▶ 0:02:19committee will come to order. Uh welcome and thank you for joining today's hearing entitled an examination of the specialty crop industry. After brief brief opening remarks, members will receive testimony from our witnesses today and then the hearing will be open to questions. So, good morning once again everyone and welcome to today's hearing. I want to begin by thanking Ranking Member Craig for her partnership in hosting this bi bipartisan hearing.
▶ 0:02:45I also want to thank our colleagues for their participation and continued commitment to work together on behalf of American agriculture. Most importantly, I want to extend my sincere thanks to our witnesses. We know that your time is valuable and your decision to be here today to share your perspectives, your experiences and concerns is greatly appreciated.
▶ 0:03:05As we examine the current landscape of especially crop industry, your firsthand insights are essential to make sure our work is informed by those who live and breathe these challenges every day. Especially crop plays a crucial and often underappreciated role in the success of US agriculture. Fruits, vegetables, and tree nuts provide nutritious, high-quality food that supports the health of our population at home and abroad.
▶ 0:03:32Beyond the plate, uh nursery crops and floriculture industries contribute to our quality of life, beautifying our communities and supporting local commu economies. From the flower beds to our neighborhoods to produce aisles and our grocery stores, special crops touch our lives in countless ways. However, the very diversity that defines this industry can also present unique challenges in policy development.
▶ 0:04:00From ensuring adequate risk management tools to supporting effective research, especially crop industry requires thoughtful solutions to nuance cha challenges. Producers navigate a complex web of pest and disease threats, rising costs, regulatory constraints, and global competition. all while trying to meet evolving customer expectations.
▶ 0:04:24Over the years, the this committee has worked to create those thoughtful solutions through the creation of specific programs that support the the sector and by working across titles to improve program delivery for specialty crop producers. We recognize that the challenges of a citrus producer in California look different than those of a wheat farmer in Kansas. And we believe that our agriculture policy should reflect those differences.
▶ 0:04:50As we hear more on what it means to support the industry in a meaningful and effective way today, it is timely to highlight the substantial investments made via budget reconciliation to support our especially crop producers. And I wanted to share a few examples, but I'm going to back that up.
▶ 0:05:08um to uh uh really was um the um you know the investments uh that were included were ones that were where I want to really want to say thank you to all all the members of the committee that were here last Congress because that was the blueprint that we used as we worked on uh the piece of legislation that that passed out of this committee with some bipartisan votes.
▶ 0:05:33Um that was that was the hard work uh that became the template for what we're able to move in uh in budget reconciliation as the vehicle to get it into law. But it was it was really the bipartisan work of this committee in the area of specialy crops. And so some thank yous.
▶ 0:05:51Some of those accomplishments include an historic investment of an additional $95 million per year in the specialy crop research initiative, a competitive grant program that provides resources for research and extension projects that ensures the specialty crop industry is not being sidelined. an additional $15 million increase for the specially crop block grant program, enabling state departments of agriculture to work with their producers to enhance their competitiveness.
▶ 0:06:21Another $15 million in increased funding to the plant pest and disease management and disaster prevention program, which is essential to safeguarding American agriculture from invasive pests and diseases that can be particularly devastating to especially crop producers.
▶ 0:06:39and funding was doubled for market development programs uh to help support export growth for agriculture commodities and to ultimately return to an agriculture trade surplus which we know is particularly important for the horiculture industry. These investments represent a substantial step in rising to the occasion of assisting our specialy crop producers. But investment alone is not enough.
▶ 0:07:05We also need to ensure these programs are accessible, effective, and responsive to real world conditions. Today's hearing is an opportunity to take stock of where we are, hear directly from stakeholders, and identify where we can come together to find workable solutions that support this essential sector. Uh, thank you again to our witnesses for being here, and thank you to my colleagues for your attention, engagement.
▶ 0:07:29I look forward to a productive discussion and to work together to ensure a bright future for America's specialy crop producers. With that, I now like to welcome the distinguished ranking member, the gentleoman from Minnesota, Miss Greg, for any opening remarks she would like to give.
▶ 0:07:46Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and a special thank you and welcome to our witnesses here today. Uh we really appreciate this bipartisan hearing. I also want to recognize the subcommittee ranking member Selenus uh who has been a stalwart champion for our specialty crop farmers. Oregon, as we all know, is home to many specialty crops including wine grapes and grass seed. She comes to work every day to fight on their behalf. Thank you for your leadership, Andrea.
▶ 0:08:14While row crops are critical to our nation's energy and food security, specialty crops are just as important. Whether it's fruits, nuts, or vegetables, the specialty crops are staples of the American diet. Like many of our row crop growers, specialty crop farmers are in a tough spot today. Labor costs are high. Production costs are being driven up by tariffs or inputs that simply cannot be sourced within the United States.
▶ 0:08:41The trade wars are causing market turmoil and impacting the cost of machinery and equipment. All of this makes it harder for specialty crop farmers to keep farming and harder for the average American to enjoy reasonably priced produce. The Republicans budget bill, which they are now trying to rebrand because of its unpopularity, was signed into law in July and made some investments in the farm safety net.
▶ 0:09:09However, for many of the requests and needs of the specialty crop industry were left behind, like improvements to crop insurance. I visited a berry farm in California earlier this year where I spoke with farmers about the challenging economic headwinds they're facing. Specialty crop farmers often produce uh delicate crops that require fundamentally different farming techniques and equipment than the corn and soybean farmers that call my southwest Minnesota district home.
▶ 0:09:39The farmers I spoke with at the Berry Farm increasingly see the need for automation and mechanized labor to perform the specialized work necessary to tend to and harvest their crops. Their need to innovate new tools is underscored by this administration's current assault on the farm labor community and the chaos it has caused across farm country. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today who are sure to talk more about that.
▶ 0:10:06I want to thank you for being here and for sharing your expertise and experiences with us. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back. Uh the chair would request that other members submit their opening statements for the record so the witnesses may begin their testimony and ensure there is ample time for questions. Our first witness today is Mr. M France the the president of France wholesale nursery. Uh our next witness is Dr.
▶ 0:10:36uh Romesh Sigil Seagulli a professor of horiculture at Oregon State University. And our third witness today is Dr. Tim Boring, uh the director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Dr. Boring is testifying on behalf of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. And our final witness is Mrs. Dana Brennan, uh vice president for corporate Affairs at Grimway Farms. Thank you all for joining us today. And we're now going to proceed your testimony.
▶ 0:11:06You'll each have five minutes. The timer is in front of you. We'll countdown to zero at which point your time is expired. Mr. France, please uh begin when you're ready.
▶ 0:11:17Good morning, Chairman Thompson, Ranking Member Craig, and members of the committee. Thank you all for the opportunity to be here today. My name is Michael France, and I'm the co-owner of France Wholesale Nursery, a family farm founded by my parents nearly 50 years ago. We grow trees and shrubs, perennials, and grasses, and sell them to landscape contractors and various retail outlets across the western United States. I have served for over 15 years as a director to the Turlock Irrigation District, a public utility that serves water and power to my community.
▶ 0:11:47I've also served for many years as the chair of the advocacy committee for American Hort, the premier federal trade association for the horicultural industry. I have traveled to Washington many times over the last 25 years, consistently advocating for bipartisan solutions that would provide a stable and legal workforce for agriculture and reasonable water policies for the West. I realize these topics are outside the jurisdiction of this committee, but both remain top priorities for the specialty crop industry and to me personally.
▶ 0:12:16I have submitted a longer, more detailed written testimony to the committee. Foundational to my comments today, the specialty crop industry does not seek commodity price supports. Consumers value our quality crops and pay a fair price, generally sufficient to pay our bills. But there are key areas where government support is vital, which I will try to outline today. We struggle to find effective insurance to mitigate the enormous risk we grow we growers take.
▶ 0:12:40In our nursery, we grow over 700 varieties of plants and have up to 10,000 individual crops growing at any given time. Some crops only reside on our farm for a few weeks, while others will grow as long as eight years from sewing the acorn until we ship the half-grown oak tree to our customer. All our crops are highly perishable and vulnerable to weather and economic variability. Crop insurance for catastrophic and nature related events are in place for title one crops, but these programs rarely work well for us because of our extreme crop diversity.
▶ 0:13:12Affordable crop insurance programs that can provide disaster relief for unique specialty crop farmers like myself are needed. While we do our best to prevent the need for quarantines, much of the quarantine process is out of our hands. We grow potted citrus trees, a crop highly regulated by USDA to protect commercial citrus farmers. The nursery industry has invested millions of dollars in protective structures to ensure the plants we ship are free of disease.
▶ 0:13:37But even small changes in the regulation of movement of citrus can block multi-year crops access to markets, potentially resulting in millions of dollars of losses essentially overnight. I'm happy to see pilot insurance programs to cover government imposed quarantine risk are getting started, but they need refinement to be useful. I respectfully ask that you continue to fund this vital risk mitigation tool. We continue to lose crop protection tools each year and replacements are slow to fill the void.
▶ 0:14:06IR4 research dollars were not funded in your last budget bill. They are critical to advance new pest and disease options for us and I respectfully ask that you include IR funding in the next farm bill. The recent marketing assistance for specialty crops mask funding helped us with our substantial increase in costing. I understand that some of you on this committee were essential in getting the payments out this year. Thank you for your help.
▶ 0:14:32As this ad hoc funding source will hopefully play a vital support role in future years, I would ask that this committee consider providing consistent logic for what and who would qualify for additional funding when real needs arise. Another challenge we face is tariffs on essential inputs that largely cannot be sourced domestically. Many of the crop inputs we depend on, such as Pete Moss and coconut core, which are components of our soil mix, must be sourced internationally.
▶ 0:15:01I want to thank the chairman and his staff for recognizing this challenge and elevating the need for tariff exemptions on Pete Moss. Securing that exemption has saved our industry millions of dollars and provided some relief. Still, other non-exempt inputs remain subject to tariffs, contributing to macroinflationary pressure that in some cases is pricing our very discretionary products out of consumer's reach. Thank you for your time and consideration today. Uh in closing, I circle back to my three main issues.
▶ 0:15:31The vital need for a stable and legal workforce. A strong safety net to protect us when disasters, excuse me, and quarantine strike. increasing inflationary cost that are pricing our quality American grown specialty crops out of consumers budgets. If any of you find yourself in California, I'd invite you for a tour. We would love to have you. Look forward to your questions. Mr. France, thank you so much. Dr. Seagali, please begin when you're ready.
▶ 0:16:04Good morning, Chair Thompson, Ranking Member Craig, Representative Selenus, and the members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify on the role of specialty crop research initiative. My name is Romesh Sagilli. I'm a professor in the department of horiculture at Oregon State University. Specialty crops are critical and integral part of United States agriculture. They are produced in all 50 states in about 15 million acres with a market value of $115 billion.
