More than 100 House members from both parties are urging the House and Senate Ag committees to ensure that specialty crop producers swiftly receive their promised economic assistance and that any application process is as accessible as possible.
“During the previous Trump and Biden Administrations, programs were created and adjusted accordingly to ensure specialty crop growers had access to assistance as quickly as possible,” the group of lawmakers wrote in a letter Thursday. “During these challenging times for producers of all types of farming commodities, we ask for your leadership and assistance to elevate this priority once again.”
The letter, which went to both the chairs and ranking members of the Senate and House Agriculture committees, was led by the Reps. Jim Costa, D-Calif., David Rouzer, R-N.C., Sanford Bishop, D-Ga., and David Valadao, R-Calif. The four are the co-chairs of the Specialty Crop Caucus.
The Trump administration unveiled $12 billion in economic assistance to farmers last week, designed to keep them afloat until other support payments hit next year. But $11 billion was earmarked for row crops, leaving just $1 billion for specialty crop producers, which the administration said would be rolled out at a later date.
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Multiple groups complained that specialty crop producers had been shortchanged by the announcement.
Specialty crops account for a third of U.S. crop sales, the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA) argued in a statement Thursday. Their producers also face the same economic headwinds as row crop producers – including rising labor, fertilizer, fuel and pesticide costs and slumping prices.
Given the challenging farm economy, the lawmakers argued that the administration should structure a program that is “familiar and proven” to streamline the process and get the payments out the doors.
The second round of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, which served as a model for the later Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops program, could serve as an effective model, the lawmakers argue.
The CFAP-2 program “incorporated important adjustments which better accounted for the complexities of the growers’ businesses, as well as tailored the application process to be more accessible,” they note. “This familiar process will ensure the USDA-Farm Service Agency (FSA) state and local offices have the personnel and resources in place to fully execute any program designed to assist specialty crop growers.”
The SCFBA on Thursday praised the lawmakers’ efforts.
“Specialty crop growers cannot afford further delay, and we urge congressional leadership and the Administration to move immediately to deliver proportional, transparent, and timely relief that reflects the economic significance and unique cost structures of specialty crop agriculture,” the SCFBA co-chairs said in a statement.
The group’s co-chairs are International Fresh Produce Association CEO Cathy Burns, the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association President Mike Joyner, Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia, and Kam Quarles, CEO of the National Potato Council.
House Agriculture Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., is already looking at how lawmakers can direct additional assistance to specialty crop producers. In an interview with Agri-Pulse this week he said Congress needs to provide at least $10 billion more to farmers, singling out specialty crops, dairy and timber as key recipients.
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