Specialty
Crops
NEW! Value
Added Market Development Grants: Knowing the importance of enabling
producers to capture more of the value of their commodities, the farm bill
significantly increases this program to $40 million per fiscal year through 2007
($240 million total). This will
increase participation in the program by allowing broader standards of
eligibility so agricultural producer groups and business ventures largely owned
by producers can compete for grants designed to develop value-added products or
markets. The provision also
encourages grants to be used to assist in the development of agricultural-based
renewable energy sources.
NEW! Apples: Provides an additional $94
million in national assistance for apple producers who have suffered low market
prices.
NEW! Honey: To aid honey producers and
provide them with a safety net in times of poor market conditions, the new farm
bill creates a marketing assistance loan program similar to that of other
program commodities. The new
program provides producers with price support loans or loan deficiency payments
with a loan rate of $0.60 per pound.
NEW! Specialty
Crop Purchases: Increases
carryover-spending authority for Section 32 commodity purchases. Directs additional commodity purchases by requiring not less than
$200 million of Section 32 funds per year to be used to purchase fruits and
vegetables and other specialty food crops. At least $50 million of that
amount is to be used for fresh fruits and vegetables for schools through the
Department of Defense’ Fresh Program.
T Market Access
Program: Increases the Market Access
Program (MAP) from $90 million to $200 million per year by 2006. This program
aids in the creation, expansion, and maintenance of foreign markets for
NEW! Technical
Assistance Specialty Crop (TASC): Creates a Technical
Assistance Specialty Crop (TASC) fund of $19 million over 10 year to address the
barriers to exports that
NEW! Plant Health and
Quarantines: Helps provide greater
protection to
farmers by streamlining the Animal Plant Health Inspection
Service's ability to respond to plant and animal pest and disease emergencies,
and authorizes emergency loans for producers affected by
quarantines.
T Protection from Domestic
Competition: Retains the planting
restriction on fruits and vegetables on program crop acres.