NASDA Requests Funding For Specialty Crops Block Grant Program
News Date July 11, 2003
NASDA President and Idaho Secretary of Agriculture Patrick A. Takasugi and NASDA Specialty Crops Task Force Chair and California Agriculture Secretary Bill Lyons signed letters sent to members of the Senate Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Related Services of the Senate Appropriations Committee last week. NASDA is requesting funding for a Specialty Crops Block Grant Program in the FY04 agriculture appropriations bill. Two years ago states received funding for specialty crops block grants and those funds have strengthened and improved promotion and marketing of specialty crops and provided direct assistance to producers.
The Specialty Crops Block Grant Program funded two years ago was part of the emergency farm assistance package approved by Congress and signed into law by President Bush in August 2001. The program provided approximately $159 million for specialty crop production assistance and funds were distributed through state grants. Each state received a base grant of $500,000, with Puerto Rico receiving $1 million, to "support activities that promote agriculture" and the remaining funds were allocated to states based on the ratio of the value of vegetable, fruit, and nut production in each state to the national total. Total cash receipts for vegetable, fruit, and nut production in 1999 was more than $28 billion. This demonstrates that specialty crops are a critical component of agricultural production in all regions of the country.
States, working in cooperation with their agricultural community, were able to direct funding to areas that would provide the greatest overall benefits to their producers. These areas included programs such as food safety and security, agricultural education, research, pest and disease prevention, and marketing and promotion. The letter is posted on NASDA's website.
The FY04 agricultural appropriations bill will be marked up in the Senate this month. (Contact: Jennifer Yezak )