No to two farm bills

Here is the official statement from the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance in response to the House Agriculture Committee announcement of Friday about the handling of the upcoming farm bill.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA), a national coalition of more than 110 specialty crop organizations, has issued the following statement regarding the announcement by U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson that he is separating the Farm Bill into two bills:
"Although details of the Chairman’s proposal are not fully available, we are vehemently opposed to fracturing the Farm Bill into two separate pieces of legislation since this will not allow Congress to develop a farm policy that positively addresses the full breadth of agriculture, conservation and nutrition issues. This approach will make it difficult to enact legislation that reflects the needs of the specialty crop industry, which include pressing production, food, nutrition and research components. Our industry accounts for nearly half of all cash crop receipts, yet the way this Farm Bill approach is structured the needs of specialty crop producers will be not met. The 2007 Farm Bill represents a unique opportunity to enact a paradigm shift in agriculture policy for the 21st Century, but the proposals announced today fall short of needs of many American farmers. We look forward to working with Congressional leaders and the House Agriculture Committee on drafting a Farm Biill that is more equitable for specialty crop producers.

TK: We will knew much more by Friday, but specialty crop interests are reluctant to endorse what House Agriculture Committee chairman Peterson has done, notwithstanding the paid-for baseline of $685 million Peterson said he will establish for fruit and vegetable programs.