WASHINGTON — ASI has been awarded $482,961 for Market Access Program (MAP) and $148,193 for Foreign Market Development (FMD) For fiscal year 2015, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced.

According to Rita Kourlis Samuelson, international wool marketing director for ASI, the organization is again grateful for the assistance it receives from these programs.

“These funds are extremely important for the U.S. wool industry as it continues to explore new markets,” said Samuelson. “We have plans to utilize the funding to benefit the entire sheep industry in the coming year.”

Overall, FAS has awarded funding to more than 60 U.S. agricultural organizations.

MAP shares the costs of overseas marketing and promotional activities that help build commercial export markets for U.S. agricultural products and commodities. ASI uses MAP funding for projects such as top-combing and scouring trials, trade-show participation, trade missions and reverse-trade missions.

The FMD program focuses on trade servicing and trade capacity building by helping to create, expand and maintain long-term export markets for U.S. products. This program enables U.S. exporters to provide foreign importers with wool samples.

ASI representatives participated in the Nov. 19 meeting of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC). As a result of the meeting, the FCIC published the Final Resolution as it pertains to the Livestock Risk Protection – Lamb (LRP-Lamb) insurance product.

The final rule states, “RESOLVED, that pursuant to the information contained in Docket No. CI-Section 508(h) Livestock Risk Protection for Lamb Modification 11-19-14 02, Exhibit 4262 as well as other materials that were submitted to the board on this matter, the board hereby approves Section 508(h) LRP-Lamb modification beginning with the crop year the manager determines is practicable with reinsurance and administrative and operating subsidy in amounts and under such terms and conditions as determined appropriate by the manager as authorized under section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the board delegates to the manager the authority to make such technical policy changes as are necessary to make the policy legally sufficient.”

ASI representatives noted that they plan to continue working with the Risk Management Agency to reintroduce LRP-Lamb to the industry.