Manager's amendment - Extended cut

John Keeling of the National Potato Council passed on the summary compiled by United of the manager's amendment in the farm bill. I posted to a Google docs file here. Here are a few of the produce-related amendments:

On clementines....

SEC. 3205. QUALITY REQUIREMENTS FOR CLEMENTINES. Section 8e(a) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608e-1(a)), reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, is amended in the matter preceding the first proviso in the first sentence by inserting ``clementines,'' after ``nectarines,''.

Here is another on user fees......

SEC. 110__. EXEMPTION FROM AQI USER FEES. (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law (including regulations), the owner or operator of any commercial truck described in subsection (b) shall be exempt from the payment of any agricultural quarantine and inspection user fee. (b) Commercial Trucks.--A commercial truck referred to in subsection (a) is a commercial truck that-- (1) originates in the State of Alaska and reenters the customs territory of the United States directly from Canada; or
(2) originates in the customs territory of the United States (other than the State of Alaska) and transits through the customs territory of Canada directly before entering the State of Alaska. (c) Sealed Cargo Areas.--A cargo area of any commercial truck carrying an agricultural product shall remain sealed during transit through Canada.

On a Buy America provision....

SEC. 4904. BUY AMERICAN REQUIREMENTS. (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following: (1) Federal law requires that commodities and products purchased with Federal funds be, to the extent practicable, of domestic origin. (2) Federal Buy American statutory requirements seek to ensure that purchases made with Federal funds benefit domestic producers. (3) The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) requires the use of domestic food products for all meals served under the program, including foods products for all meals served under the program, including foods products purchased with local funds.
(b) Buy American Statutory Requirements.--The Department of Agriculture should undertake training, guidance, and enforcement of the various current Buy American statutory requirements and regulations, including those of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) and the Department of Defense fresh fruit and vegetable distribution program.

On organic research....
SEC. 7__X. SENSE OF SENATE REGARDING ORGANIC RESEARCH. It is the sense of the Senate that-- (1) the Secretary should recognize that sales of certified organic products have been expanding by 17 to 20 percent per year for more than a decade, but research and outreach activities relating specifically to certified organic production growth and processing of agricultural products (as defined in section 2103 of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6502)) has not kept pace with this expansion; (2) research conducted specifically on organic methods and production systems benefits organic and conventional producers and contributes to the strategic goals of the Department of Agriculture, resulting in benefits for trade, human health, the environment, and overall agricultural productivity; (3) in order to meet the needs of the growing organic sector, the Secretary should use a portion of the total annual funds of the Agricultural Research Service for research specific to organic food and agricultural systems that is at least commensurate with the market share of the organic sector of the domestic food retail market; and (4) the increase in funding described in paragraph (3) should include funding for efforts-- (A) to establish long-term core capacities for organic research; (B) to assist organic farmers and farmers intending to transition to organic production systems; and
(C) to disseminate research results through the Alternative Farming Systems Information Center of the National Agriculture Library.