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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@gilanet.com>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] U.S. Senate Passes The Specialty Crop Competitiveness Act
  • Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2004 09:11:14 -0700

http://farmpolicy.typepad.com/farmpolicy/2004/12/us_senate_passe.html
December 09, 2004
U.S. Senate Passes The Specialty Crop Competitiveness Act
On Wednesday, Erica Werner of the Associated Press, reported that, "Fruit,
vegetable and nut farmers in California and nationwide will get $54 million
under legislation approved by Congress to promote their products through
research, technological improvements, advertising and other methods.

"The Specialty Crop Competitiveness Act of 2004 won Senate passage in the
final hours of the 108th Congress Tuesday night. It had earlier passed the
House and now goes to President Bush for his signature," Ms. Werner said.

The article also pointed out that, "The legislation was written by Reps. Doug
Ose, R-Sacramento, and Cal Dooley, D-Hanford - the two departing members of
California's congressional delegation. It was promoted in the Senate by Sen.
Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif."

Sen. Feinstein released a statement on Wednesday extolling the passage of the
legislation. This release also provided a nice summary of the bill's content.

In the release Sen. Feinstein noted that, "Specialty crops are defined as
fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, and nursery crops. These
agricultural products, produced in all 50 states, constitute at least half of
U.S. gross agriculture receipts, contribute nearly $60 billion to the U.S.
economy, and provide 60 percent of America's daily nutritional requirements.

Specifically, the legislation:

*Authorizes $44.5 million for block grants to state departments of
agriculture to promote the marketing of specialty crop products.

*Invests $5 million annually in research into methyl bromide alternatives.

*Authorizes $2 million yearly to carry out the Technical Assistance for
Specialty Crops program.

*Establishes an annual $1 million pest and disease response fund account
within the U.S. Treasury.

The funding is authorized through Fiscal Year 2009."

The Western Growers Association issued a statement Tuesday regarding the
bill's passage, which said, "The United States Senate today passed the
Specialty Crop Competitiveness Act authorizing the nation's first major
federal funding program for the fresh produce industry and setting a
potentially historic precedent."

Tom Nassif, president of Western Growers, is also quoted as saying, "This
legislative victory is a great day for our industry and the equivalent of a
declaration that this sector of agriculture has now arrived as a major player
in Washington. [T]his bill has won congressional approval against all odds
and will be seen in the future as a turning point for the fresh produce
sector of agriculture. The Specialty Crop Competitiveness Act paves the way
for future legislation and will give pause to those who assumed that
agriculture is incapable of changing the way it does business in Washington."

As FP noted back in October, according to a California Farm Bureau press
release, "King [the state organizations National Affairs manager,] describes
the measure as a sign of what is to come in the next Farm Bill which is due
in 2007, but will be debated well in advance."

It will be interesting to see how this momentum impacts the upcoming farm
bill debate.







  • [Livingontheland] U.S. Senate Passes The Specialty Crop Competitiveness Act, Tradingpost, 12/21/2004

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