Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance 2012 Farm Bill Policy Recommendations Planting Flexibility Restrictions Title I Commodities Policy Recommendation Congress should maintain current law regarding U.S. planting flexibility policy nationwide. Policy Recommendation Congress should discontinue the Planting Transferability Pilot Program. Disaster Assistance Policy Recommendation An effective disaster assistance program should be permanent rather than ad hoc in nature. A permanent disaster assistance program provides greater stability for the growers who are negatively affected by a disaster. Policy Recommendation During consideration of assistance to producers suffering losses due to natural disasters, including government-imposed quarantine restrictions (including regulatory actions), Congress should mandate that all commodities, including specialty crops, be included for payment eligibility. Policy Recommendation Congress should consider shortening the time lag between disaster occurrence and producers receiving assistance for both ad hoc programs and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program. Policy Recommendation Congress should restructure disaster assistance programs to allow non-program crop producers to receive payments equivalent to the total annual amount program crop producers would receive (including disaster, direct and indirect payments).
-2- Tree Assistance Program (TAP) Policy Recommendation Given the small margin for error in the production of specialty crops, the threshold for losses should be lowered from 15 percent or greater to 10 percent or greater. Policy Recommendation Given the high costs of tree replacement, the payment limitation authorized under the TAP program should be increased to $150,000 per person per year. (The 2008 Farm Bill authorized funding up to $100,000 per person through 2011.) Report Language Report language should be included that accounts for manmade disasters that evolve into natural disasters. Examples include wildfires started deliberately by arson or inadvertently by careless campfires, and spread because of poor weather conditions. USDA Service Center Outreach Policy Recommendation A procedure should be initiated to insure that local USDA Service Center agents have up-to-date knowledge of available specialty crop programs, including disaster programs that could be utilized by specialty crop growers, as well as a means of sharing that information with eligible producers. Title II Conservation Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Policy Recommendation Congress should apportion funding from EQIP to conservation needs for specialty crop producers proportional to their share of farm gate value. Specifically, this would include a 25 percent share that is proportional to specialty crops share of agriculture production in the United States. Policy Recommendation As part of EQIP, the sustainable use of ground and surface water for irrigation should be considered as a separate national priority, rather than included within the non-point pollution category. Natural Resources Conservation Service s EQIP sustainable water-use practices and programs should be available to specialty crop producers needing assistance to meet state or federal environmental or habitat objectives. Policy Recommendation Congress should create an air quality program under EQIP with dedicated funding.
-3- Policy Recommendation NRCS should work with land grant universities and other entities to develop model programs for using EQIP funds to enhance pesticide stewardship. Policy Recommendation Time limitations on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) cost-share practices should be eliminated as pest populations are dynamic over time and innovative IPM programs are continually evolving to address ever changing pest complexes. Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) Policy Recommendation The Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA) supports Congress directing WHIP to allow for organizations to work with multiple private landowners within the WHIP program. Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) Policy Recommendation Congress should add pest management as a priority area under CSP, bringing the total number of priority areas to eight. Eliminate the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) Limitation on Conservation Programs Policy Recommendation The AGI limitation should not apply to conservation programs. Market Access Program (MAP) Title III Trade Policy Recommendation The Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance, representing a broad range of interest and participants in the Market Access Program, supports the Coalition to Program U.S. Agricultural Exports to maintain funding for MAP at no less than $200 million per year. Mandatory Funding $200 million per year ($1 billion over 5 years) Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops (TASC) Policy Recommendations Funding. Mandatory funding at no less than $9 million per year. This is the level of mandatory funding authorized for fiscal years 2013 and 2017. Proposed Changes to Authorizing Language. The program should provide direct assistance through public and private-sector projects as well as
-4- technical assistance to remove, resolve, or mitigate sanitary and phytosanitary and technical barriers to trade. These barriers are defined under the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement. Maintain Annual Report Requirement. The 2008 Farm Bill requires the USDA Secretary to annually submit to Congress a description of each factor that affects the export of specialty crops, including each factor relating to any significant sanitary or phytosanitary issue or trade barrier. This requirement should be maintained. Quick Response Capability. TASC was originally designed to be a nimble and effective way to help the private sector resolve technical barriers to trade. These barriers can emerge unexpectedly and require fast action to prevent market closures and trade disruptions in established markets. TASC was also designed to take advantage of opportunities that arise on short notice, such as meetings or travel by U.S. officials to foreign countries where industry representation might be of assistance. With the positive growth in funding and the expansion of projects designed to be carried out over multiple years, the process for approving projects has become more rigid, with a focus on allocating funds to increasingly larger projects. Congress should direct the Secretary to hold in reserve an adequate amount of TASC funds for quick response projects that might emerge on short notice over the course of the year as well as establish an approval process for such projects in order for decisions to be made in less than a week. Mandatory Funding $9 million per year ($45 million over 5 years) International Maximum Residue Limits (MRL) Database Policy Recommendation The SCFBA should coordinate with the Minor Crop Farmer Alliance to develop its policy recommendation. The Minor Crop Farmer Alliance is working with FAS to develop a permanent funding solution for the International MRL database. The level of yearly funding required is estimated at less than $500,000. Congress should fund this program at $500,000. Mandatory Funding $500,000 per year ($2.5 million over 5 years) Global Market Access Strategy ` Policy Recommendation No later than 90 days after the start of a new Congressional session, the Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with the U.S. Trade Representative, should provide to Congress and relevant trade advisory committees the steps USDA will take to implement the Administration's trade policy and priorities therein.
