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- $169 Million
- States to Receive One-time Grant
for Specialty Crop Aid
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- By Greg Brown
Associate Editor
- Specialty crops will receive $169 million in block grants thanks to the most recent ag assistance package approved by the Senate and the House. The money will be available through state departments of agriculture.
The U.S. Senate took final action on Friday, Aug. 3 and agreed to a $5.5 billion House-approved agriculture economic assistance package that included $169 million in specialty crop aid grants. The Senate failed to end a filibuster and garner support for larger bill.
President George W. Bush is expected to sign the spending measure into action soon. The money will be distributed to the state level by the end of September.
The failed $7.4 billion supplemental farm aid bill (S. 1246) would have included $150 million in market loss assistance for apple growers. But the smaller farm aid bill (H.R. 2213) should become law in time for growers to see the money this year.
The Senate’s action ensures economic relief to agricultural producers prior to the September deadline, according to United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association (United). The specialty crop block grants will be provided for growers through a state system allocating funding based on specialty crop production. Each state will receive a minimum of $500,000.
The allocation of the funding within the states is up to individual state departments of agriculture to decide. “This measure will allocate funding to the states to meet the needs of the produce industry,” said United’s Director of Government Affairs Donna Denison.
The block grant funding will be automatically distributed to the states for distribution, according to Denison. All states should benefit from the measure, she said.
“Through the Farm Bill and budget process, the produce industry has continued to stress the economic dynamics facing the industry and need to provide a range of tools and programs that support a broad range of specialty crop producers across the U.S. The block grant provision accomplishes this goal and will provide much needed assistance based on individual state needs and priorities.”
With the passage of economic assistance package, the Congress will turn to further debate on H.R. 2464, The Agricultural Act of 2001, and Senate consideration of a companion bill which will be drafted by Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (Iowa) when Congress reconvenes on Sept. 5, 2001. Additionally, the FY 2002 agriculture spending measure which includes a number of funding priorities for the produce industry must be completed prior to the upcoming fiscal year which begins Oct. 1.
Leading the way with $63 million in specialty grants is California, followed by Florida, which will receive over $16 million in funding. Washington will receive $9.6 million, while Idaho, Arizona, Michigan and Oregon will all be granted over $3 million.
The bill provides as a condition of accepting the funds that specialty crops are given priority in the distribution of the funds. The state shall agree to give priority to the support of specialty crops in the use of the grant funds. The measure defines specialty crops as any agricultural crop, except wheat, feed grains, oilseeds, cotton, rice, peanuts, and tobacco.
All other expenditures required by the act must be made not later than Sept. 30, 2001, after that point, the funds made available by the act will be deemed to be unexpendable. States are not required to disperse the funds by the September deadline.
The newness of the block grant approach for specialty crops has state departments of agriculture rushing to create practices to deal with the funds. We are just now putting together a team to address these block grants, said Dale Sherwin, director of ag policy, Michigan Department of Agriculture.
“Hopefully we can do things that are innovative with the funding.” The money won’t be distributed strictly based on the value of the specialty crop, because some are in worse shape than others,” he said.
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