▶ 0:16:33Oregon ranks among the top states nationally in the production value of specialty crops including fruits, tree nuts, berries, vegetables and nursery products in uh pollinators play an essential role in the production of many of these specialty crops with direct impact on both yield and quality. As a university researcher in agriculture, I have the privilege of working with beekeepers, farmers, and industry partners in addressing critical challenges impacting Oregon's and the United States specialty crop production.
▶ 0:17:03I am a current uh uh recipient of an SR grant and was a part of the other STR funded projects in the past. My work focuses on the critical role of pollinators in specialty crop production and complex threats facing pollinators.
▶ 0:17:17The specialty crop research initiative is unique among the USD and NIFA competitive programs because of its targeted focus on specialty crops, its broad scope, integration of research and extension and robust funding levels that allow multidisciplinary and multi-state projects. The program has five legislativelymandated focus areas and encourages focus on emerging priorities such as threats to specialty crop pollinators.
▶ 0:17:44The SC program strongly encourages transdisciplinary research which is critical in solving complex problems as many problems facing agriculture are multiaceted and need diverse expertise from different disciplines. S also encourages a systems approach that emphasizes understanding a problem by focusing at the entire system rather than looking at individual components. In addition, the SR program closely involves stakeholders in identifying the needs and in the review of grant proposals.
▶ 0:18:15This unique approach enables SER to address the real world needs of specialty crop producers by prioritizing practical applied research with tangible benefits. My overall experience with STR proposal submission has been positive, but I believe that there is further scope for improvement in the process and offer three opportunities to improve and streamline the SR grant process.
▶ 0:18:37First, the SR program could improve the timely and reliable release of requests for applications because uncertaintity around the release of RFAS makes planning challenging for the applicants as they need adequate time for preparing quality proposals. Secondly, the SR could provide more time between the release of RFA and submission of the proposals. Finally, a key challenge with SR program is the limited success rate in securing grants by the applicants.
▶ 0:19:05There are over 300 specialty crops grown in the United States with a wide range of complex challenges demanding attention. In recent years, with an allocation of $80 million per year, the SR was able to fund between 20 to 25 awards per year, but this program receives a large number of meritorious proposals each year, and the success rate is only about 15%. For my current award, I had to apply twice before I was successful.
▶ 0:19:32With this said, I applaud the committee for recognizing the importance of STR program and the impact of investment in this program. The committee's action in HR1 enacted in July to increase annual investment of mandatory funds for the SR from $80 million per year to $175 million starting in 2026 creates a meaningful opportunity for USDA to increase number of projects awarded each year.
▶ 0:19:58In conclusion, SC is an exemplary program that has served the specialty crop industry needs especially uh well since its inception and is the most significant research funding opportunity for addressing challenges at the intersection of pollinator health and specialty crop production. Investment in SR not only advances innovation but also helps secure the future of American agriculture.
▶ 0:20:22Your continued support for the STR is greatly appreciated and essential to ensuring that program's long-term success and its continued benefits to specialty crop farmers across the United States. Thank you very
▶ 0:20:34Dr. Sagali, thank you so much for your testimony. Uh Dr. Boring, please begin when you're ready.
▶ 0:20:41Good morning, Chairman Thompson, Ranking Member Craig, and members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to participate today. The perspective I bring to this hearing is as the director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. I'm also a sixth generation family farmer and a proud member of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture or NASDA. Many of you know my colleagues from around the country who are currently in Arkansas for NASDA's annual meeting this week.
▶ 0:21:03I appreciate all the work NASDA is doing at a federal level and look forward to participating in the rest of the annual meeting uh there when I return to Arkansas following this hearing. My focus this morning will be on Michigan specialty crops, their importances, and the challenges and opportunities that growers and consumers face in this vital industry. Members of this committee have the ability to foster the success of specialty crops today and for years to come. Earlier this year, I was honored to speak before your colleagues in the Senate, and I first want to acknowledge progress that has been made since I submitted that testimony.
▶ 0:21:34I appreciate that the recent federal budget did extend portions of the farm bill through 2031, but we know that we're still barreling towards the September 30th expiration for the remaining provisions not included in HR1. We know food security is national security and the next farm bill will dictate effectively how we're able to feed ourselves by ourselves in the future. Agriculture is a nearly 126 billion dollar industry in Michigan and I consider our specialty crop farmers the backbone of our success.
▶ 0:22:00I've had the pleasure of visiting many of our specialty crop growers in their fields and orchards this season, hearing firsthand the many challenges facing the industry. These interactions inform our strategy at the state level, as well as how I advocated at a federal level when I have opportunities like this to convey just how vital specialty crop support programs are for their existence. Unfortunately, for me, many specialty crops, times have never been more tenuous. In Michigan, specialty crops once offered a way for farmers to diversify. But these days, instead of growing their operations, many farmers are debating if they can stay in business.
▶ 0:22:31Whether it's due to trade uncertainty, rising input costs, climate variability, labor constraints, and the threats of pest and disease, many specialty crops in this country are either harder to grow, more difficult to get to markets, or challenging as ever to reach the consumer. In the interest of time this morning, I want to highlight some key areas that are currently supported in the farm bill and need continued support, as well as share what we're doing in Michigan that is seeing success and deserves more attention at a federal level.
▶ 0:22:57First, public sector research has been critical for specialty crops, specifically the specialy crop block grants supported through the specialty crop research initiative. These investments have been instrumental in keeping farmers one step ahead of the next disease or pest threat. For instance, in 2024, cherry farmers in our state lost between 30 and 75% of the crop depending locality and variety because of abnormal weather events early in the season that drove unprecedented insect disease pressure later.
▶ 0:23:23This year, early spring frost events reduced yields by 30 to 90% across our state, depending on the farm location, and our state as a whole only harvested 60% of a normal cherry crop. Losses such as these are becoming far more common. Our researchers in Michigan are utilizing specially crop block grant funding to address new pest pressures and build climate resiliency in our orchards. But as these recent yield reductions show, the threats are eminent and significant.
▶ 0:23:48I appreciate HR1 expanding funding for the program by $100 million and believe the next farm bill should affirm that continued support for continued research investment. Understanding science is critical for the long-term viability of specialty crops in Michigan and across the country. At a time when there's so many unknowns and challenges around our trade partnerships, fostering stronger domestic markets will be critical for the success for our growers. Finally, I want to share two areas we're seeing success in Michigan.
▶ 0:24:15Uh our regenerative a program and our new farmto-f family Regenerative agriculture is an active approach to land management driven by improving soil health. Our regen egg unit supports Michigan producers by d-risking practice adoption, strengthening network engagement, and increasing market opportunities. so farmers and land owners can improve profitability and find new ways to diversify. This also restores healthy soils and safeguards natural resources for future generations.
▶ 0:24:42The second program I'd like to highlight for its success is our family farmtof family program, an effort working to strengthen agra food systems across our state. This year we addressed administered our first research grants to food hubs and farm stops, creating new opportunities for Michigan farmers and meeting demands for communities who want healthy, locally grown produce on their tables.
▶ 0:25:01And just this week, we finalized uh plans to launch our new Good Food for Michigan Uh this will be work that's intentionally engaging different institutions, including community colleges and early childhood centers, addressing barriers, and creating opportunities for healthy grown food here in Michigan. It's another example of how Governor Whitmer is prioritizing collaboration that translates to improving quality life for all Michiganders.
▶ 0:25:24I share all this today because the support of our success specialty crop growers directly translates into tools that keep farmers farming, keep rural community communities vibrant and keeps fruit and vegetables on the dinner tables across America. Thank you for this opportunity and look forward to questions from the
▶ 0:25:42Dr. Borging, thank you so much for your testimony. Uh Mrs. Brennan, please uh proceed with your five minutes whenever you're ready.
▶ 0:25:49Thank you, Chairman Thompson, Ranking Member Craig, and members of the committee. My name is Dana Brennan and I'm here today on behalf of Grimway Farms based in Bakersville, California with operations throughout the country. I am also honored to serve as the chair of the International Fresh Produce Association's United States Public Policy Committee, the organization I am proudly representing today. Grimway's story began with a roadside produce standard by the Grim Brothers in the early 1960s.
▶ 0:26:16Today, Grimway is one of the biggest carrot producers and one of also one of the top organic growers in the United States. We grow more than 135 seasonal and year-round products distributed worldwide, including 65 organic commodities under brands such as Cal Organic and Bunny Love. Those crops are grown in over 40,000 acres of conventional ground and 55,000 acres of prime organically certified ground throughout California, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Colorado, Georgia, and Florida.
▶ 0:26:47Fresh produce is a cornerstone of both American agriculture and public health. Our industry contributes billions annually to the economy and delivers the healthiest foods available. Foods that are essential to preventing diet related diseases. But this vital sector is under real and growing pressure. Regulatory overreach, labor challenges, and outdated policies are making it harder to grow, harvest, and deliver fresh food. Without action, many US producers will not be able to compete.
▶ 0:27:18We appreciated the muchneeded funding in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but gaps remain. Specialty crops make up hundreds of billions of dollars in value. Yet, they receive just.5% of Farm Bill funding. The next law must strive to rebalance this. To secure America's supply of fresh, affordable produce and in full alignment with the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Allianc's Farm Bill priorities update, the update shared on August 5th, we urge Congress to do the following.
▶ 0:27:46One, expand research and development in crop protection, pest management, innovation, and mechanization. Two, reform and modernize the safety net. Unlike major commodity crops, which benefit from wellestablished and widely utilized insurance programs, many specialty crop growers still lack access to viable, tailored risk management options.
▶ 0:28:06Congress must prioritize risk management solutions that address the full spectrum of US agriculture encompassing both large and small farms as well as rowcrops and specialy crops in a manner that is both efficient and Three, update and streamline existing specialy crop programs including the National Organics program. Four, promote produce at home. Domestic produce products are competing with lowerc cost imports and processed alternatives that often serve as like substitutes in the eye of the consumer.
▶ 0:28:36Questions have been raised about whether the USDA has a statutory authority to establish and administer a domestic promotion program to help address these competitive pressures. Therefore, Congress should reaffirm that the USDA does indeed have the statutory authority to conduct domestic promotion activities. Five, improve nutrition access. Only one in 10 Americans meet the recommended fruit and vegetable intake daily. The fresh produce industry is ready to help reverse that trend.
▶ 0:29:03We believe Congress should incentivize produce consumption in SNAP and Wick, expand online SNAP access, make the fresh and fresh fruit and vegetable program option available to more schools, and ensure USDA procurement reflects a diverse range of fresh produce. Lastly, strengthen trade and market access. Fresh produce is one of North America's most actively traded commodities. Yet non-tariff barriers such as excessive residue limits and packaging standard standards block US exports.
▶ 0:29:33This industry frankly is central to America's health e economy and food security. It deserves policy support that matches that value. On behalf of Grimway and IFPA, I want to thank the committee for dedicating so much time today and attention to specialy crops in America. We look forward to working with you to build a stronger, more resilient future for US produce and for the millions of Americans who rely every day. Thank you, Mr. Brennan. Thank you so much for your testimony.
