Alliance letter

In the game of political power plays, who will blink first? This just slid across the inbox from the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance:

July 3, 2007
The Honorable Collin Peterson - Chairman
The Honorable Robert Goodlatte -Ranking Member

House Committee on Agriculture
1301 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC

Dear Chairman Peterson and Ranking Member Goodlatte:

We are writing you today in response to the announcement that the renewal of the 2007 Farm Bill will be addressed with two separate pieces of legislation. The Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance, representing 110 domestic specialty crop organizations strongly believes only one version of the 2007 Farm Bill should be brought before the Agriculture Committee so that mandatory funding is available to all sectors of agriculture. We adamantly oppose addressing federal farm policy by way of two separate pieces of legislation which reserves the bulk of mandatory funds for only those benefiting from the existing Farm Bill provisions. In the coming days, your Committee will markup the 2007 Farm Bill and we believe that this legislation should contain the priorities identified in H.R. 1600, the Equitable Agriculture Today for a Healthy America Act (EAT Healthy America Act). This legislation has 119 cosponsors and represents the policies supported by over 350 different specialty crops including fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, grapes, nursery and landscape material. H.R. 1600 makes America healthier and offers dietary options that can help reduce childhood obesity by expanding the USDA Fruit & Vegetable Snack Program to all 50 states; provides critical trade assistance and market promotion tools that will grow international markets for specialty crops; expands research and APHIS initiatives to combat pest and disease reducing the economic losses to plant agriculture; invests in “cutting-edge” research making the nation’s food supply safer, more economical, better-tasting and nutritious; and expands funding for “State Specialty Crop Competitiveness” projects in all 50 states which have a proven track record of delivering results. The Farm Bill is no longer just about domestic support programs and it’s not enough for the Agriculture Committee to continue down the same decades-old path addressing only the needs of the traditional program crops. The new Farm Bill should embody the current priorities of all of agriculture many of which are reflected in H.R. 1600. As this Farm Bill moves through the committee process, we look forward to working with you in bringing equity to farm policy and include a level of mandatory funding that recognizes the importance of specialty crops to agriculture in all 50 states.

Sincerely,

(list of members)