Agriculture secretary addresses produce committee
Agriculture secretary addresses produce committee
WASHINGTON -- California's deep freeze that damaged citrus crops and the E. coli outbreak that cost the spinach industry $100 million show how quickly conditions can change in agriculture, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns said at a Jan. 23 meeting with fruit and vegetable industry representatives.
"We have staff working to assess the damage" to California's citrus industry to lay the groundwork for emergency assistance, but it appears that perhaps as high as 90 percent of affected growers were covered by crop insurance, Secretary Johanns said at a meeting of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fruit & Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee.
Efforts by USDA and industry to protect growers after two previously devastating freezes seem to have paid off, he said.
Early indications suggest that the damage price tag from this freeze event may exceed the two previous ones because the damage is so widespread, California Department of Food & Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura told the group earlier in the day. It's too early to tell whether next year's citrus and avocado crops will be seriously affected, too.
Many of the young leafy green transplants were destroyed, strawberry growers lost a significant volume of fruit, and nurseries lost plants for the March market. "It's been a pretty rough week," he said.
"The events in recent months remind us of how important food safety is," said Secretary Johanns, referring to the spinach and lettuce contaminations that the government is continuing to investigate. There are benefits to having one uniform safety standard in place, he added.
Mr. Johanns told the group that the Bush administration's proposal for the next farm bill should be out in the next few weeks, and that President Bush would not "back way from his challenge to Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform."
One industry member urged the secretary to stand firm with the September 2007 deadline for the much-anticipated food package for low-income women and children that includes fruits and vegetables for the first time. Congress wants to get it done, so we'll get it done, said the secretary.
USDA has proposed a new food package -- touted as a major public health improvement for 8 million women and children -- that would hand out $8 vouchers for women and $6 vouchers for children to buy fruits and vegetables.
USDA's Kate Houston, who is newly charged with overseeing the special supplemental nutrition program for Women, Infants & Children, said that the 46,000 comments generated by the proposal have complicated the review process. But USDA is planning to issue an interim final rule in September that would have the force of law but allow the government time to tweak the program if there are problems before issuing a final rule.
The fruit and vegetable industry has raised concerns in private meetings with USDA officials that the revamped food package should be completed by the end of the Bush administration, and sources say that health leaders will be meeting in the next few weeks to map out a strategy to continue pressuring USDA to stick with the proposed fruit and vegetable package to counteract powerful dairy and egg lobbying groups.
At the advisory meeting, Secretary Johanns announced the first two states - Mississippi and Texas -- to receive grants under the Specialty Crop Competitiveness Act of 2004.
The Mississippi Department of Agriculture & Commerce plans to use $103,000 to promote the state's specialty crops through events at farmers markets and increase customers at farmers markets. The Texas Department of Agriculture will use its $156,000 to boost Texas-grown produce in retail promotions and create new opportunities for suppliers of Texas products through wholesale promotions.
USDA has received seven applications so far, and others are expected to come in soon, according to Trista Etzig, marketing specialist with USDA's Fruit & Vegetable Programs. Grant applications from all other state departments of agriculture are due by Oct. 11.
"We have staff working to assess the damage" to California's citrus industry to lay the groundwork for emergency assistance, but it appears that perhaps as high as 90 percent of affected growers were covered by crop insurance, Secretary Johanns said at a meeting of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fruit & Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee.
Efforts by USDA and industry to protect growers after two previously devastating freezes seem to have paid off, he said.
Early indications suggest that the damage price tag from this freeze event may exceed the two previous ones because the damage is so widespread, California Department of Food & Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura told the group earlier in the day. It's too early to tell whether next year's citrus and avocado crops will be seriously affected, too.
Many of the young leafy green transplants were destroyed, strawberry growers lost a significant volume of fruit, and nurseries lost plants for the March market. "It's been a pretty rough week," he said.
"The events in recent months remind us of how important food safety is," said Secretary Johanns, referring to the spinach and lettuce contaminations that the government is continuing to investigate. There are benefits to having one uniform safety standard in place, he added.
Mr. Johanns told the group that the Bush administration's proposal for the next farm bill should be out in the next few weeks, and that President Bush would not "back way from his challenge to Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform."
One industry member urged the secretary to stand firm with the September 2007 deadline for the much-anticipated food package for low-income women and children that includes fruits and vegetables for the first time. Congress wants to get it done, so we'll get it done, said the secretary.
USDA has proposed a new food package -- touted as a major public health improvement for 8 million women and children -- that would hand out $8 vouchers for women and $6 vouchers for children to buy fruits and vegetables.
USDA's Kate Houston, who is newly charged with overseeing the special supplemental nutrition program for Women, Infants & Children, said that the 46,000 comments generated by the proposal have complicated the review process. But USDA is planning to issue an interim final rule in September that would have the force of law but allow the government time to tweak the program if there are problems before issuing a final rule.
The fruit and vegetable industry has raised concerns in private meetings with USDA officials that the revamped food package should be completed by the end of the Bush administration, and sources say that health leaders will be meeting in the next few weeks to map out a strategy to continue pressuring USDA to stick with the proposed fruit and vegetable package to counteract powerful dairy and egg lobbying groups.
At the advisory meeting, Secretary Johanns announced the first two states - Mississippi and Texas -- to receive grants under the Specialty Crop Competitiveness Act of 2004.
The Mississippi Department of Agriculture & Commerce plans to use $103,000 to promote the state's specialty crops through events at farmers markets and increase customers at farmers markets. The Texas Department of Agriculture will use its $156,000 to boost Texas-grown produce in retail promotions and create new opportunities for suppliers of Texas products through wholesale promotions.
USDA has received seven applications so far, and others are expected to come in soon, according to Trista Etzig, marketing specialist with USDA's Fruit & Vegetable Programs. Grant applications from all other state departments of agriculture are due by Oct. 11.
