WASHINGTON — Many farm programs will feel the pain of the budget axe, but the just-released farm bill agreement shows that Congress was especially generous to specialty crop programs, which received a whopping 55 percent bump from the 2008 farm bill.

Congress released the long-fought farm bill agreement Jan. 27, and an up-and-down vote on the conference report is expected this week.

"We are putting in place sound policy that is good for farmers, ranchers, consumers, and those who have hit difficult times," said Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.

Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN), ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, said he didn't agree with every provision but compromise was needed to move the bill forward.

"While it's no secret that I do not support some of the final bill's provisions, I believe my reservations are outweighed by the need to provide long-term certainty for agriculture and nutrition programs," he said.

Produce groups, such as the United Fresh Produce Association, said there wasn't much to dislike in the conference report.

"The 2014 farm bill contains provisions that are the most significant government investment ever in the competitiveness of the fruit and vegetable industry," said Tom Stenzel, president and chief executive officer of United Fresh.

The farm bill conference report includes an overall increase in investment of 55 percent over 2008 farm bill funding levels in critical produce industry initiatives and programs, including the State Block Grant Program, Specialty Crops Research Initiative, a new fruit and vegetable incentive grant program for SNAP recipients, the pest and disease prevention program along with maintaining funding in the Market Access Program and the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, according to United Fresh.

The Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops program is funded at $9 million per year, and the Market Access Program stays flat at $200 million a year -- still an achievement in a fiscally conservative Congress.

It creates a baseline, $80 million-per-year program for the Specialty Crop Research Initiative that protects the program from future gaps in farm bill implementation. For FY 2014-2018, $25 million per year will be tapped to address the emergency citrus greening mitigation.

Plant pest and disease mitigation efforts increase to $75 million a year from $50 million. Block grants also get a boost to $85 million a year in 2018 from $55 million, with language on incorporating research in multi-state projects.

The message to the industry is that besides the funding increases, specialty crop programs now have a foothold in farm bill policies, and the success can be attributed to a diversified specialty crop industry banding together as a coalition, said Robert Guenther, senior vice president of public policy at United Fresh.

Guenther said United Fresh will be watching implementation of the crop insurance conservation compliance requirements that may pose a challenge for certain special crop growers.

Under the new bill, if a producer has crop insurance, it is required to have a conservation plan. The good news is that specialty crop producers who wish to have technical assistance with conservation compliance will have first priority for grants, he said.

The farm bill also would reauthorize the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program without changes, but it green lights a new pilot program to study the prospect of canned, frozen or dried fruits and vegetables, along with fresh fruits and vegetables, to eligible students in no less than five states.

A report from this evaluation is due to Congress by Jan. 1, 2015, and Guenther said United Fresh would be looking at that report to make sure it's balanced.

The conference report does not contain a provision in the House bill that would have required a review of the economic and public health benefits of white potatoes on low-income families.

But it does contain scores of policy changes.

Congress requires the Food & Drug Administration to issue the following reports on its implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act's produce safety rule: an analysis of economic impact of the rule and a plan to evaluate any impacts and respond to producer concerns.

It also requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide the U.S. Customs & Border Protection with technical assistance for identifying produce that is falsely represented as grown in the United States, and to submit to the Agriculture Committees a report on produce represented as grown in the U.S.

Also, it allows apples shipped to Canada in bulk containers to not have to comply with Export Apple Act restrictions.