Members of Congress representing key specialty crop interests have this week sent a message to House agriculture leadership about the need to defend specialty crop programmes and to swiftly pass the proposed Farm Bill.
The letter, addressed to chairman Frank Lucas and ranking member Collin Peterson, requests 'full and fair consideration to the research, pest management and trade assistance programmes' that are considered vital to the specialty crop industry.
'This letter shows the leadership of the House of Representatives that there is strong support for the specialty crop industry and that there is a strong desire to pass the Farm Bill before it reaches its 30 September expiration date,' said Robert Guenther, secretary of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance. 'The signatories recognise the value of specialty crops in their districts and for the entire country, and we appreciate their willingness to work towards a stronger specialty crop industry.'
The letter draws attention to the critical contribution that specialty crops make to the US$44bn agriculture trade surplus and the resources that the industry needs to continue to provide safe, healthy products to an increasingly health-conscious consumer base.
These resources include pest management programmes such as the Plant Pest and Disease Management, the Disaster Prevention Programme and the National Clean Plant Network. In addition, the letter highlights much-needed research programmes such as the Specialty Crop Research Initiative, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the Agriculture Research Service, as well as key industry development programmes such as the Specialty Crop Block Grant Programme.
'We applaud these members of Congress for making sure that the leadership of the House knows how important the specialty crop industry is to their districts and around the country and for continuing to be fresh produce industry champions,' Guenther added. 'The Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance looks forward to working with them as the House moves toward passage of the 2012 Farm Bill.'
The Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance is a national coalition of more than 120 organisations representing growers of fruits, vegetables, dried fruit, tree nuts, nursery plants and other products, established to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crop agriculture and improve the health of Americans by broadening the scope of US agricultural public policy.
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