▶ 0:30:02At this time, members will be recognized for questions in order of seniority alternate alternating between majority and minority members and order arrival for those who joined us after the hearing convened. You'll be recognized for five minutes each in order to allow us to get to as many questions as possible. I'd like to recognize myself for for five minutes.
▶ 0:30:23U specialy crops require tailored research uh from pest and disease management to post-h harvest handling and mechanization technology. To any of our witnesses, how effective have federal research programs like the specially crop research initiative or the IR4 project been in addressing these unique industry needs? And where do you see opportunities for additional investment or collaboration?
▶ 0:30:53Well, I can share the Michigan perspective, too, just how important the specialy crop block grant funding has been. Um, our industry really bands together in the allocation of this funding. uh we've got a pretty rigorous process for how applications come in of how we're advancing any number of various challenges to the industry whether it's you know emerging pest pressure that the the shift of um some of the changing weather patterns we see the ability to to work on market access in various areas.
▶ 0:31:19Um, so those continued investments in in a predictable way, in a in a way that that fosters that continued collaboration for the betterment of our broad industry is going to continue to be really important for us of of making sure we're elevating up the stature of all specialty crops. It's kind of a rising tide narrative within our state.
▶ 0:31:38Thank you, Dr. Boring. Any other witnesses care to comment on that
▶ 0:31:43Yes, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for the question. Uh, I can speak to IR4, which is a fabulous public partner, public private partnership that really puts a good use to money to help fund crop protection tools that would otherwise not be um, put in in motion by um, producers because there's not enough crop demand for it. In my farm, we measure the space where we put our crops in square feet, not in acres.
▶ 0:32:11And so there's not much incentive for the chemical manufacturers to invest in crop protection tools for crops that have such a small amount of need. So we're very grateful for the funding and we put it to good use. Thank you.
▶ 0:32:25Very good. Um either two remaining witnesses care to comment on that. No. Okay. As a researcher I can talk a little bit perspective on that. I'm glad that I see some language in the SC RFPs recently that uh they're going to address some labor issues and uh promote some of those research programs that might benefit uh mechanization so that the labor costs can be deal dealt with. So I'm glad I see some language in the CR right now.
▶ 0:32:55Very good. Thank you very much. Well, Mr. France, as a especially crop producer in California, you're operating in a sector that not only drives significant economic activity but also faces unique regulatory challenges. is can you share with us today how federal policies and regulations impact your operation and what should we be considering to support the long-term viability of your operation?
▶ 0:33:19Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh California is a wonderful state, but it is a lot there's a lot of regulatory challenges. So, thank you for asking the question that way. Um I would give you a three-part answer. The first is we urgently need a bipartisan legal a labor workforce solution. We need it now and we need it for the future. It's a critical component not only of agriculture but of the whole country. So I would ask this committee in your other capacities too to please f focus on getting that done. The second is price stability.
▶ 0:33:49I think we're going to talk about tariffs quite a bit today. Um our business hasn't been materially affected by tariffs yet but the uncertainty around them has already increased our costing which has forced us to increase our prices. So we need price stability. And the third is we need to pass the farm bill. you you heard already from the four of us the essential provisions that are in it and having that foundational backs stop uh is critically important for us in California. Thank
▶ 0:34:17Well, thank you so much. I'm going to yield back the balance of my time and recognize the gentle lady or ranking member from Minnesota uh ranking member Craig for five minutes.
▶ 0:34:27Well, thank you once again to each of our witnesses who taken time out of your busy schedules to be with us here today. Director Boring, your testimony shows the high level of success the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has had in implementing the specialty crop block grants in Minnesota.
▶ 0:34:46The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has let me know that while they usually receive USDA's reco request for applications for the program in January, this year's RFA was delayed until I believe May. Um was this delay experienced all across all departments of agriculture?
▶ 0:35:06Well, I can share the thanks for the question. I I I can share the perspective from Michigan that that we experienced similar similar delays. Um normally we we start a lot of the the work for uh allocation especially crop block grant funding in December and and this year we obviously had quite a few delays. I would say um the timeliness and the predictability of these efforts continues to be really important. uh we have a pretty rigorous process for how we're going around and allocating funding. We have a we have 300 commodities in Michigan.
▶ 0:35:34There's a lot of demand for this pro these products uh and projects. Um so those kind of delays and uncertainty about when and if the funding comes through do have consequences on our ability to to carry out meaningful research projects.
▶ 0:35:45Can you say just a little bit more about how the timing of those uh block grant programs um should better align with the growing seasons for specialty crops? How do you think about that? Well, certainly. I mean, we're obviously growing uh crops here that have a predictable growing season and so researchers uh need some time to to be planning ahead and implementing research projects in the field.
▶ 0:36:08So, when we have these delays stretching into May, obviously, we're we're coming into the growing season for a lot of these crops and researchers have challenges then implementing some of these research projects in the field and the and the timelines by which we're traditionally accustomed to operating.
▶ 0:36:23Thank you. I know agriculture research is absolutely necessary to protect American a from pests, diseases, and other threats to crop health and productivity. In addition to protecting our harvest, a research has ushered in new technology and innovations that have helped improve crop characteristics and even breed industry changing uh varieties like the honey crisp apple that was developed at the University of Minnesota and that we enjoy so much in my
▶ 0:36:53family. I'm pleased to have a researcher here today who is leading a specialty crop researcher initiative project on pollinator health and crop production. So, Dr. Sugali, can you tell us about your experience working with a multi-state and multidisciplinary team on your SCRI project and how does that collaborative environment helped us better address challenges to specialty crop production and advance innovation?
▶ 0:37:22Thank you, Congresswoman Craig. Uh, so I've been fortunate to have an SR grant to address some of the pollinator health issues in intersection with the crop production or specialty crops as well. So my my experience has been both rewarding and challenging as well. In the way I say challenging is to deal with multiple institutes to collaborate but uh it's been very rewarding because uh you can't uh do most of these agricultural problems especially with specialty crop production they're multifaceted.
▶ 0:37:50So you need a a really a credible team that is for example in our case I'll just give my example here. So with uh this disease that we are dealing with, it's called a European fowl brood disease in honeybees and it's impacting not only honeybee colonies but because of that decline in colony health, it indirectly impacts the pollination of specialty crops like blueberries, almonds, anything that you can think of. So what we did is we designed or formulated a very strategic transdisciplinary team because I'm a honeybee biologist.
▶ 0:38:19I can only do one thing at a time but I need a microbiologist on the team, an a economist to look for cost economics. I need an extension person to do extension. I need a genomics person to do genomics work and I need a microbiologist as well. So, so that's how we created this interdisciplinary team and that's what I'm really fortunate that this is really going well and I'm really uh glad that we got the SCR grant to tackle and not only the the the the transdisciplinary team we are also looking at multi-state.
▶ 0:38:47So this is involving California, Mississippi, Washington and Oregon as well because they all go uh specialty crops and most of them are involving honeybee pollination as well.
▶ 0:38:57It's been a rewarding experience. Yeah.
▶ 0:38:59Thank you. Last question quickly. Mr. France, can you uh give me any suggestions you have for this committee on how crop insurance can be improved for specialty crop products?
▶ 0:39:10Yes. Thank you. Thank you, Congresswoman, for the question. I do have a lot of thoughts about ways to improve crop insurance for specialty crops. Uh there are a few programs out there, but in my case, because of the extreme diversity of crops on our farm, none of them work.
▶ 0:39:29And so I'd be happy to give you much more detail or I can go go now, but basically the catastrophic insurance programs that are out there require a minimum of 50% damage to pay for claims. In our case, we have so many crops that are not that are immune from that particular hazard. We never hit the threshold. So, we could have a a crippling frost that say would take out a third of our nursery, all our citrus, but it wouldn't affect the frost hardy plants. And so, we don't not eligible to receive payment.
▶ 0:39:58Mr. France, thank you for that. And uh my time is up and over, so I will yield back. And I'm sure someone else will ask you more about that. Thank you.
▶ 0:40:06Thank you, John. We now recognize the gentleman from Georgia, Mr. Austin Scott, for five minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And as uh we're sitting here talking about insurance and other things, um I'm reminded of 2008 when the FDA blamed a Salmonella outbreak on US grown tomatoes when it ended up being peppers coming in from Mexico and uh the bankruptcies that ensued in in my area from um a mistake that the FDA made.
▶ 0:40:36And then uh the courts deemed that FDA had no liability for uh that mistake even though it resulted in not just the loss of millions of dollars but u the loss of of farms had been f in families for generations.
▶ 0:40:55And so, uh, just we need we need to keep that in mind that FDA not getting their facts straight before they, uh, make a decision like that and and and publicize something can lead to to widespread disruptions in our agricultural markets. And I'm also reminded of just how how vital the role of our land grant institutions is. U, Miss Brandon, you've got a big operation in South Georgia. I've been there. It's been a couple of years.
▶ 0:41:21It's a great operation using a lot of new technology with regard to weed control. Um would would you mind just giving a brief explanation of what you're doing for weed control there that is just very different from what we have seen uh on other farms where you're targeting the actual specific individual weed.
▶ 0:41:42Yeah, thank you for the for the question, Congressman. Um we employ a varying technologies across our operation whether it's in your district in south uh Georgia northern Florida that area. Um we are focused heavily on always looking to the next uh best thing. The cost um in organics and in any specialty crop industry is always the highest cost going to be labor. Um and so we have been employing a number of technologies to look at how we can target weeds when the crop is at its youngest.
▶ 0:42:11Um I think we are still working through that now. It's a really neat process and we'd invite you to come down if you haven't already seen it to take a look. But it's a good example of that. Absolutely.
▶ 0:42:19Just for my for my colleagues, it's actually a piece of machinery that through an optical image, as I understand it, determines where to
▶ 0:42:27send a laser which just destroys the weed by
▶ 0:42:31by heat and instead of spraying chemicals on a crop, you're uh
▶ 0:42:35Yes, sir.
▶ 0:42:36You're doing that. Where where's that machinery manufactured?
▶ 0:42:39You know, I don't have that off the top of my head, but I'm happy to get you that information later. Well, there is one. Look, I'm very concerned about the tariffs on a machinery that is being brought into the United States, and that's something that I think we need to revisit. Machinery that's being brought into the United States that we use in crop production uh should not be tariffed. It's it's putting Americans to work. It's putting groceries on our table, and I'm very concerned uh about that. Uh today in in Georgia, uh specialty crop growers in my state are meeting actually in my hometown of of Tiffan, Georgia.
▶ 0:43:09They're discussing H2A and the A labor uh issues. I want to give each of you the opportunity over the next two minutes um to speak to what you see as uh keys to uh successful policy in in a labor reform legislation in this Congress and the H2A program and and again Miss Brennan I'll start with you if you can keep it to about 30 seconds and then we'll just move down the table.
▶ 0:43:34Yeah. Farm Workforce Modernization Act in the last Congress. We appreciate the bipartisan work. I think there are a number of things we could do to reform the program H2A specifically whether it's a cap um on a were and a number of other flexibility issues I would welcome a further conversation on that I know all of us uh rely very heavily on that
▶ 0:43:52Dr. boring.
