t was officially comprised of " an ad hoc coalition of over 80 organizations, representing farmers and ranchers, cooperatives, small businesses, regional trade groups, and the State Departments of Agriculture." Members of this Coalition are supposedly united in their efforts to strive together to "support of U.S. policies and programs." These officially consist of: Promote U.S. agricultural exports Counter subsidized foreign competition Strengthen farm income Protect American Jobs.(The Coalition, April, 2000). Clearly this organization is the type of meta-group mentioned at the beginning of this paper, which has been created to represent a diverse group to a diverse and changing, and complex international market. It supports U.S. government policies and this means all groups, including agricultural cooperatives, participate in specific programs. MAP (Market Access Program) of the USDA is one such strategy. It is particularly beneficial to agricultural cooperatives in the U.S. The official statement concerning the objectives and nature of MAP is:The Market Access Program (MAP) uses funds from the U.S. Department of Agricultures (USDA) Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to help U.S. producers, exporters, private companies, and other trade organizations finance promotional activities for U.S. agricultural products. The MAP was authorized by Section 203 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 as amended, and is administered by USDAs Foreign Agricultural Service. The MAP forms a partnership between cooperatives, state-regional trade groups, trade associations, and USDAs Foreign Agricultural Service.The Market Access Program uses funds from the U.S. Department of Agricultures (USDA) Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) "to help U.S. producers, exporters, private companies, and other trade organizations finance promotional activities for U.S. agricultural products." The program encourages the participation of agricultural cooperatives specifical...
