WASHINGTON — Specialty crop research may not be a sexy subject, but the farm bill’s research grants that helped the Florida citrus industry battle citrus greening disease will be lost if Congress does not reauthorize the 2008 law during the five-week, lame-duck session, said speakers at the United Fresh Produce Association’s Washington Public Policy Conference, here, earlier this month.

The farm bill is one issue that is surfacing in congressional races on the campaign trail this fall and may be on the agenda when Congress returns to Capitol Hill after the election.

Tom Stenzel, president and chief executive officer of United Fresh, called reauthorizing the farm bill “job number one” for the 38 teams of produce industry representatives from 30 states who packed in 200 congressional visits Oct. 2 during the WPPC.

Other priorities include action on the farm labor situation and support for the latest nutritional advances in school meals.

November and December will be the critical window to push for passage of the farm bill, said Mr. Stenzel.

“A one-year extension doesn’t help our industry,” he reminded WPPC attendees.

Florida’s citrus industry could have been decimated from pest and disease issues if it weren’t for the investments from the farm bill’s Specialty Crop Research Initiative, Mike Stuart, president of the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association, said during an Oct. 3 session at the conference. The 2008 farm bill authorized $30 million in fiscal year 2008, and $50 million from FY2009 through FY2012.

Mr. Stuart warned that “those dollars are going to go away” unless the industry puts “significant heat” on lawmakers to vote for a reauthorized farm bill during the lame-duck session.

Mr. Stuart was joined by Barry Bedwell, president and CEO of the California Grape & Tree Fruit League, John Keeling, executive vice president and CEO of the National Potato Council, and Dennis Nuxoll, vice president of federal government affairs at the Western Growers Association, in speaking about the success of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance in persuading Congress to recognize fruit and vegetable programs.

Without large boosts in U.S. sales, the potato industry relies on market access programs that can help boost trade, Mr. Keeling said.

It won’t be easy convincing Congress to tackle the farm bill this year, said Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA), who held a town hall meeting with WPPC attendees on pressing agriculture issues.

“We come back Nov. 13 and we have more on our plate than any Congress has had to do and of crisis proportions,” he said, referring to pending legislation such as the tax cuts and the 8 percent across-the-board budget cuts.

The House Republican leadership is blocking a House floor vote on the farm bill, and many key programs for the specialty crop industry run out when the 2008 bill expires, he said.

Another key issue for United Fresh is the “negative media” permeating some regions in the country about the new school lunch standards, Lorelei DiSogra, vice president of nutrition and health for United Fresh, said during an Oct. 2 luncheon session.

“Many school districts are doing an incredible job implementing the new regs,” she said. “We want to make sure the Hill understands that.”

Food safety always sits on the agenda for the produce industry.

The FDA’s regulations to implement the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act are still not out, and “we really don’t know who at the [Office of Management & Budget]“ is holding up the review, said David Gombas, senior vice president of public policy.

By Jan. 4, 2012, the FDA was required to issue new science-based standards for the safe production and harvesting of produce. The proposal has been sitting at the White House undergoing final review since November 2011.

The industry wants to see the new rules and the delay is causing uncertainty, Mr. Stenzel said.

Immigration reform is a critical issue for the industry that Mr. Stenzel said he hopes is high on the agenda when Congress convenes next year. Labor availability was a constant theme at the WPPC.

“I know it’s polarizing, but we need to have the debate,” he said.