Ag Subcommittee Holds Hearing On Specialty Crop Industry

News Date November 07, 2003

Congressman Robin Hayes (R-N.C.), chairman of the House Livestock and Horticulture Agriculture Subcommittee, held a hearing this week to review domestic policies affecting the specialty crop industry. NASDA President and Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Gene Hugoson submitted written comments on behalf of NASDA. The Committee heard testimony from representatives of the fruit and vegetable sector.

"The hearing covers the gamut of domestic policies that affect the U.S. produce industry from conservation, research, and market access to marketing orders and risk management tools," said Hayes. "The Livestock and Horticulture Subcommittee held this hearing in order to hear from witnesses on a variety of critical issues including implementation of programs in the 2002 farm bill, the Homeland Security Act of 2002, and the 2001 economic assistance package which included specialty crop state block grants."

NASDA continues to support the permanent authorization of the specialty crops block grant program and its funding. In his statement Hugoson said, "As directors, secretaries and commissioners, we are on the front lines in delivering many of the services critical to the success of specialty crop growers. We have seen overwhelming demand for assistance in marketing, pest and disease projects, food safety, applied research, and nutrition outreach. We saw more than $1.5 billion in project requests for a grant program of $159 million." He pointed out that a major reason the block grant was a success was the designation of state departments of agriculture as the delivery mechanism for the grant funds. It allowed each state to tailor the aid to fit its unique circumstances. Hugoson's comments can be found on NASDA's website along with examples of projects funded by the block grant program.

Several of the witnesses at the hearing provided positive comments about the specialty crops block grant program during their testimony. Squire Smith, president of Florida Citrus Mutual, told the subcommittee that one program that has been beneficial to the U.S. fruit and vegetable industry, and the Florida citrus industry particularly, is the use of specialty crop block grants. "We would strongly encourage the Congress to continue funding these types of programs in the future," Smith said.

 The Western Growers Association, represented by Matthew McInerney, executive vice president, informed the subcommittee that the specialty crops block grant program "has proven to be very successful in providing states with funding needed for investment in research and strategies aimed at increasing consumption of fruits, vegetables and other specialty crops and allowing growers to become more competitive in global markets." Other groups providing supportive comments for the block grant program were the Produce Marketing Association, the Texas Produce Association, and the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association. Testimony from the hearing can be found on the House Agriculture Committee website at http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/testimony.htm.

Several subcommittee members expressed concern that some of the block grant funds were used to supplant state funding. It was noted by a witness that in H.R.3242, the "Specialty Crop Competitiveness Act of 2003," the grant funds provided under the bill shall supplement state funds in support of specialty crops and shall not replace state funds. Under the bill each state would receive a minimum of $2 million each year for five years. In addition, a grant allocation would be made in an amount that represents the proportion of the value of specialty crop production in the state in relation to the national value of specialty crop production for the previous calendar year. The bill authorizes $470 million of funds annually for five years for block grants.

H.R. 3242 was introduced by Representatives Doug Ose (R) and Cal Dooley (D) of California. The bill currently has 43 cosponsors and efforts are still underway to increase the number of cosponsors. (Contact: Jennifer Yezak)