▶ 0:43:54Well, certainly those aggra labor issues are of of top concern in Michigan as well. I I'd say again that the the collaboration of of trying to work on these multi-component issues is is really significant to us in Michigan. Uh recognizing the value that that a labor continues to provide. Uh I think certainly those multiaceted investments and automation are a piece to this. Uh but it's going to take some some real digging down to to to get at what some of these labor issues are in states like
▶ 0:44:23Dr. Sigil, the pollinator expert.
▶ 0:44:26Thank you, Congressman. Uh so I can just you give a pollinator expert opinion here. So so I work very closely with our stakeholders, both beekeepers and farmers and I know labor is really critical and many of our beekeepers depend on H2A for getting their labor. So I think it's a really important program and so I just as a researcher I would say emphasize that that would be definitely helpful for our stakeholders.
▶ 0:44:48Okay, I'm I'm down to about 20 seconds. Mr. France, I'll get your comments for the record. Um but one of the things I'm very concerned about is you know how the wage rate has been set especially, you know, for my state and the state of Georgia. It's gone up exponentially over the last several years. Uh I don't know who was filling out the surveys, but I'm yet to find a farmer.
▶ 0:45:08And I know a lot of farmers that was actually uh asked to fill out a survey on the wage rate and yet they continue to go up on the wages um somewhere in the range of 20% a year making it very difficult for our family farm operations. With that, I yield. Thank you.
▶ 0:45:21Gentleman yields back. Now recognize Mr. David Scott from the state of Georgia.
▶ 0:45:25Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You know, in Georgia, my farmers definitely know the importance of accessing new markets. In my district alone, 95% of our farms are familyowned, and nearly half of all producers are new or beginning farmers, and they understand how critical finding new buyers can be in order
▶ 0:45:56to stay competitive. But I tell you, this ongoing trade war is directly threatening their access to new and existing markets. And uh Miss Brennan, that is the gist of my concern.
▶ 0:46:17And I strongly believe that we here in Congress must take steps to ensure that our specialty crop producers remain both domestically and internationally.
▶ 0:46:37And in your testimony, you highlighted how programs like market access programs, the existing specialty crop, initiate help in producers competing Please excuse my co here, but here's the How is the current
▶ 0:47:07market volatility existing barriers to entry that prevent our producers from participating in these programs?
▶ 0:47:23Thank you, Congressman. I appreciate the question. I would add that in addition to those headwinds, we already have other headwinds, right? you know, we've got pest pressure, we have weather, we have other volatile activities that affect our farmer, our farms. So, I would say anything that Congress could do to stabilize that would be greatly appreciated. Anything that Congress could do to invest further and especially crop market access programs would be greatly welcomed by any number of us at this table and the growers that we're representing. So, I appreciate that sentiment and I would agree with
▶ 0:47:52Well, we got a number of Congress people here. Let me ask you this question because we got the answer to this one. Would an increase in funding allow USDA to help more producers access new
▶ 0:48:14I feel like that might be a trick question. Yes, of course. Increased funding would be a huge help. I think ensuring that that goes to specialty crops would be um something that would be even more of importance and making sure that that specialty crop definition is protected at USDA so that the programs in need are getting that getting that funding.
▶ 0:48:31Well, I agree with you that the federal government can find new ways to partner directly with specialty group producers to increase that new market uh opportunities. For example, in my own district in Gwynette County Public Schools, they loc that's located in my district.
▶ 0:48:56They successfully partnered with Georgia blueberry producers to more blueberries into their high school and elementary school menus. Simple things like that.
▶ 0:49:14So, Miss Brennan, how can domestic promotion drive consumer demand, grow business for our producers, and are there unique barriers to domestic markets compared to international
▶ 0:49:34I think as you're aware, the cost of doing business in the US, the regulatory barrier makes the cost of producing our product more expensive. Um, I think you hit on something that's really important, which is that domestic consumption and driving that consumption, which starts at home. It starts at schools.
▶ 0:49:51And so, to the extent that we can invest in those nutrition programs that start young, so those young people are getting introduced to the commodities that we grow um and are able to have access to that fruit and vegetable inevitably to a consumer down the road who um knows what they're buying, is looking for at the store, and is supporting our programs.
▶ 0:50:07And and and let me ask you this. Should our agriculture committee consider and expanding public private like those uh between specialty crop and school districts in the next farm
▶ 0:50:30Yes, absolutely sir. I would agree with
▶ 0:50:32Thank you very much.
▶ 0:50:35gentleman yields back now. Recognize gentleman from Oklahoma, Mr. Lucas for 5
▶ 0:50:40Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to our witnesses for testifying today. Dr. Boring, your testimony touches on this, but why is it important that states have flexibility in setting their priorities under the specially crop block grant program?
▶ 0:50:54Well, I appreciate that question. It's it's I think that's a really strong point here of of the state's abilities to set those priorities and and and really knowing that we've got challenges that really cut across numerous commodities in Michigan. some of our pest pressures are going to be felt by various orchard crops or vegetable crops. Uh the ability to respond quickly and to to ship to these uh emerging issues, whether that's market access in some ways, but a lot of our emerging pest pressures. Um we really count on industry partnership to do that.
▶ 0:51:24Um and that flexibility moving forward is going to be really critical to continued
▶ 0:51:29Continuing with you, Dr. boring. Before the 2014 Farm Bill, states couldn't collaborate on multi-state projects under the specially crop block grant program. Why is this ability to work together, especially on pest and disease management so valuable today?
▶ 0:51:46Well, really that leveraging the university researchers from one in institution to the next is really critical. Uh we share a lot of uh growing condition challenges across the upper Midwest for instance, right? Many of the instance the issues we're going to see in specialy crop production in Michigan are also going to be shared in New York and Minnesota and Wisconsin. Uh the ability to to work on those kinds of issues um on a regional basis really strengthens the capacity for what the solutions are on the back end.
▶ 0:52:16Mrs. Brennan, your testimony highlights the need to help families eat more fruits and vegetables through programs like SNAP. In Oklahoma, we have a program called Double Up Oklahoma that matches every SNAP dollar spent on locally grown fruits and vegetables. From your perspective, why is it beneficial to invest in local initiatives like this alongside broader efforts that expand market access?
▶ 0:52:40Thank you for the question, Congressman. Um, we are very supportive of those double up bucks uh type programs. Um, IFPA has been very supportive of that around the US uh where it where it is available. Um, I think local control is always something we should look at because the success of the program is really right boots on the ground. Um, I think we certainly aren't in the business of talking or advocating for eligibility, but to the extent that we can bring fresh fruits and vegetables directly to um those children, it's all about health.
▶ 0:53:09Um, and that's a hu huge success.
▶ 0:53:12Absolutely. Mr. Chairman, with that, I yield back the balance of my time.
▶ 0:53:16Chairman yields back. now recognize the uh gentle lady from North Carolina, Dr. Adams, for 5 minutes.
▶ 0:53:23Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to our witnesses for being here today. Uh Mrs. uh Mrs. Brennan, uh, you called on Congress to incentivize produce consumption in both SNAP and WIC. Given the the recent $186 million cut to SNAP and the Republicans one big ugly bill, what impact will these cuts have on produce consumption and consequently specially crop producers?
▶ 0:53:50Or should we expect Americans to purchase fewer fresh fruits and vegetables? and how can Congress attempt to prevent this impending harm to American producers and
▶ 0:54:01Thank you for the question, Congresswoman. Um, I think we are certainly not going to take a position on something that dictates eligibility. However, I would say we are supportive and have been supportive of anything that in increases consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, whether it's in schools or any any program under the federal government. Um, I'm happy to look at and work with the trade association to get you numbers. um as related to your question of what this means on the ground um and circle back with you directly.
▶ 0:54:28Thank you. Thank you. Um the a a Trump administration goal is to make America healthy again. But the Republicans one big ugly bill eliminated the SNAP ed program. That's an initiative that that provides nutrition education and promotes healthy active lifestyles to individuals and families eligible for SNAP benefits.
▶ 0:54:51So what are the potential consequences of eliminating this program for American families and how might it impact specially crop producers who rely on increased demands for fruits and
▶ 0:55:05Yes ma'am.
▶ 0:55:06So I would say long before there was a movement the specialy crop producers have been supportive of health um by way of fresh fruit fresh fruits and vegetables. Um, I think we are going to continue to support things like the fresh fruit and vegetable program because that benefits um the recipients and the growers who sell into those programs. Um, so we will continue to support those programs as they stand and are happy to serve as a resource for the committee or the administration for further information.
▶ 0:55:33Thank you. My my my last question uh will be for uh everyone if they can briefly respond. Uh let me say first of all that specialty crop exports total $ 24.6 six billion dollars in in in uh FY 2023 providing essential income to US farmers.
▶ 0:55:50uh the Trump administration's haphazard imposition of tar imposition of tariffs on our nation's biggest trade partners have had a detrimental impact on many industries including agriculture and to all of you what's what's what with such a large amount of of income tied to the export of specialty crops what impact do you foresee that the tariffs will be having uh on farm income for specialty crop growers if each of you can respond on quickly.
▶ 0:56:22I only say for Michigan, uh we expect negative ramifications of this in the short term. Uh we're also concerned about the long-term stability of of markets, right? Uh our Michigan special crop industry is built on multiaceted demand outlet, both domestic and international, fresh market processing. It makes all it takes all of those things working in concert uh together to have a vibrant industry for our state. um the continued access into international markets is really going to be critical for our ongoing success.
▶ 0:56:51Okay. Thank you, sir. Yes, sir.
▶ 0:56:57Congresswoman, thank you for your question. Uh my nursery does not ship internationally, but my brother and I do farm almonds, which is a powerhouse California crop. And in that market or that crop, it is primarily an export market. Uh and so in that regard we support trade agreements that support the free and fair trade and export of
▶ 0:57:16Okay. Yes sir.
▶ 0:57:17Congresswoman I am a researcher so I probably I don't have much opinion on that but I can convey my stakeholders uh opinion for sure. So they are concerned about some of these issues but uh again as a as a researcher I don't think I have much information to convey at this
▶ 0:57:33Okay. Thank you very much. Yes. I would just add quickly. I think it's the lack the unknown, right, which is going to to affect the markets greatly. So, I think that's what we're focused on.
▶ 0:57:42Okay. Thank you very much. Uh Dr. Boring, uh uh North Carolina and Michigan are not as uncommon as one might imagine. According to the census, agriculture and the local food marketing uh survey, North Carolina and Michigan rank top 10 in number of operations producing specialty crops and number of operations.
▶ 0:58:01It means then that our states are producing a lot of nutritious foods that can readily feed our communities and North Carolina has done a pretty impress impressive job implementing former USDA investments such as local food purchase assistance programs, the resilient food system infrastructure grant programs. So can you tell me just a little bit about Michigan's implementation of these
▶ 0:58:23Uh we followed right along with North Carolina and implementation a lot of these uh those kinds of programs are demand for the food and the product we grow here in Michigan. So continued support of that uh is really in the long-term best interest.
