Partners in Agriculture - News&Topics

On March 2, Ambassador Roos launched an exciting series of events entitled "Partners in Agriculture." It is an unprecedented program put together by U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service Japan (USDA/FAS Japan), various States including Iowa, Nebraska, the Prefecture of Yamanashi and several U.S. agricultural trade organizations, scheduled for March through mid-summer 2010.

"Partnership" is the word that best describes the agricultural relationship between the United States and Japan. Our agricultural partnership can be traced back 50 years to the famous "hog lift" of 1959. After Yamanashi prefecture was devastated by two typhoons, farmers from the State of Iowa assisted Yamanashi farmers in rebuilding the Japanese hog industry by donating and transferring hogs to repopulate the prefecture. Since that time the livestock industry in Japan has developed alongside the Japanese economy, reflecting the evolving tastes and growing purchasing power of the Japanese consumer.

The desire for a true agricultural partnership was also the motivation in 1951 when the U.S. Embassy worked with Japanese Ministry of Agriculture to help establish the U.S. program for the Association for International Collaboration of Farmers (AICF, now JAEC: Japan Agricultural Exchange Council), whose mission is to help Japanese farmers learn about agricultural techniques in the United States, encourage democracy in Japan, and bolster a mutual understanding between the two countries through a one-year farm stay program. Since 1952, over 12,000 young Japanese farmers have gone to the United States, and returned to Japan with new farming ideas, and new business contacts.

Today, the U.S.-Japan agricultural partnership is dynamic and robust. The U.S. is firmly established as the most reliable foreign supplier of high-quality agricultural products to Japan. Similarly, Japan's purchases have been essential contributors to the health of the U.S. economy. In 2008 Japan purchased approximately $14.7 billion worth of grains, oilseeds, meats, dairy, and other food products from the United States, making Japan our third largest agricultural export market. In fact, Japan is the U.S.'s largest overseas market for feed grains, pork, wheat, and potatoes.

Japan's food security stands upon two pillars; domestic production, and a reliable supply of imports. For that reason, the agricultural partnership between Japan and the United States epitomizes how each country can benefit from exchange of goods, technology, and most importantly trust.

The "Partners in Agriculture" program celebrates this mutually invaluable relationship between the United States and Japan and showcases how the two world's leading economies can work together to further prosper, based on the very foundation of human life, food and agriculture.

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Press Contact:
Midori Iijima, Office of Agricultural Affairs, U.S. Embassy, Tokyo
Ph. 81-3-3224-5096 / Fax. 81-3-3589-0793 / E-mail:midori.iijima@fas.usda.gov

Success Stories

2010-02-22T14:54:58Z

Update

USMEF's Partnership with Japan dates back to 1977.

Philip M. Seng

President & CEO
U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF)

Wide interest in Japan for products like turkey, processed eggs, and chicken products make it a very appealing market for U.S. poultry exports.

James H. Sumner

President, USA Poultry & Egg Export Council

Success Stories

2010-02-17T10:48:08Z

Update

Since 1987, Japan has been the most important export destination for California Cherries.

Jim Culbertson

Executive Manager, California Cherry Advisory Board

Special Feature

2010-02-08T03:46:50Z

Update

Special Feature

2010-01-31T16:35:21Z

Update

The Japan Agricultural Exchange Council

Success Stories

2010-01-31T16:18:36Z

Update

The U.S. rice industry has been continuously promoting U.S. rice in Japan since 1989.

Elizabeth C. Ward

President and CEO
USA Rice Federation

Japan has been the largest export market for California Raisins for more than 40 years.

Jeffrey McNeill

Senior Representative in Japan
Raisin Administrative Committee

The partnership between the Cotton Council International (CCI) and Japan Cotton Promotion Institute (JCPI) began in 1956.

Allen A. Terhaar

Executive Director
Cotton Council International

Launch of the "Partners in Agriculture" Website

2010-01-08T04:37:11Z

I am pleased to announce the launch of the Partners in Agriculture website http://www.partners-in-agriculture.org. The site's contents are tailored to accompany the events and spirit of the Partners in Agriculture celebration to take place in Japan, beginning in March 2010. The Partners in Agriculture website is made possible through the work of the American Embassy's Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) in Japan, the U.S. food industry, the State of Iowa, and the Prefecture of Yamanashi.

The site is designed to showcase three key partnerships: the successful public-private partnership between the Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) and U.S. cooperators; the special agricultural relationship between the United States and Japan; and the long standing friendship between Iowa and Yamanashi symbolized by the 50th anniversary of the Iowa-Yamanashi Sister State relationship.

Since the mid-1950s, U.S. commodity organizations have been actively supporting U.S. exporters and providing services to valued Japanese importers. For example, the U.S. Grains Council is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2010. The Council opened up its first overseas office in Tokyo in 1961. Today, 50 U.S. commodity organizations are active in this market. In the Success Stories Section visitors can learn first-hand from U.S. cooperators about their experiences in the Japanese market.

Geared to American viewers, the English portion of the site is tailored to recognize the importance of the Japanese market for U.S. agriculture and the success of the U.S. cooperator program in this market. It also announces the series of Partners-in-Agriculture events and Yamanashi-related activities that will provide a national platform for the promotion of U.S. agricultural products in Japan. In the coming weeks, we will add a Japanese language section to reach Japanese consumers.

I invite you to visit the site and join us in celebrating over 50 years of Cooperation.

Sincerely,

Geoffrey Wiggin
Agriculture Minister Counselor
Agricultural Affairs Office
U.S. Embassy, Japan