-5- Policy Recommendation No later than 180 days after the start of a new Congressional session the Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with the U.S. Trade Representative, should consult with Congress and relevant trade advisory committees on the progress that has been made over the previous year to resolve barriers to trade that affect exports of specialty crops and seek input on any adjustments to strategy that might be considered in the coming year. Title IV Nutrition Section 32 Direct Commodity Purchases and DOD Fresh Program Section 32 Policy Recommendations Minimum Fruit and Vegetable Purchases. Section 32 direct commodity purchases and funding of DoD Fresh should reflect the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which call for making half your plate fruits and vegetables. While increasing purchases of fruits and vegetables under both programs could be justified, the SCFBA recognizes the current federal budgetary climate and therefore recommends Congress maintain the current minimum requirements for Section 32 direct purchases of fruits and vegetables at $406 million per year. The fruits and vegetables purchased for these programs should include a wide variety, and be of high quality, to result in children actually eating more fruits and vegetables. DoD Fresh. Concurrent with the Section 32 commodity purchase policy recommendation for all forms of fruits and vegetables, the SCFBA also recommends that Congress continue funding the DoD Fresh Program at no less than $50 million per year as presently mandated without a cap on school purchases. Bonus Purchases. The SCFBA is also concerned that minimum thresholds in funding result in real increases in net purchase of fruits and vegetables, and not re-allocation from other existing purchases. For example, bonus fruit and vegetable purchases made through the Section 32 program should not be counted toward the minimum direct purchase threshold. Therefore Congress should clarify that bonus purchases shall not count toward the $406 million minimum threshold requirement. AMS Pilot Project. The SCFBA supports the 2008 Farm Bill authorization for Agricultural Marketing Serivce to consider implementing a fresh produce distribution program, and therefore recommends $15 million in mandatory spending to initiate a pilot program similar to the DoD Fresh model, but using private-sector distribution services.
-6- Mandatory Funding $15 million ($15 million over 5 years) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Policy Recommendation The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program has been a highly successful, cost-effective program, introducing low-income elementary school students to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. While the program is extremely worthy of expansion, the SCFBA recognizes current budget constraints and therefore recommends Congress maintain current on mandatory funding of $150 million per year. With the success of this program, there has also been some debate about which products should be eligible for inclusion. The SCFBA supports reinstating the specific original language from the 2002 Farm Bill, which includes dried fruit, in addition to fresh fruit and fresh vegetables, as eligible under this program. The SCFBA opposes any other changes in legislative language to the products eligible under the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program. Mandatory Funding $150 million per year ($750 million over 5 years) The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) SNAP is the nation's largest domestic food and nutrition assistance program for lowincome Americans, providing more than $53 billion annually for food purchases, largely with no restrictions on what foods may be purchased. The 2008 Farm Bill provided $20 million to conduct the Healthy Incentive Pilot to test methods for providing financial incentives at the point of purchase to encourage SNAP recipients to purchase fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods. Current discussions on the future direction of the SNAP program include restricting the eligibility of certain foods, providing financial incentives or specific allocations for certain food or maintaining the current program structure. Policy Recommendation Changes to the structure of the SNAP program can have a significant impact on the availability of fruits and vegetables for SNAP program participants. The SCFBA intends to evaluate proposals impacting the SNAP program and actively provide input to the policy discussion on how proposed changes would impact participants access to fruit and vegetables. Value-Added Producer Grants Title VI Rural Development Policy Recommendation Congress should reauthorize and continue to fund the Value-Added Producer Grant program through the 2012 Farm Bill at current funding levels of $15 million mandatory funding until expended for the life of
-7- the bill. In addition, Congress should provide an authorization of $40 million in discretionary funding authorization each year of the bill, beginning FY2012 through FY2016. Mandatory Funding $15 million ($15 million over 5 years) Rural Development Farm Labor Housing Loans and Grants Policy Recommendation Given that the H-2A program guest-worker program is a necessity for many specialty crop producers to obtain an affordable, legal workforce, the SCFBA recommends that Congress should strike language in this program that that excludes H-2A workers as eligible tenants in the Rural Development Farm Labor Housing Loans and Grants program. Title VII Research Enhancement of the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) Policy Recommendations Matching Requirement. The SCFBA recommends Congress establish a waiver system to allow modification to the 100 percent matching requirement and to make SCRI equitable with other research programs. The recommendation should include criteria for a reduction of the 100 percent match, including the development of specific provisions for waivers based on the size of the grant, researchers, and industry participation. Research Priorities. Congress should make changes that expand research priorities for specialty crops for crop characteristics, threat from pest and disease, handling and processing. In addition, Congress should incorporate stakeholder outreach when developing these priorities. Finally, Congress should provide USDA the flexibility to not require funding for each of the priority areas. Eligible Entities. Congress should expand eligible entities to include federal and state marketing orders and commissions Review Panel. The SCFBA recommends Congress institute a policy that establishes a two-step process for reviewing research project under SCRI. The first review would be conducted by industry stakeholders. The stakeholder review panel would be focused on industry-specific proposals and would be asked to rank from relevant to not for further consideration. The second panel would be similar to the current SCRI review process established under the 2008 Farm Bill and would be based on scientific merit around the proposals.
