News

Specialty Crop Marketing Assistance program could still see a boost

An industry expert says requests for additional specialty crop funds by Democratic Ag Committee leaders is only a short-term fix.

Last week Senator Debbie Stabenow and Congressman David Scott sent a letter to the USDA and Office of Management and Budget asking for at least an additional $1 billion in support for the Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops program.

Michigan Asparagus Association CEO Jamie Clover Adams tells Brownfield, “It’s a good effort, but it does not get at the root of the problem.”

Leaders with the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance say it should be at least an additional $3 billion since the sector was left out of the $10 billion in economic assistance allocated by Congress.

“This program also includes nursery crops and Christmas trees and turf grass, and some other parts of specialty agriculture so that breadth of who’s in the program, $2 billion doesn’t go very far,” she explains.

USDA first announced the new $2 billion program in November.

Clover Adams says what specialty crop growers really need is a sustainable and reliable H-2A guest worker wage rate.

“It’s making us uncompetitive and we are going to end up shipping all of our acreage south of the border, and our citizens will not be able to purchase the kinds of fruits and vegetables from the United States that they have today,” she says.

Clover Adams says the marketing assistance program is paid through the Commodity Credit Corporation and it’s possible the Office of Management could increase the one-time funding after the enrollment window closes January 8^, before the Trump administration is in office.