) welcomed Thursday’s announcement of the America First Trade Promotion Program (AFTPP) by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Details of the program were announced by Michelle Bekkering, USDA deputy undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, at a meeting of the U.S. Ag Export Development Council (USADEC). The program will include $285 million in funding for organizations like USW that work to develop and maintain overseas markets for U.S. agricultural producers.

“USW is excited about the opportunity to pursue additional funding through the America First Trade Promotion Program (AFTPP) and thanks the Trump Administration for their continued focus on expanding U.S. ag exports,” said Mike Spier USW president and CEO. “U.S. wheat farmers are world’s best at producing high quality wheat that global customers need, and the USDA’s support for our work to connect U.S. wheat farmers with customers around the world is absolutely vital.”

According to details in the official Notice of Funding Opportunity, AFTPP is designed to complement existing market development programs, including the Market Access Program (MAP) and the Foreign Market Development (FMD) program. USDA encouraged traditional USDA market development program recipients to propose new and innovative activities in non-traditional markets to generate increased export sales for U.S. farmers, ranchers and producers. Applications are due January 23, 2026.

In summarizing the goals of the new program, Bekkering stated, “We need to look at where we have market share and how to increase that market share. Then identify where we face trade barriers and remove those and finally identify where our next markets are going to be.”

The Notice of Funding Opportunity and Bekkering’s announcement fill in details following remarks pre-government shutdown by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins in late September. The AFTPP was designed as part of a three-point effort to expand exports of U.S. agricultural products. In addition to the funding opportunity through AFTPP, USDA also announced the launch of T.R.U.M.P trade missions (Trade Reciprocity for U.S. Manufacturers and Producers) and a working group focused on revitalizing U.S. ag trade finance programs.