Last year, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) issued the Pecan Promotion, Research, and Information Order, creating the American Pecan Promotion Board (APPB).  APPB’s purpose is to strengthen the position of pecans in the marketplace, maintain and expand markets for pecans, and develop new uses for pecans. The program is financed by a mandatory assessment on domestic producers and importers of pecans.  Some additional background on the APPB is found here.

At 1PM (EST) on February 1, 2022 the SCP's Marketing Development Division (MDD) will be hosting a webinar titled, "How to Pay Your Assessments with the American Pecan Promotion Board (APPB).  The purpose of this webinar is to explain the assessment collection and provide a walk-through of the required forms and information. The public is welcome to join live and participate in the Q&A section. A recording of this webinar will be provided on the AMS website in the days following the live event.

Click Here to Register

A new year brings new opportunities for fruit and vegetable producers, distributors, and farmers within the AMS Commodity Procurement Program (CPP). Whether your company is already a qualified vendor and actively bidding or you are unsure if CPP and the world of government contracting would be the right fit for your company, here are a few helpful things to keep in mind:

• Small Business Set-Asides: CPP strives to support American agriculture and small businesses by establishing small business set-asides for its acquisitions. When at least two small businesses have capacity to provide products, a portion of a contract is made exclusive or “set aside” for small businesses. A contract may be a 100% small business set aside or a partial set aside, depending on the capacity of the vendors. CPP also has small business set asides for socioeconomic categories such as Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs), Historically Underutilized Business Zone Small Businesses (HUBZones), and Woman Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs).
• Procurement Schedule: An often overlooked but useful tool is our “AMS CPP Procurement Schedule.” The AMS CPP Procurement Schedule lists the products, pack sizes, and contracting specialist for the product that CPP intends to purchase for the calendar year along with an estimated timeframe for when bids will be announced, contracts are awarded, and deliveries are to be made on those contracts. Afraid you missed a bid? Not sure if CPP purchases your product? Just check the AMS CPP Procurement Schedule!
• Quarterly Webinars: As mentioned in a previous article, CPP will be hosting quarterly webinars. The first webinar will be focused on lessons learned in becoming an approved USDA food vendor. The webinar will be February 15 at 2:00 pm Eastern Time. Please register for the webinar here.  
• Industry Meetings: In addition to our quarterly webinars, CPP will be hosting a virtual industry meeting with our contractors and interested suppliers to discuss the commodity purchase programs, tentatively scheduled for March 1-3 with an invitation to follow to register. Due to COVID-19 , this annual meeting had been cancelled over the past few years. CPP is excited to resurrect their industry meeting virtually to share new information and continue to collaborate with suppliers and stakeholders to improve CPP.

The USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum (AOF) is USDA’s oldest and largest annual event, currently in its 98th year. The 2022 USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum (AOF) will be held as a free, virtual event on February 24-25, 2022.  The two-day event is one of the agricultural sector’s premiere events.  Each year, the Forum attracts participants from the Government, the private sector, stakeholder associations, producers, academia, and the media. The 2022 event will be virtual and free for the second time. This is an opportunity for many USDA employees and stakeholders all over the country to attend the Forum without travel costs or fees. The 2021 AOF was the first virtual Forum and drew nearly 4,500 attendees from 50 States and over 100 countries. We expect over 5,000 participants in the 2022 Forum.

This year’s theme is New Paths to Sustainability and Productivity Growth and will focus on the central role of innovation in ensuring sustainability in agriculture while increasing productivity.  During the Forum, USDA will announce the initial forecasts for the 2022 agricultural economy and trade, and the U.S. farm income situation.

The program includes a fireside chat with the Secretary about China, as well as a plenary session with distinguished guests from the private sector and academia titled Growing Market Opportunities for Climate Smart, Sustainable Agriculture Systems.

The Forum program will also include 30 breakout sessions covering six key areas:

- Climate mitigation and adaptation

- Frontiers in agricultural innovation and production

- U.S. agricultural trade and global markets

- Commodity outlooks

- Supply chain resilience

- Equity and inclusion

Each breakout session is 90 minutes, with a 60-minute panel presentation and a 30-minute Q&A for both general audiences and reporters. The moderator will screen questions for the virtual Q&A.

For the first time, the program will include a session on rural mental health.  New this year will be “lightning talks” by 8-10 speakers about innovations designed to achieve sustainability and productivity.  (Feb. 25 at 11:30 a.m.)

Don’t miss this great opportunity about the agricultural sector for everyone in the industry. Registration is free but required to attend the Forum.  Register here today!