▶ 0:58:34So I'm I'm out of time and if you could send that to us in writing, I appreciate. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I yield back.
▶ 0:58:40I thank the general lady. Now recognize the gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. Rouseer, for five minutes.
▶ 0:58:45Thank you uh Mr. Chairman. And I want to uh follow up um on what my colleague Austin got uh uh his last couple questions uh that he had for the panel. And um first, Mr.
▶ 0:58:59Chairman, uh, I want to enter into the record research conducted by the North Carolina Chamber, North Carolina Farm Bureau, and other partners regarding the H2A programs broken adverse effect wage rate Uh, title of the report is a broken baseline, the flawed economics behind Aware calculations uh, by Dr. Blake Brown. Uh, Dr. Blake Brown, I know Elma knows him quite well.
▶ 0:59:24Without objection.
▶ 0:59:25Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, Dr. Blake Brown was longtime a economist at NC State University and his research uh focused on the current Aware methodology which is totally disconnected from real wage trends or inflation and how it pardon me has hurt the American farmer uh and the American consumer and led to fewer jobs and I mean all farm jobs I'm not talking about own farm jobs all farm jobs um when comparing
▶ 0:59:55an alternative model where the award were grows in line with the employee cost index, the ICI, the findings are very plain. We would have 518 million uh pounds and 823 million pounds respectively in additional domestic fruit and vegetable output. We would have an additional 1.73 billion in total economic uh impact with 25,744 jobs created over that period of time.
▶ 1:00:25290 million pounds uh in reduced fruit imports and 470 million pounds in fewer vegetable So the bottom line of all this is the AER is so artificially high has led to increased imports. It's led to fewer jobs, off-farm jobs. It's led to higher prices for consumers and smaller farmers, they can't make the numbers work, so they hang it up.
▶ 1:00:54And how many times in this committee have I heard so many people talk about the plight of the small farmer and how we need to protect the small farmer? That adverse effect wage rate set so artificially high is running people out of business. It's affecting the American consumer. Um increase in imports and all the rest of it. So I encourage uh everybody to take a take a look at this report and which is why I submitted it uh for the record.
▶ 1:01:21You know, we have to address this so that American growers can deliver affordable, domestic, healthy foods to the American consumer. That's the bottom line. And so, I was pleased to see recent action by the Department of Labor to revise the current methodology following the federal injunction in Louisiana. And I encourage Secretary Chavez Darring uh with agriculture industry to get this right for the future of all the entire agriculture economy. and I know that uh she will uh switching gears.
▶ 1:01:52Uh Mr. France, your testimony outlines the struggle your industry has finding effective insurance for the large variety of plants and different growing cycles you have in horiculture in North Carolina. We personally experienced losses in the mountains at nurseries and Christmas tree farms which have not previously carried insurance because quite frankly the region has never experienced such dramatic weather as with hurricane uh Helen.
▶ 1:02:17I think the struggles um that our growers experience coupled with dramatic losses uh from natural disasters we've seen across the country underscore the need for some type of standing assistance for growers outside of crop insurance. Uh can you speak to how ad hoc assistance supports horiculture and specialty crop growers who have struggled uh to find the right insurance tools?
▶ 1:02:39I can I can and just well thank you for the question. First of all, I want to acknowledge your comment about the H2A increases. I am not an H2A user. Uh but I sat next to a gentleman last night at dinner, a large grower from Ohio, and he shared with me that his adverse wage has changed by 47% since 2019. So, Congressman Scott, to your point earlier, uh so it's real.
▶ 1:03:01And those those wage increases in the horicultural world where labor is such a significant component, generally in excess of 30% of our direct inputs, translate into real world inflation for our products. Um to your question, Congressman, um I've sort of introduced my comments as saying that the current sit status of of especially crop insurance isn't working.
▶ 1:03:23There's a NAP program that's for the non-insured folks uh like myself who who maybe went into a a situation like you're discussing where you don't have insurance. Uh the problem with that program is that the limits are very easily exceeded. Uh the AGI limits are low and the maximum payment that can go out is just over $100,000. And so unless you're a very small farmer, it really doesn't apply. And so in my experience, um there really isn't yet a program that has the the specificity to be very helpful to us uh growers.
▶ 1:03:52My time has expired. Expired. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 1:03:55Thank the gentleman. Uh now recognize gentle lady from Ohio, Miss Brown, for five minutes.
▶ 1:04:00Uh thank you, Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member Craig. The importance of specialty crops in this country cannot be understated. These are the foods that families across the country eat every day. Fruits, vegetables, and nuts that fill the shelves of our grocery stores, stock our farmers markets, and end up on lunch trays and school cafeterias and dinner tables every night. In Ohio, specialty crops are one of the major backbones of our agriculture sector, ranging from cucumbers and pumpkins to apples and grapes.
▶ 1:04:27These products can be found in every corner of the state, keeping family farms running, strengthening local supply chains, and benefiting rural and urban communities alike. We here on the agriculture committee know just how tough things are in farm country right now. Not only for the commodity grow growers but also for specialty crop producers. Rising input costs, new pest and diseases, extreme weather and uncertainty around tariff policy and the farm bill have left our producers in uncharted territory.
▶ 1:04:58Just last week, I sat down with farmers from Ohio, and one sixth generation grower told me something that I haven't heard since I joined the agriculture committee. He said that for the first time, he wasn't sure if he wanted to pass his farm on to his children simply because of the uncertainty and economic burden they would be facing.
▶ 1:05:22That kind of uncertainty should shut set alarm bells off for all of us because if multi-generational family farmers are questioning whether there's a future in farming, then it's time for Congress to take a hard look at what more we can do to give them stability and a fighting chance. So, Mr. boring.
▶ 1:05:45In your testimony, you mentioned that programs like the specialty crop block grants and the specialty crop research initiative have been lifelines for growers, especially when specialty crop growers have historically not been able to access traditional farm safety net Dr. Borne, can you talk about what kinds of new federal support programs would most directly help specialty crop farmers like those in Michigan, Ohio, and across the country?
▶ 1:06:13Well, certainly and and I appreciate the question and that that sentiment around the concern that Ohio growers are having about the future viability of operations. I can share that that's being seen in Michigan as well. Um there's been a lot of work standing up crop insurance and safety net programs for a lot of commodity crops. Uh as was previously noted uh earlier here that there are significant challenges around how you do that within a specialty crop sphere.
▶ 1:06:40um when there's a lot more variability and there's a lot uh of of complicating factors. Um without going into a lot of detail about specific provisions, I would just say that the ability to be able to have those kinds of safety net programs that provide some certainty long term for these crops um especially in permanent crops when when there's got to be an additional planning um and and thought processing around what the future of these crops look like. That kind of work is going to be really critical to providing more certainty and keeping more farmers on farms moving forward.
▶ 1:07:10Thank you. And Dr. Boring, I was really interested to hear about the work that's coming out of Michigan's regenerative agriculture program and the way it's helping farmers improve soil health, profitability, and resilience. In Ohio, many of our farmers are already using conservation practices like cover crops and crop rotation. Can you share what specific results you've seen from this program and whether you think it could be scaled up into a model for federal policy to support specialty crop producers nationwide?
▶ 1:07:36Absolutely. Let me talk about two provisions and real focus areas for this. Uh first and foremost, our efforts in regen egg are going to be about building um additional profitability for growers. certainly how you control input cost to some extent, but even more importantly, how you might capture premiums for crops that are grown uh when we've got a variety of of outcomes that are environmentally and economically advantageous and that are aligned with consumer preferences and desiraability.
▶ 1:08:02The other aspect I would say is how we build resiliency into our cropping systems. So when we talk about the challenges within crop insurance and mitigating from some of these these weather uh challenges, we know investments in soil health build resiliency in soils, it becomes a longer term approach then of how we're adding in additional risk mitigation steps um and giving farmers tools to improve resilience in their operations so that it's not simply a reliance on crop insurance alone.
▶ 1:08:28Thank you so much and just want to say thank you to all of our witnesses for being here today. Specialty crops are so important and it's not easy work. So, thank you all for your commitment to feeding this country. And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
▶ 1:08:42Gentle lady yields back. Now, recognize the gentleman from Mississippi, Mr. Kelly, for five minutes.
▶ 1:08:47Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And Mr. Brennan, I had Miss Brennan, I had a question for you, but I don't need it answered, but I want to get it on the record. One of the biggest challenges growers face is labor. With the Department of Labor's adverse effect wage rate causing labor costs to skyrocket, this is really impacting specialty growers in Mississippi, our sweet potato growers and those folks. And you've already affirmed that.
▶ 1:09:10But this is one of the most significant impacts on our small farmers is the ability to pay a wage that is unfair right now because of a a rule that is uh that doesn't make sense. So, I hope uh our our secretary will address that. To to uh to to um our our witnesses, research institutions like Mississippi State University are developing new sweet potato varieties, including purple varieties popular in Asia.
▶ 1:09:37Why is it important that Congress continue supporting breeding and research programs that can lead to higher value crops and new consumer markets? I'll touch in a state like Michigan that has seen a lot of success in these public breeding programs, right? Whether it's dry beans, it's wheat, it's a lot of our horiculture crops. Uh the investments in public breeding programs like that are essential to keep moving um uh this work ahead.
▶ 1:10:06It's it's true for Michigan growers, but you look at some of our work at Michigan State University and dry beans, potatoes, uh those are efforts that have international focus as well. um that investment in public breeding is absolutely essential to keeping specialty craps going.
▶ 1:10:20Thank you for your answer on that. I like I'm glad that I don't have an accent like you. I have a good neutral I I want to I want to ask about um how will doubling of market access program and foreign market development signing a law July the 4th impact uh specialty crops for any of you?
▶ 1:10:45Congressman, I would just say that anything that adds to our um competitiveness both globally and domestically um we would appreciate.
▶ 1:10:55And then final question, when it comes to creating new domestic markets, how can nutrition programs like Gus NIP and the fresh fruit and vegetable program be used more effectively to increase sweet potato consumption and other specialty crop, especially among children? I would say uh I'm proud to represent Midwest accent here too by the way.
▶ 1:11:18Uh you know the continued investment in locally grown specialty crops into communities I think is a really big piece of how we provide more economic opportunities in places that have been left behind in a lot of ways increase quality of lifeability of rural places in too many places in Michigan. I'm sure it's it's true in a lot of your districts. Uh people are moving away from rural areas because they don't see opportunities and or there isn't high enough quality of life.
▶ 1:11:40It's an area we're really working in Michigan to build opportunities for farms to invest, farms of all kinds, farms to diversify, new farmers to get into spaces. It's having local grocery access. It's about having high quality food in schools, hospitals, institutions. Um, that's a real source of investment in a positive area where we can continue to grow agriculture and have that work of agriculture seen as more broadly impacting rural and urban areas alike.
