ASTA Receives Agricultural Trade Promotion Grant

Good news! ASTA is the recipient of a $1,375,000 award from USDA’s new Agricultural Trade Promotion program to help mitigate the impact the current tariffs on seed from China are having on U.S. companies’ vegetable, flower and forage seed production in China. Half of the funding will be used over the next two to three years to identify and improve production environments in three alternative countries — Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America. The other half will go to improving the policy environment in Europe for plant breeding innovation.

Please email Abigail Struxness if you’re impacted by the tariffs and are interested in engaging in these efforts. If an agreement between the U.S. and China is not reached by March 1, tariffs on 23 categories of seeds for planting will increase from 10-percent to 25-percent.