Your browser is not supported, please use a recommended browser here.
4-9-2025
Every year, SUSTA and the southern state Departments of Agriculture meet in the spring to review the previous year’s programs and plan for the new year. This week we are in New Orleans looking back at 2024 and strategizing for 2026. It is a great opportunity to have in-person conversations and determine future strategies.
If you are new to SUSTA, you may not know the relationship SUSTA has with the southern Departments of Agriculture – which we refer to as our member states. The Secretaries and Commissioners of Agriculture in each state are our board members, and their staff members manage our events. If you have ever participated in a trade show or trade mission with SUSTA, you have likely met a staff person from a Department of Agriculture in the south.
The theme of our meeting this week is – It's all about the exporter. Everything we do is to support small businesses in the south that export U.S. agricultural products. So, it made sense to invite two of our participants to the meeting for a panel discussion. Louisiana-based Crown Products and Cajun Fire Brewing shared their experiences exporting and using SUSTA's programs.
Wilson Chong, General Manager, Crown Products, expressed how valuable SUSTA’s events are – in particular what our in-country consultants do. “A while back, we went to Mexico and had to knock on doors to see which buyers are interested in importing. It was hard and time consuming. But when we do a trade event with SUSTA, the consultants do that for us; they filter and research and find interested importers for our products.” SUSTA understands that for a small business, time is precious; therefore, we create events with that in mind.
When asked why he pushed his company to export, Jon Renthrope, CEO and Brewmaster at Cajun Fire Brewing, said, "If you are on a shelf in the United States, you are already competing internationally. So why not be intentional about it and create an export strategy.” He went on to say that for him, sometimes exporting is easier than entering a new state!
Both companies mentioned that they look at SUSTA’s list of events to help determine their plans for the year. This was welcome to all ears in the room because we spend a lot of time strategizing and determining which events we will do each year. We look at key events that traditionally provide great opportunities, such as SIAL Paris. But we are also looking at which emerging markets and events could provide new opportunities for our participants, like Food and Beverage West Africa. Visit our events page often, and you will see a mix of established and emerging markets.
We look forward to opening our 2026 programs and events this August, which will be here before we know it!