▶ 1:12:08I thank the witnesses and thank you for being here today and testifying. It's so important that we continue to do things that make our farmers stronger, especially our rural and smaller farmers. And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
▶ 1:12:19Gentleman yields back. Thank him. And now recognize gentle lady from Hawaii, Mr. Cuda, for five minutes.
▶ 1:12:25Thank you, Mr. Chair. You know, nearly every crop that we grow in Hawaii is considered a specialty crop. But for us, these are staple crops. From canoe crops like ulu and kalo or maya. Maya is banana. Ulu is bread fruit, kalo is taro or to Asian specialty crops like oneb daikon lchi. These are the foods that we eat every day.
▶ 1:12:49Specialty crop producers are literally the backbone of our local food system in an island state that imports nearly 90% of what we eat. And if we are to meet our goals of trying to decrease our dependency on imported food, specialty crops are a major part of that answer. But these crops on growers face challenges as you can imagine magnified by our unique geography. We have some of the highest shipping costs in the country. We have exposure to hurricanes, tropical storms, drought, wildfire.
▶ 1:13:19We have an overrun of unullet quite frankly that are literally stuck on an island to breed and destroy crops and you know lands. Uh volcanic eruptions and lava and invasive species like coffee rhinoceros beetle, coconut uh coffee bear bore um and the rose ring parakeet that can literally devastate and take out a crop on acres overnight.
▶ 1:13:41Um and so for us programs like the regional food business centers that was $400 million local food for school programs and local food purchasing assistance which was a billion dollars. Um they had been vital in strengthening our local food systems but as you know cut and eliminated by the Trump administration.
▶ 1:14:02uh these played a key role in connecting producers, processors and buyers with regional markets and as you can imagine providing the much needed technical support and infrastructure to be able to support our specialty producers. Um the question I have Dr. Boring or for anyone who wants to answer can the you know it's been said by USDA that the specialty crop block grant uh can take the place of what the RFBC was to many different people. I do not believe that it can fill the gap.
▶ 1:14:29Um, do you think that the specialty crop block grant program can realistically replace the coordination, technical assistance, and capacity building support lost by the RFBC's? And, you know, is this program designed to support comprehensive regional regional food security? Or does it have limitations that leave key business food business development needs unmet?
▶ 1:14:52I appreciate the question there of the importance of those programs. Um and it's really been an area that we've seen investment on the state level of our farm to family program of of the genesis of complimentary efforts to some of these fedally funded aspects. Uh we do have quite a bit of flexibility of how we deploy specialty crop block grant funding. The majority of that does go to pest pressures and the advancement of new technologies. We do a little bit of marketing access and new market development within that kind of work.
▶ 1:15:18um but they tend to be very project focused instead of those investments in collaboration and and building an ecosystem for success of these kinds of programs. So those investments into local foods, the systems by which to facilitate this work coming together are going to remain very critical.
▶ 1:15:36And as we talk about these shared interests of advancing um local foods, local quality of life, economic opportunities for farms, having those kinds of of systems by which to facilitate market access and and how products move are going to be really important to achieve those objectives.
▶ 1:15:56You know, I'd agree with you that it serly seems like that market access, that technical assistance that farmers, especially small farmers, micro farmers, I would argue even, that they rely on, that's going to fall through the cracks with this. And so, given this is still the universe that we are are dealing with, um, what thoughts do you have, especially in the area of research um, and looking at invasive species and disease, which is a huge threat and can literally take out a specialty crop um, you know, overnight if you really think about that.
▶ 1:16:23Um, what are any one of your thoughts in terms of how USDA needs to better coordinate SCEBGs, perhaps APHUS funding, maybe even SCRI? They tend to be siloed, but at this point, we don't have time or room for error. um we literally have funds being taken away when you think about it for technical application.
▶ 1:16:41But um what more do you think we need to do to actually take down the silos and more perhaps integrate um some of the things APHIS and pest disease funds are discovering and incorporating that with how it's executed with um specialy crop development grants and other funds
▶ 1:16:58success and emergency response um whether an invasive species whether that's in an animal disease whether it's in uh new and emerging threats the investments in coordination are really critical. So Michigan is a state that was on the spearhead of of HBI a year ago. Uh really underscored these needs into how we coordinate efforts across multi- agencies, multi-jurisdictions to have those kinds of responses. So invasive species uh that kind of work to protect our these really critical um cropping industries absolutely
▶ 1:17:29Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll add in another question later about staffing. I will add that I am very concerned with the staff reductions we're seeing in all these level. NIFA 18% reduction in staff. This is going to make that coordination more difficult. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I yield back.
▶ 1:17:42I thank the gentle lady. Now recognize a gentleman from Illinois, Mr. Boss.
▶ 1:17:46Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Want to thank you all for being here today. You know, the USDA administration, especially crop programs, over a quarter of a million producers, including many in my district. Southern Illinois is one of the most diverse a districts in the country and with vineyards, orchards, rice, many other specialty crops, peaches.
▶ 1:18:05Um I was happy to see the number of previous uh provisions including the working families tax cut especially to promote research and trade for specialy crops and expand our commercial export markets. Uh, Miss Vernon, uh, can you speak to the importance of keeping specialy crops competitive in the market and how do you see the specialy crop export market expanding through the supplemental agricultural trade promotion program?
▶ 1:18:36I mean, I I would say that any any support we can give, especially crop competitiveness anywhere, is going to be much appreciated by the industry overall. Um I would be glad to get you additional information from FPAD to your office and your staff um on some of the other program questions you had.
▶ 1:18:52Thank you. As a as a few of you noted uh in your testimonies, HR1 provided a significant increase in funding for specialy crops research initiatives. Uh Dr. Boring. In 2023, the Illinois agriculture research received 3.53 million from the specialy crops research initiative develop uh the automation of harvesting for apples and specially crop crop producers produ producers.
▶ 1:19:20Uh as you know labor costs are substantial uh expense for specialy crops production. the spec could you explain how the uh especially crop research initiatives help producers stay ahead of the next disease or pest threat and how the increased funding for the initiatives from HR1 will make an impact on labor
▶ 1:19:45Well, absolutely. you hit on both the mechanization piece of of why those kinds of technological investments are are really critical uh and the continued funding and certainty of of what uh entomology pathology investments at research institutions like Michigan State continue um to to are so critical even across these multi-reional efforts here. Um that kind of certainty of how we long-term fund research programs is really critical to having long-term consistency. A lot of these are not overnight solutions.
▶ 1:20:13uh certainly investments in technology take a long time to come to fruition. A lot of this work around varietal development of how we're deploying IPM practices to respond to pest uh disease issues. Um those are long-term investments here. So the stability, the continued investment to ramp up and have critical mass of those uh research programs really critical to achieving success. So for getting this on the record is is vitally important to me.
▶ 1:20:40I during our August uh work period, I went out and visited with a lot of my uh specialies crop growers. Uh they grow apples, they grow peaches. Um and one thing that was brought up that I think is vitally important as we're we talk trade and the concern that we have with tariffs and everything like that.
▶ 1:20:58Uh the concern each one of them had was uh they wanted us to take notice that with the peaches and with the apples, it isn't that they are competing against the neighbor or the person the county over or even Georgia with their peaches, but the foreign markets that come in that produce at such a cheaper price than they possibly can.
▶ 1:21:24Would any of you care to comment on that on where we're at and and because I don't think people understand that.
▶ 1:21:32I'll bring up two points. Uh really that our apple market in Michigan, our growers are our growers depend on Pacific Northwest exports to be able to have ample domestic consumption capacity for Michigan and and kind of upper Midwest apples. Uh so while Michigan apples specifically are exported a lot, uh we have a vested interest in seeing that kind of exports from across the country.
▶ 1:21:52I'll say two um uh for crops like asparagus, cherries, blueberries, imports coming in um really do threaten our industry and and really are providing a cap then on on what the future possibilities for the industry might be that those import pressures are are real and significant for our
▶ 1:22:13Can I just add quickly? Um, I referenced it in my testimony, but the Specialy Crop Farm Bill Alliance has some pretty robust recommendations related to trade enforcement that I would encourage you and your staff to look to that lines that out pretty pretty directly.
▶ 1:22:25Thank you all. I appreciate that. And I yield back the balance of my time.
▶ 1:22:28Gentleman yields back. Now recognize uh the gentleman from Illinois, Mr. Sorenson, for five minutes.
▶ 1:22:34Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, just last week I was asked on a radio um if I agreed with Senator Chuck Grassley that we were in a farm crisis. Um, you know, I didn't even have to think about it. Um, my opinion is based on the fact that I hear directly from our producers growing the crops that feed and fuel our country. Um, and the farmers are hurting. Trade relations, they're they're getting worse. You know, farmers are paying the price for tariffs.
▶ 1:23:04our number one exporter of soybeans didn't drop from number one. China didn't drop from number one to number two. It went from number one to off the list. Um we should be securing and restoring other export countries because our farmers are the best in the world, but the cost of fertilizers and pesticides are are going up through the roof now.
▶ 1:23:26And people in my district have told me that they're running out of capital and now they have to take on highinterest loans just to And I'm I'm tired of people saying that we need to do more. But then no one's willing to come up with any solutions. So here we are in the first full committee hearing back from August recess. Bless you. We're not taking on the solutions that would provide our specialty growers with the certainty that you need.
▶ 1:23:57We need solutions for research for rural broadband and conservation. You know, whether you're growing carrots, almonds, peaches, apples, or corn, we need And let's be crystal clear, whether it is specialty crops or row crops, more farmers are unfortunately having to give We shouldn't blame them. you know, ranking member Craig as well as the perseverant members on this side of the aisle, and I appreciate those willing to engage on the other side as well.
▶ 1:24:24We're pleading to get the leftovers from the farm bill out in a bipartisan way. And every day we delay, we increase the risk of not just a crisis in agriculture, but a failure of American agriculture. So to the panel, um this isn't just about policy because in March, the Trump administration canceled more than $1 billion dollars for programs like the local food purchase assistant cooperative agreement program.
▶ 1:24:53Basically, it helps farmers provide fresh produce to local schools and food banks. And last month, Secretary Rollins announced a similar program, but only provided a teeny tiny little fraction of the breadth that we need. So to our panel, could you help us understand the impact that cutting funding has for specialty producers in our local
▶ 1:25:16Congressman, I'll I'll maybe go first. Thank you for your question. I can just certainly reaffirm the real cost of um you're outlining various aspects that are current in today's uh market and just without highlighting any particular uh import or export issue I would just say with with certainty that there is so much unknown that it's very challenging for those of us who are small family farmers to commit to making
▶ 1:25:46long-term capital expenditures uh because we don't know what tomorrow brings and so I would u tell you that we can live with almost any outcome, but having to check each day to find out what the particular rules are for a particular country in incoming or outgoing is very unsettling. And so we would like to see certainty around our business environment. Thank
▶ 1:26:08Anyone else?
