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Specialty growers seek role in farm policy
Those who grow specialty crops are trying to hold on to the role they had in forming 2008 farm policy. National Potato Council CEO John Keeling, who co-chairs the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance, points out that specialty crops are half of U.S. plant agriculture in terms of farm gate value.
“It makes sense, if we’re going to try to build a vibrant agriculture in this country, that we look at and address the needs of that 50 percent that are specialty crop producers in the same positive way that we look at addressing the needs of the corn, wheat and soybean guys also,” said Keeling, in an interview with Brownfield Ag News.
The 2008 farm bill provided specialty crop growers with support, not in direct payments, but in research, pest management and infrastructure, said Keeling. He’s aware that spending cuts will be made, but he suggests that consideration be given to shifting some farm bill money to the benefit of specialty crop growers.
“There are buckets of money and those buckets of money are kind of sacrosanct and can’t be looked at,” said Keeling. “As we address farm policy we ought to be willing to look at farm policy in its totality and spend the money wisely for all of agriculture.”
Keeling figures that specialty crop growers’ share of the 2008 farm bill was around $3 billion over the five-year life of the bill.
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