By RACHEL LANE

D.C. Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Indiana’s own Ted McKinney took time between trips to India and Guatemala to speak at the 94th annual USDA Outlook Forum in Washington, D.C., last month.

The trade trips were part of his position as USDA under secretary for Trade and Foreign Agriculture Affairs. He was on a panel that convened early the morning of Feb. 23 about trade, regulations and rural America, after he’d arrived back in Washington the night before. A week later, he spoke during a trip to Guatemala, where he stayed a little longer than expected because of strong winds in the D.C. region.

He said he is working to strengthen the relationship the U.S. agricultural industry has with countries around the world while also building new relationships with rapidly growing countries like India. India’s population and economy is expected to grow in the next few years, making it, and similar countries, better markets for U.S. ag trade.

In Guatemala, about 40 percent of ag trade comes from the United States. On his last day in the country, McKinney said everyone he spoke with was interested in maintaining or expanding trade with the U.S.

With him were representatives of 34 agribusinesses and seven state departments, a number he said was almost an all-time high for participation in a USDA trade mission. The business meetings he observed were not generally introductory, but actual business session where contracts were signed.

His team stays focused on the different regulations of various countries. When a new product is about to be declared safe for import, McKinney tries to find out what the timeline will be for the new imports.

“We’re looking at longer-term play on how to work strategically on trade,” he explained. "We're leaving no stone unturned.”

While China and Japan have been, and are expected to remain, large importers of U.S. agricultural products, other countries can’t be ignored. McKinney, using a baseball analogy, is fond of saying “more games are won with singles and doubles than with home runs.” He is focused now on building trust with those countries.

“We believe trade is a two-way street. It’s not good trade if one side wins and the other doesn’t,” he said.

The USDA is working to build partnerships within the nation even as McKinney works to build relationships internationally. Anne Hazlett, assistant to the secretary for Rural Development, said partnering with private businesses can help the USDA better meet the needs of rural America and determine what are the biggest barriers to success and what is most needed.

She consistently hears from farmers that improving infrastructure to rural areas is a key concern. Without broadband to market products and accept orders, farmers wouldn’t have the business they have. Without roads, waterways, locks and dams, and railways to ship the product, the U.S. as a whole would suffer.

She said there are many programs focused on rural development, and right now, she’s working to make access to those programs more effective. Hazlett is looking for innovative ideas to meet the needs of the country – she wants agencies and groups across the country to share what is working and what they consider barriers to success.

Greg Ibach, USDA under secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, said he’s a farmer first. As a farmer and as Nebraska’s agricultural director, he always focused on how his actions would impact neighbors; now he does the same thing at the USDA, working with many other people with the same goal.

He said U.S. farmers always find a way to be successful, even in the face of challenges like disease and pests, plant and animal health regulations and labor concerns. Everyone at the USDA, he noted, is excited to help farmers achieve those goals.