▶ 1:26:10I'll speak a little bit uh and give a specific example of of some of the I guess the opportunities of how we we grow demand, right? Um and some of the ramifications, some of these cuts, some of the work that we're doing here in Michigan. Um it's difficult for institutions, it's difficult for public entities, maybe hospitals, uh colleges, schools to be sourcing local produce, right, of local products. Uh there's cost to the aggregation, to the distribution of the transportation, having critical mass of products.
▶ 1:26:39Investments into aggregation, bringing those things together, increasing market access, um have definitive impacts in what demand on local levels looks like. We import an alarming amount of our fruits and vegetables into this country. Shifting the focus to value in a more significant way domestic production of those even hyper local production um that operate that represents an opportunity of growth for these this sector that all of us represent that does have meaningful
▶ 1:27:08Thank you. As of May around and I know my time is brief. Um the USDA's workforce accepted the Trump administration's deferred resignation offer. How has that impacted our our specialty growers?
▶ 1:27:22Um, we interact with USDA a lot, Congressman, around our citrus program, and I I don't know enough about their budget to be able to tell you if there have been direct impacts. I can but I can tell you that we rely on them doing their job for us to do ours. And so, we need to ensure that the programs stay funded to the point they can do their
▶ 1:27:41Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for indulging me on a few extra points. I'll stay after class if we can work on the farm bill. I appreciate your leadership.
▶ 1:27:48I'm up for it. Let's do it. I now recognize the gentleman from Alabama, Mr. Moore, for five minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the witnesses being here today. Especially crops are a cornerstone of American agriculture, providing both economic strength, essential nutrition for al for the American public. And currently in Alabama, we're ranked top 10 sweet potato producers in all of the states, showing how important this sector is to our growers.
▶ 1:28:14One big beautiful bill makes a strong investment in these growers by doubling the specialty crop research initiative funding to 175 million starting annually in FY26, extending support for citrus disease research and increasing resources for plant pests and disease prevention. These commitments ensure farmers have some of the tools to stay competitive while protecting the long-term health of not only Alabama's but America's specialty crop insurance. Dr.
▶ 1:28:42Boring, your testimony greatly described the importance of the specialty crop block grant program for the state of Michigan. In your view, how might the increase in funding shape the future of specialty crop production for our entire nation?
▶ 1:28:57Appreciate the question about how we really broaden the impacts of this. Uh for us in Michigan is having that additional funding means we can be spending time re researching pest pressures, disease threats in a variety of different crops, right? Uh we have major crops in in in Michigan, right? Cherries, asparagus, blueberries. We have a lot of secondary crops, right? Celery, um rudabggas, uh a variety of smaller crops that don't always get um the attention in the research investments.
▶ 1:29:23In this way, increased funding means we have capacity to be investing in those special those those really niche crops that still have significant challenges um that do need research investment. At the same time,
▶ 1:29:35Dr. Scotty, that's the Alabama way of saying that. I'm not sure if that's right. You describe the unique funding opportunities provided by specialty crop research initiatives in your testimony. Can you explain the impact those opportunities will have with ongoing and future research efforts?
▶ 1:29:50Absolutely. Thank you, Congressman. Uh so, as I said, uh SA is a very unique program where we can do transdisciplinary and multi-state institute uh research programs where you can get uh we can't work in silos, right? As a honeybee biologist, I can't just focus on one thing. So I need collaborators on addressing pests and disease problems or other things in honeybees as well. So I think this program is really unique in the sense that it gets all the collaborators together from multi-state.
▶ 1:30:16So the example I was giving before I have colleagues from Mississippi, Washington, uh California and Oregon working on the same project. So I think there's a lot of value in CR because it's uniquely qualified to address some of those big problems that can't be solved by smaller programs like Afrey or other brands.
▶ 1:30:32Dr. Borne, back to you. You also mentioned growers have expressed their concerns over unpredictable growing conditions and we recognize coordination between local, state and federal partners in ongoing process. Can you tell us more about those coordination efforts and are there specific barriers that hinder the coordination? Absolutely. Um we really are at the front lines of dealing with a lot of shifting uh weather patterns in states like Michigan.
▶ 1:31:00A lot of our specialy crops are located on the west side of the state that experience those those moderating temperatures from the Great Lakes. Um, as weather patterns change as as um as as um a variety of factors continue to evolve, the coordination between those the large agencies, National Weather Service for instance, Noah, um the ability to predict and then to be responding to some of these threats in real time all the way from federal agencies, um state level organizations like Michigan State University down to the local levels.
▶ 1:31:30uh really critical to having these multiaceted responses to these situations especially crops.
▶ 1:31:37Thank you. Uh this is kind of for any of the the panel of witnesses. Um are there any things we haven't discussed? Uh how can Congress act to shape the federal policy for future of the industry? In other words, what are there any things we're missing that you guys see that we need to be aware of? And then whoever I got about a minute left so you all get 15 seconds a piece.
▶ 1:31:59I'll just take a one comment, Congressman. And that is that my industry when I I say my I'm talking about the fl the lawn and garden industry across the country, those of us who grow flowers and very discretionary items are very concerned about inflation. Uh we sometimes get accused by our our commodity crop colleagues uh of having the pleasure and the luxury of setting our own prices, but the reality is we've been setting the prices to the point to where our customers can't afford our products anymore.
▶ 1:32:30And so we've we're running out of customers. And it's in our business for the last three years, our unit counts have declined each year because our our cost to our customers has increased. It's just the demand curve is killing us. And so I would tell you that when I sit here and think about what's really keeping me up at night, it's the concern around pricing discretionary items like flowers that people don't have to buy out of the out of the consumer's marketplace. Thank
▶ 1:32:56Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I apologize, folks. I ran out of time, but I'll yield
▶ 1:33:01Gentleman yields back. Now recognizes the gentleman from Alabama, Mr. Figures, for five minutes.
▶ 1:33:06Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and to the panel. Thank you guys for all being here. And this between Barry and myself. This is the Alabama hour, I guess, of the uh the Alabama 10 minutes of the Yeah. Alabama 10 minutes of the hearing. Um but we both have the privilege of representing the state of Alabama and specialty crops there are uh like many of the states you guys represent, very important to the uh the local economy and to the a industry.
▶ 1:33:30Whether we're talking peaches, sweet potatoes, blueberries, uh pecans, strawberries, um these are the crops that I grew up seeing along the the state highways uh as a child. Uh but unfortunately we know the a industry as a whole uh especially our our locally uh small uh farms are are really feeling the crunch um and really feeling the pressure of today's economy um and changes that we've seen over the uh the past several years and decades quite honestly um
▶ 1:34:00in the industry. And so we want to make sure that we're doing everything that we can um on this committee. And one of the reasons I wanted to be on this committee uh as a freshman member uh was to ensure that we're doing what we can to uh to modernize our outlook and and make our policies more reflective of the current environment that our farmers are facing. Um to that extent um Miss Brennan, my my first question is to you. You noted uh in your testimony that only one in 10 Americans uh consume the recommended servings of fruit and vegetables.
▶ 1:34:29Well, I'm going to one up you because we've seen studies in the state of Alabama that say nine and 10 Alamians uh do not consume uh the recommended um uh dietary guidelines for fruit and vegetable consumptions, which I guess that will come as no surprise then that we have one of the lowest life expecties in this in the in the country.
▶ 1:34:50Uh but nevertheless, we want to do everything that we can to ensure that people have access um and are making um you know, you know, good dietary guidelines, but we also understand the nexus between those choices and support for our local farmers. So um what role do cancellations of programs that provide funding for local food initiatives and nutrition education and garden programs and school and childcare centers play in the partnership between producers and consumers?
▶ 1:35:16I mean, anytime we're talking about um affecting consumption or access to consumption, that should be a concern. I think um we should also understand the idea that both the recipient of those programs and the farmer are benefiting from those programs. So, that's certainly something that we will continue to have that conversation and beat that drum as a especially crop grower who enjoys providing fresh and healthy produce to those those recipients of the programs.
▶ 1:35:40Got it. And along those same lines, um I think what's often lost in the conversations that we have here around SNAP benefits is that SNAP benefits, um to my understanding, and I think to everyone's knowledge, they can only really be spent in one industry, right? And that's the grocery store. Um but in seeing cuts to um programs like SNAP, uh can you talk about whether or not that undermines efforts to support local farmers?
▶ 1:36:07Well, I mean, I think we would like to see our our commodity in the grocery baskets of all Americans regardless of whether or not they're on federal programs. Um, I so I would I would I see your point and I would understand and agree that that's
▶ 1:36:23And we all know that USDA is undergoing a reorganization uh right now that's going to shift um a lot of um shift a lot of priorities and and in an attempt to streamline programs. Um, but it's going to change how resources are distributed. What impacts do you guys, to the extent that you're familiar with what USDA is considering? I'll start with you, Mr. France, so as to not make this the Miss Brennan show.
▶ 1:36:48Uh, what impact do you see that happening uh, having particularly on on rural farmers, whether it's in Alabama or or other states because we're seeing in Alabama proposals that will shift some things up to I think Raleigh, North Carolina, and some other things to Kansas City. um which I'm not sure how good your geography is. Neither one of them are close to Alabama.
▶ 1:37:08Thank you, Congressman. Uh we do rely on u a healthy USDA. Uh and I would say to you that it isn't I'm agnostic about where they're located. It's important to me that the programs that we interact with them are properly staffed and that if they do make moves and as they make moves that the programs move successfully with them.
▶ 1:37:27There is one exception and that is that we they have repositories of trees and shrubs in the clean plant network that we rely on and those plants are planted in the ground and so it would be important to me that if moves are made that the trees that are important to our national security are moved along with them or protected when they're left behind.
▶ 1:37:47And thank you and um I'll just end with a with a comment. Uh we we've heard some commentary about the adverse effect wages and you know one thing I think that we have to keep top of mind is that the purpose of that um is to protect American workers. Um now I am one that believes those wages certainly have to be reflective of the the realistic conditions and and also offset costs that are being absorbed um by the employers. Um, but I think, you know, it's important that we don't forget that that's why that's there.
▶ 1:38:15Um, you know, through the same vein as why we want to protect American farmers in terms of import uh capacities, in terms of specialty crops or any other crops that are coming in. And I yield back.
▶ 1:38:28Gentleman yields back. Now recognize the gentleman from Washington State, Mr. New House, for five minutes.
▶ 1:38:34Thank you very much, Mr. chairman and also want to thank the ranking member Craig for this very important hearing today and thank our panelists for being here. Um you know sometimes specialty crops are referred to as minor crops and I want to make sure that people truly understand and not be confused about that you know there about their importance.
▶ 1:38:55many times they are high uh cost labor intensive um uh high overhead and in infrastructure very important to our local economies and I truly do appreciate the focus that this committee is taking on on the uh this part of the agricultural industry.
▶ 1:39:15You know, as a third generation hop, grape, and fruit farmer myself, I think I understand some of the issues that have been brought up today, and I appreciate the full committee's attention on on the issues facing not just especially crop growers, but agriculture in general throughout the country. We truly are at a very difficult position and uh we are going to come up with some answers.
