Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance Responds

This just slid across the overstuffed email inbox. From the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance:

SPECIALTY CROP FARM BILL ALLIANCE ADVOCATES FOR EQUITY IN LATEST FARM BILL DRAFT


WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA), a national coalition of more than 110 specialty crop organizations, has issued the following update in light of continued negotiations with the U.S. House Agriculture Committee leading up to the Farm Bill markup scheduled for the week of July 16th:

“Our 110 member organizations throughout the United States support efforts by Congressman Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture, Chairman Peterson, and the House Leadership to secure increased funding for specialty crop producers and their priorities. Since the release of the Chairman’s mark on Friday, key members of the coalition have been working hard to craft a Farm Bill that addresses the needs of specialty crop producers since they represent nearly half of the farmgate value in America. This involves coming out of the House Agriculture Committee markup next week with a package of policy initiatives that addresses key priorities which includes infrastructure investment, international market access, dedicated research, technology and science priorities, protecting domestic production from pest and disease intrusion, and targeted nutrition programs that provide increased access to fruits and vegetables. Over the last two years, our coalition has outlined our priorities in H.R. 1600, the “EAT Healthy America Act,” which does not include direct subsidies to producers and has been cosponsored by 119 Members of Congress. We look forward to continue our dialogue with the House Agriculture Committee and our partnership with Members of Congress such as Congressman Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) who continue to advocate that specialty crop producers receive their fair share.”

TK: Perhaps chances are increasing that the House Agriculture Committee may scrape together enough funds to placate fruit and vegetable interests. The release doesn't overtly suggest going beyond the committee, at least.