-8-10 Percent Allocation. Congress should eliminate the 10 percent minimum requirement for each of the six priority areas ARS Industry Initiatives. Congress should continue to support and encourage ARS to work with industry stakeholders to continue current initiatives and identify opportunities to expand initiatives with other industry partnerships. ARS Industry Initiatives utilizes industry advisors to identify priority needs for a specific specialty crop commodity and direct research projects to be conducted by ARS and/or university researchers. Funding Level. Congress should reauthorize and expand funding for SCRI to $100 million per year in mandatory spending. Mandatory Funding $100 million per year ($500 million over 5 years) Specialty Crop Block Grant Program Policy Recommendations Title X Horticulture and Organics No-Match Requirement. Congress should maintain the non-requirement of matching funds for grant recipients. However, states should be required to gather and maintain matching-fund data. Grower-Level Projects. Congress should encourage states to further expand or prioritize grower-level projects. There are concerns in the industry that research critical to grower needs is not being adequately funded. Specialty Crop Definition. Congress should maintain the current definition of solely specialty crops for the purpose of the block grant program. Farmers market projects should use other, more suitable funds until those funds are expended. Timing of Funding Notices. Notice of Funds Available (NOFA) should be released in a timely manner. If timely NOFA is unachievable (10 months prior to application due date), reimbursement funds for the states should be made available until expended. Failure to do this will mean states finding it more difficult to review private requests and will result in keeping projects in house. This was the result of late NOFAs in 2008 and 2009. Strengthening Definitions. While states are required to undergo a thorough review process of grant requests, Congress should encourage states require applicants to provide appropriate justification for how a project enhances
-9- the competitiveness of specialty crops. By addressing this important issue, Congress will ensure funds are being targeted to the purpose of the block grant program while enhancing the integrity of this critical specialty crop policy tool. Multi-State Projects. While Congress encouraged the states to consider multi-state projects, very few have been awarded since the passage of the 2008 Farm Bill. Due to the growing issues that impact specialty crops that are commodity specific or regionally critical, the SCFBA encourages USDA to consider policy options to help states facilitate the utilization of multi-state partnership projects. The SCFBA recommends Congress include language allowing USDA, at the initiation of two or more states or applicant(s) seeking to conduct a multi-state project, to coordinate grant approval through the multiple state processes. Mandatory Funding $5 million increase per year ($350 million over 5 years) $60 million for FY2013 $65 million for FY2014 $70 million for FY2015 $75 million for FY2016 $80 million for FY2017 National Organic Certification and Cost-Share Program Policy Recommendation When this program is under-utilized, the SCFBA recommends that its funds be reallocated for projects/programs that benefit over-subscribed specialty crop programs. Title X Pest and Disease Programs Plant Pest and Disease Management and Disaster Prevention Policy Recommendation The SCFBA recommends an increase in mandatory funding of $25 million per year for each of the next five years ($125 million). Mandatory Funding $75 million per year ($375 million over 5 years) National Clean Plant Network Policy Recommendations The SCFBA recommends $10 million per year in mandatory funding to continue the program and enable its expansion into other
-10- economically significant specialty crops for which clean stock is essential to domestic production. Mandatory Funding - $10 million per year ($50 million over 5 years) CCC Funding Prohibition Policy Recommendation The SCFBA supports Congress permanently fixing this policy through the 2012 Farm Bill to ensure Section 10210 funding can be implemented in a timely manner. USDA Office of Pest Management Miscellaneous Provisions Policy Recommendation Require that the Secretary of Agriculture establish and fund an Office of Pest Management within the Secretary s office. Mandatory Funding $5 million per year ($25 million over 5 years)