Asparagus relief survives

This story notes the Senate's rejection of an amendment that would have stripped away relief from asparagus growers. After specialty crops are ignored all these years and program crop growers get hundreds of billions, now the Senate goes after $15 million for asparagus growers as an example of government waste? Really?

From the AP story:

Asparagus farmers held on to $15 million in farm bill subsidies Wednesday as conservatives targeted the money as an example of wasteful spending in the multibillion-dollar legislation.The Senate rejected, 56-39, an amendment by Sen. Judd Gregg that would have taken the asparagus money out of the $286 billion legislation. Asparagus growers have not received direct subsidies in the past, and Gregg and other opponents of the wide-ranging farm legislation said the money is illustrative of the bloated bill that is nonetheless politically popular in farm country. Farm-state senators from both parties held together to save the asparagus language, authored by Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat. Stabenow said producers have suffered because trade agreements have increased the amount of imported asparagus in recent years.

TK: Good for Stabenow. Like Cardoza in the House, Stabenow is a key player in the Senate for the specialty crop industry as the farm bill debate goes on. Hopes are that she will be on the House-Senate farm bill conference committee. By the way, here is the link to the Senate Web site that has record of the votes on farm bill amendments from yesterday.