Congress hears about specialty crops' needs and worker shortages
Congress hears about specialty crops' needs and worker shortages
WASHINGTON -- Fruit and vegetable growers demanded more attention in the next farm bill and an urgent fix to the broken guest worker program at two congressional hearings earlier this month.
"I feel that specialty crops were basically left out in the cold in the previous bill," David Godwin, a North Carolina sweet potato and fruit producer, said at a Feb. 6 hearing in North Carolina. "Specialty crops account for approximately one-half of the total farmgate value in this country; however, only a very small portion of the federal resources was allocated to our needs."
"As we travel throughout the nation, the feedback we receive from our producers will give us a good sense of how our farm policies work in practice and what improvements can be made within the financial constraints we face in Washington," said House Agriculture Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA). The House Agriculture Committee traveled to North Carolina and Georgia to kick off discussions of the 2007 farm bill.
Brent Jackson of North Carolina-based Jackson Farming Co. called on Congress to keep the current planting prohibition in place. A 1 percent increase in planting could reduce prices by 4 percent, said Mr. Jackson. He also asked lawmakers to craft a crop insurance proposal that is "realistic, honest and affordable."
On behalf of the Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association, Stanley Scarborough of Sunnyridge Farm Inc. urged lawmakers to support new investment in research for specialty crops and to expand the emphasis on nutrition programs.
The Georgia blueberry grower said that the farm bill should include an expanded school fruit and vegetable snack program; increased commodity purchases; higher allocation to the Department of Defense fresh program for schools; and new market access initiatives. All USDA feeding programs and commodity purchasing should comply with the 2005 dietary guidelines, he said.
Congress heard about another issue that at least one grower called his top worry. The next farm bill may have the potential to prevent or speed up the outsourcing of the agricultural economy, said Mr. Jackson. "The number one threat to American agriculture today is the shortage and lack of a dependable and legal workforce," he said, adding that if Congress passes an immigration and border security bill that ignores the unique needs of agriculture, it will be the beginning of the end of the fruit and vegetable industry.
