Statement of the Honorable Gene Hugoson before US Committee on Appropriations

  • Speaker: Honorable Gene Hugoson, NASDA President
  • Subject: Specialty Crop Block Grant Program
  • Venue: Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcomittee on
  • Date of Speech: April 01, 2004

Statement of the Honorable Gene Hugoson
Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Agriculture
on behalf of
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
before
The United States Senate Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies
Thursday, April 1, 2004

My name is Gene Hugoson, Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and President of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA). I present my statement on behalf of my fellow commissioners, secretaries and directors from the 50 states and four U.S. territories.

Fund Specialty Crop Block Grant Program
We respectfully ask that the Senate provide funding for a block grant program in the fiscal year 2005 Agricultural Appropriations Bill. Congress first approved a specialty crop block grant program in 2001 (H.R. 2213, P.L. 107-25). Congress chose States to a