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with the U.S. agricultural industry play an important role in the 

 success of our trade programs. 



The FAS should be of more assistance in helping U.S. companies 

 identify opportunities and develop foreign markets for processed or 

 value-added products. Several years ago, for example, FAS officials 

 were instrumental in helping purchasers in Mexico acquire nonfat 

 dry milk from the United States on a commercial basis. That suc- 

 cess has helped open a significant market for U.S. processed dairy 

 products sold by private companies. 



We strongly support any effort by the administration and Con- 

 gress to make FAS and related Federal agencies more effective. 

 Thank you. 



[The prepared statement of Ms. Colon appears at the conclusion 

 of the hearing.] 



Mr. Penny. Thank you for your testimony. 



Mr. Webster, we will conclude with you and then we will have 

 several questions for the panel. 



STATEMENT OF PAUL WEBSTER, PRESffiENT, WEBSTER IN- 

 DUSTRIES, INC., ON BEHALF OF THE AMERICAN FOREST & 

 PAPER ASSOCIATION 



Mr. Webster. Thank you. Chairman Penny, and the other mem- 

 bers of the subcommittees for the opportunity to testify today. 



I come today as president of Webster Lumber Company. My fam- 

 ily has been involved in the harvesting and sawmilling of hardwood 

 timber in southeastern Minnesota and across the upper Mississippi 

 Valley for over 90 years. My timber suppliers are farmers with 

 small portions of their land growing hardwoods on steep, 

 noncultivatable hillsides. I have several thousand of these farmer- 

 suppliers that depend on me to buy their timber and their timber 

 crop for cash. 



Our industry, through a decade of experience with FAS export 

 programs, has demonstrated that the programs work and are not 

 in need of reorganization. FAS has the tools, structure, and the 

 system in place to identify new markets and disseminate informa- 

 tion. We believe that the OICD consolidation is a large and impor- 

 tant step and this should be completed before any other significant 

 changes are contemplated within the agency. 



As Secretary Espy considers options for reorganization of the De- 

 partment of Agriculture, our industry recommends that the current 

 FAS structure which has worked so well in the past be enhanced 

 rather than changed. 



Second, we have seen a proposed organizational structure or 

 chart which would merge the marketing functions of the product 

 divisions into one single division. This proposal would reduce the 

 effectiveness of the export program by separating marketing from 

 the analysis and the trade policy, in effect, downgrading the mar- 

 keting staff by reducing the staffs expertise in given product areas 

 and creating a large department of generalists. We don't need more 

 generalists. 



We do not support the merging of all marketing staff into one di- 

 vision. The current structure allows for meaningful interaction 

 with experts on both the analysis and the marketing of individual 

 commodities. The effectiveness and success of the forest products 



