BALTIMORE, MD – The U.S. Agricultural Export Development Council (USAEDC) Annual Workshop, a premier gathering of nearly 200 U.S. agricultural export leaders, U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) specialists, and global market strategists, was held here last week. Under the theme “The Quest for New Markets,” the conference spotlighted market expansion opportunities, innovative trade-policy tools, emerging technologies like AI-driven climate-risk platforms, real-time trade policy modeling tools, and strategic collaboration.
USA Rice took to the stage to talk about the path of transforming the organization’s global digital presence, ensuring that the U.S. rice message is streamlined and consistent among its many international markets.
“Joining us on stage was Corey Hayes with Get Back Here Dog, the engine behind the revamp of our global digital presence,” said Asiha Grigsby, USA Rice senior director of international promotion for the Western Hemisphere, who presented on stage. “There was tremendous interest in how we simplified our message to have a greater impact with our audience; dozens of people came up to me afterwards to talk about this innovative activity.
Also, during the workshop, Deputy Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Michelle Bekkering announced the opening of the America First Trade Promotion program, a new program with $285 million to help facilitate exports of U.S. products; applications are due in January 2026. This program will be in additional to the Market Access Program, Foreign Market Development Program, and Regional Agricultural Promotion Program – all essential tools in maintaining and growing U.S. rice exports.
“We were so fortunate that the government opened up in time so that our FAS colleagues could join us during this annual workshop,” Grigsby said. “As they stated numerous times and I wholeheartedly agree, this is the best public-private partnership at USDA.”