Spudman March 2023 - 41

Gearing up for the 2023 Farm Bill effort
National Potato Council and other specialty crop groups are
providing recommendations to strengthen U.S. specialty crops
As the 118th
NATIONAL
POTATO
COUNCIL
Kam Quarles
Chief Executive
Officer
session of Congress
settles in, the ag
policy world has
turned its attention
to a looming debate
that will shape
the way growers
and allied industry
members operate for
years to come: the
2023 Farm Bill.
In early February,
as the House and
Senate Agriculture Committees kicked
off their farm bill hearings, the Specialty
Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA) released
its policy recommendations to help guide
those discussions. This organization was
formed in 2004 after years of futility by
individual, sometimes conflicting, fruit
and vegetable industry members trying to
access the farm bill.
Getting organized under the SCFBA has
allowed industry partners to turn the page
from previous failed efforts. Representing
a diverse sector of the agriculture economy
with farm gate value accounting for $64.7
billion in the U.S., SCFBA is a national
coalition of over 200 organizations
advocating broad-based policy initiatives
INDUSTRY NEWS
MOMENTUM CONTINUES FOR U OF I'S CENTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Volatile markets, product shortages,
geopolitical unrest and extreme weather
challenge farmers and consumers alike.
Ensuring food security is more important
than ever, and agricultural research is
vital to this process. There's rising hope
that the University of Idaho-led Center for
Agriculture, Food and the Environment
(CAFE) will help future agricultural viability.
Burley-based Redox Bio-Nutrients
recently announced a $500,000 gift to
this groundbreaking effort.
" Collectively, we can move mountains, "
said Michael Parrella, dean of the University
of Idaho's College of Agricultural and Life
Sciences. " From the Idaho Legislature to
Redox and others in agriculture, it truly
is a remarkable partnership that will pay
widespread dividends. "
This financial commitment is the
latest support for the $45 million
project, which, when completed, will
have many components to foster scientific
research, agricultural sustainability and
consumer education.
" Agriculture is at a transformative state
of change right now, " said Darin Moon,
CEO of Redox Bio-Nutrients. " We have to
move forward through sound science that
allows us to positively adapt and change.
We couldn't pass up this opportunity to
contribute in a significant way, because
it's a part of who we are. "
Spudman.com 41
to address unique needs of specialty crops
industry. Through it, the industry now has
an ability to speak with one voice for U.S.
specialty crop growers, and billions of
dollars in valuable programs authorized by
the farm bill are the result.
Today, I'm very proud to serve as one
of the SCFBA co-chairs, joining Mike
Joyner, president of the Florida Fruit and
Vegetable Association, and Dave Puglia,
president and CEO of Western Growers.
After a year-long process that began at the
Potato Expo 2022 in Anaheim, California,
the Alliance issued a total of 109 specific
recommendations covering eight titles of
the bill and prioritizing core principles such
as healthy Americans, competitiveness
and sustainability, trade and foreign
competition, research and innovation, and
natural resources and climate.
Primary goals of the 2023 Farm Bill
recommendations are to ensure that
specialty crop farmers have access to vital
financial tools, market opportunities and
risk management, while prioritizing healthy
Americans through nutrition programs,
research and innovation.
Among other things, the SCFBA calls for
increasing funding for the Specialty Crop
Block Grants Program to $250 million
annually; improving the small-scale research
grants program by raising its authorized
level from $10 million to $15 million per
year; establishing a permanent disaster
relief fund for horticulture crops with an
initial capitalization of at least $100 million;
reauthorizing and strengthening the Healthy
Incentives Pilot Program; creating a new
national organic certification cost share
program; revising the National Clean
Plant Network to more effectively and
efficiently combat pests; and expanding the
Farm-to-Fork program.
The recommendations also focus on
helping specialty crop farmers better
manage their risk through additional
resources, such as expanding access
to federal crop insurance products and
improving safety net systems like the
Agriculture Risk Coverage.
Ultimately, SCFBA's vision is to
strengthen and secure America's specialty
crops industry by creating a farm policy
tailored to meet the unique challenges
of this sector of agriculture. Through our
collective recommendations for the 2023
Farm Bill, we wish to continue improving the
environment for specialty crop growers and
helping ensure more Americans embrace a
healthy, fruit and vegetable-rich diet.
Read more about SCFBA and our efforts
at farmbillalliance.com.
http://www.farmbillalliance.com http://www.Spudman.com
Spudman March 2023

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