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Stabenow brings specialty crop enhancements to farm bill

The Senate Ag Committee chair tells Brownfield specialty crop growers will have more input in designing crop insurance programs as part of her farm bill framework.

Debbie Stabenow explained more details of her new specialty crop insurance subtitle while speaking with reporters at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting’s Washington Watch this week.

“Specialty crops are not one crop,” she says. “It’s not like a crop insurance policy for corn or wheat or soybeans. You’ve got blueberries and cherries and all these things where it involves smaller crops. It involves assessing risk differently.”

She says high-value specialty crop growers will see adjusted gross income limitations increased and better protections in the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.

“Like if you lose your trees, your orchard, I think you can get 65 percent reimbursement,” she explains. “We’re upping that to 75 percent. We’re doing a number of things that address the issues that the special crop folks have brought to us.”

The Michigan Democrat says some insurance companies don’t want to write policies for small crops and a Specialty Crop Insurance Advisory Committee will allow farmers to be at the table with the Risk Management Agency to find solutions.

Stabenow’s summary also increases mandatory funding for the Specialty Crop Research Initiative and Specialty Crop Block Grants as well as establishes the Specialty Crop Mechanization and Automation Research and Development Program.

The Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance, which includes more than 200 specialty crop organizations, says they’re encouraged that both the Senate and House frameworks appear to include key investments for specialty crops and are urging for bipartisan passage of the bill this year.