Report: $15B in additional grower aid on the table

Key congressional figures are working to put together $15 billion in aid, including relief for specialty crop growers, in this month’s appropriation bills, according to a POLITICO report.

Sen. John Hoeven,  who chairs the Senate Appropriations Ag-FDA subcommittee, met Jan. 14 with House Agriculture chair G.T. Thompson and Senate Agriculture chair John Boozman to discuss the package, the three men told POLITICO.

Specialty crop growers were disappointed in an aid package announced in December that included $11 billion in aid for row crop farmers and $1 billion for other producers including specialty crop farmers. Details of how and to whom the $1 billion will be distributed have yet to be announced.

Boozman told POLITICO that the group is hoping to finalize the plan “fairly shortly.” November negotiations which reopened the government after a 43-day shutdown set a Jan. 30 deadline to pass a federal funding package.

“We’re looking at exactly what the need is and how it would be dispersed,” Thompson told Politico.

House Agriculture ranking member Angie Craig has introduced a farmer aid plan that includes $17 billion in additional funds, with money for specialty crops, foresters and sugar beet farmers included.

Kam Quarles, CEO of the National Potato Council and co-chair of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA), told Great American Media Services on Jan. 12 that securing specialty crop funding is a top priority for the potato industry.

“This is a very urgent matter,” Quarles said. “It is highly likely that whatever bill resolves that Jan. 30 issue is going to carry this economic relief plan, so if you’re not on that train, you’re in a tough position.”

SCFBA called for immediate assistance this week, joining dozens of organizations including the American Farm Bureau in a letter to Congress highlighting record-high input costs and historically low market prices. Those factors have caused farmers to face nearly $100 billion in losses nationwide, SCFBA said.

“These trends aren’t just statistics; they represent an economic crisis in rural America,” the groups wrote in the letter,  continuing; “We urge Congress to provide immediate economic support to fill in the gap of remaining losses for both field and specialty crop farmers. Additional support will stabilize the farm economy, protect rural communities and ensure a secure food supply. This support must be robust enough to fill in sector-wide gaps.”

Specialty crops — including fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, nursery, greenhouse, and floriculture products — generate more than $75 billion annually in U.S. agricultural cash receipts, account for more than one-third of all U.S. crop sales.