▶ 1:39:38we have come up with some answers and we're looking for help from the outside for some some more input on what what more we can do. Um I want to start with u Miss Brennan first and first of all thank you for having a presence in my district. Appreciate very much the the contributions to the economy there. You mentioned in your testimony the need for enhanced mechanization within the specialy crop industry.
▶ 1:40:07And as many of you have have mentioned, the issue um of labor is is huge particularly when it comes to the operation and harvest of specialty crops. And uh attention to detail is particularly important uh when it comes to things such as apples for instance, which Washington raises one or two of. Um, nobody in the grocery store is going to buy an apple that is bruised. They're just not going to do it.
▶ 1:40:34So, we we've got to be very thoughtful about what we do. Could you talk a little bit more about the need for potential return on investment when it comes to the expansion of mechanization and autom and automation within the especially crop
▶ 1:40:51Absolutely. Thank you. And um, Congressman New House, we appreciate the opportunity to be in your district as much as you appreciate us. Um but I would just add that especially crops accounts for about a third of the cash receipts in US crops um but receives only a fraction of dollars related to research and development. So I think anything that Congress can do for strategic investment in that area will really act as a signal to the tech um the tech world.
▶ 1:41:17As it stands right now, they're not going to necessarily invest in something where the market is so targeted and so small. So if the federal government is willing to invest in that area, I believe we'll see additional
▶ 1:41:29Thank you. U my next question and I'm happy to open it up to others. You all have provided fantastic input on this. Um while we're talking about research, what role does precision agriculture play in in current operations? Um and how can federal research help support and expand those technologies across the especially crop sector?
▶ 1:41:52Congressman, I think you'd be hardressed to find an operation today that isn't utilizing precision a practices every day, day in day out. Um, but I I would add that I think they are always looking for additional research opportunities and dollars in those areas. Um, so often we are faced with headwinds, Mr. Fran uh referenced it earlier. Um, and so we're focused there and maybe not able to do the investment in other areas that maybe we want to at the time because we're so focused on the headwinds. So that would be I don't know if Mr.
▶ 1:42:22France has additional nuance to that but
▶ 1:42:25um Congressman I'll just make a quick comment to first of all to thank you for your help stalwart help for years on the farm worker modernization act. Uh you've been a friend friend of horiculture and I appreciate it very much. Uh on the automation question, we are so desperate for labor at times that we have thrown ROI to the wind from time to time and invested in uh automation just on a hope and a prayer because things are that tight labor-wise, especially over the last few years. Thank you.
▶ 1:42:55And time goes by so darn fast. I want to touch on that the whole issue of trade. Very important for specialty crops. Truly is. And you mentioned in your testimony as well. I heard several of you talk about the uh importance of the market access program, the the um other things that we have put in place as Congress to help especially crops and agriculture um export. We we accomplished something that was I've been working on for a long time.
▶ 1:43:24we doubled the amount of um money invested in in in market access as well as um especially crop efforts to increase exports. And so I just want this legislation that was passed on and signed on July 4th, HR1, did some great things for agriculture. Could you talk about some of the potential that we could see from increasing our efforts in market development?
▶ 1:43:54I is there time for me to answer your
▶ 1:43:58Mr. Chairman, should I proceed?
▶ 1:44:01Okay. Uh, the first one is we're we're very grateful for several provisions in that act. Uh, to your question about the market access because we were able to attribute those dollars towards labor. I already u mentioned that's our biggest expense. That that funding has helped us keep our costing down this year when it otherwise would have increased more. So, first of all, it's been a direct benefit to our customers through the um the helping to cover our labor cost.
▶ 1:44:26Uh the second one I wanted to comment on is the the the ability to direct expense our capital expenditures. Um we I already mentioned the times are uncertain. Being able to have uh tax benefits realized immediately has allowed my brother and I to feel better about making capex decisions that would otherwise been held off. Thank you. Well, as you noticed, as you've noted too, my time is running up. I just want to thank you all for being here today and being part of this very important discussion. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 1:44:56Apologize for going over, but I yield
▶ 1:44:58Uh, thank the gentleman. Now, please recognize the gentleman from New Mexico, Mr. Vasquez, for five minutes.
▶ 1:45:05Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Ranking Member Craig, and thank you to today's witnesses for being here today. Uh, specialty crops are the backbone of agriculture in my district. Uh if you look at the map that was included in the documents, there's a little black area there in Donana County and Otto County and Luna County. Uh that's in southern New Mexico. And we have world famous Hatch chili. We have amazing Barker yellow onions and pistachios. And these crops don't just sustain our economy, they sustain our way of life. They are who we are.
▶ 1:45:34It's a story of our culture, our people, our identity, and it's how families gather around the table. Last week, I convened a meeting with my agriculture advisory group that includes specialty crop producers from across my district. And their biggest frustration was that we've gone two years without a farm bill. They also talked about rising input costs. They talked about tariffs and they talked about funding freezes. And for this, for them, it wasn't just a policy debate. It was something that could make or break their family farms.
▶ 1:46:04And so it's my belief that we can't keep playing politics with farmland and with specialty crop producers because we lose more than just profits in my district. We lose generations of investment. We lose family legacies. We lose productive land. And so those conversations I'm having with producers um makes it also very hard for the next generation of farmers uh to be able to be successful in starting their own business or taking over the family farm.
▶ 1:46:30And as they see that those around those farms around them are potentially talking about filing for bankruptcy, it's very hard to entice new young farmers to take over the family business. And so whether it's tariffs, whether it's losing the workforce, supply chain costs that are driving up these unsustainable levels, uh these are just added costs that are already eating into thin margins that they that we know that they have. And so in my district in particular, it's harming the pecan and the pistachio growers.
▶ 1:47:00uh they're now having to look for other markets. Um they've just lost their biggest market like a lot of farmers in this country have and they they are struggling to understand what is happening with this farm bill. So my question u first is for Mr. France. Uh Mr. France um do you think that this trade posture, let's call it a trade war, um is raising costs for family farmers and specialty crop producers?
▶ 1:47:27Thank you, Congressman, for your question. Um I would say to you that in my experience in my business we have yet to experience costs that have moved our costing material changes. Uh what we have is a uncertainty from our customers and our vendors and that uncertainty is causing people to trend prices up potentially prematurely because in our experience the tariffs that directly affect us have continued to be delayed.
▶ 1:47:53So Mr. France would you say certainty then would be a good thing?
▶ 1:47:57We're looking for certainty. Yes sir. Okay. Um, and then in terms of the agricultural workforce system, um, this question is for you as well, Mr. France. Uh, what are the impacts that you're seeing, uh, within your business or, you know, other specialty crop producers, uh, in terms of the labor shortage?
▶ 1:48:15Uh, Congressman, that's a very good question. Thanks for asking it. Uh, the lack of sufficient labor at times has prevented us from having the quality products we wish because we can't get the work done. and it's preventing us from growing our business and seizing opportunities that are coming our way. We urgently need a bipartisan legal a workforce solution.
▶ 1:48:36Thank you, Mr. France. I I really appreciate that and I I will commend um Chairman Thompson because he convened a bipartisan group of members of this committee to work on immigration reform as it pertains to the agriculture industry and what some of our ideas were for programs like H2A and H2B. And we put out a report on that.
▶ 1:48:54And so I'd love to see my colleagues, everyone on this committee, uh, help to push forward these types of policies that going to support the agricultural workforce that in the end support family farms, rural communities, rural businesses. That's something that's desperately needed in this country. And I think the more that we hear from folks like you all today about the impact that we're having, hopefully the more that it hits home with everybody that serves in this body so that we can actually get something done. Uh, that's really important.
▶ 1:49:22That's something that I encourage my colleagues to continue those conversations are. That was a bipartisan working group and I believe we had some good results and so we have legislation out there like the farm worker uh modernization act that is really important. Mr. Carbaja has introduced it. We've been waiting for some action on that. So we'd love to see that.
▶ 1:49:40We'd love to make sure that those pistachio growers, those that yellow barker onion that make that accounts for over 50% of the nation's onions in September, that we can keep those workers there, that we can keep those onions from rotting in the field, and that we can get our specialty crops like pecans and pistachios out to good markets and keep these families in business. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
▶ 1:50:02Thank you, gentlemen. Uh, yielding back. Now recognize the gentleman from Ohio, Mr. Taylor, for five minutes. Thank you, Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member Craig, uh, for hosting this hearing today. And thank you to our witnesses for traveling here and to provide your expertise to this committee. You guys came a long way, and I appreciate your sacrifices. At least Dr. Boring got to get out of Michigan for a little while, which is good.
▶ 1:50:27My district is in southern Ohio, which is uh by no means the biggest specialty crop area of the country. Uh, there's a significant presence from several farmers and companies, but nothing like other areas of the country. Uh therefore, when Ohioans go to the grocery store, it's almost always guaranteed that we're buying 2,000 mile lettuce that could be up to a week old. This means you're paying for transportation costs and for storage, and the produce you're buying will go bad much quicker than lettuce you could buy locally. Obviously, this is not just the case with lettuce, but with you know, fruits and vegetables as well.
▶ 1:50:57I visited one business in my area, not in my district, called 80 Acres, which is an indoor vertical farm in Ohio that I believe provides a unique model for ensuring everyone in both rural and urban areas has access to fresh fruits and vegetable vegetables. Uh, Mr. France, with that in mind, how do you see uh green houses or vertical farms transforming rural America, if you think that's possible?
▶ 1:51:19Thank you, Mr. Congressman. Um, American Hort has a lot of greenhouse customers, greenhouse members. And so, in general, we're supportive of of most anything that supports greenhouse growth. Um, and as a as a greenhouse owner myself, I recognize the potential to have a lot of climate controls and do things in climates that otherwise wouldn't be possible. But outside of that, I don't have any particular expertise in vertical farming. Okay.
▶ 1:51:47In an area like Ohio where it may not be the best climate for specialty crops, what can we do to promote more farms like that to pro to provide fresh produce for people? If anybody have any ideas on promoting thing like he said it's not really his area, but
▶ 1:52:02I would just say the recognition of of the value in these investments, right? um the value of greenhouse production, the value of hoop houses, the the value of of some of these season extending um uh technologies uh that do pose significant capital restraints in small farms looking to diversify in supply local areas with local produce, right? Having it having these kinds of uh of of dollars spent seen as investments in communities, I think is really a fundamental pivot to how we view this kind of work.
▶ 1:52:32Thank you. Having a reliable supply of produce could not only benefit farms, but it could also greatly help with the uh the health of our communities across the United States. A 2024 study found that nearly three and four adults in the US are now considered overweight or obese. Southern Ohio is no exception. Actually, it's worse than that there as there are several uh counties in our in our district that have obesity rates.
▶ 1:52:57Um one one is in fact in the top five uh counties in the country for obesity. Obviously, it it's not just diet that that can change these trends, but having more access to fruits and vegetables would definitely help. Uh, Dr. Boring, could you talk about how affordable and consistent access to fresh produce could help combat the obesity epidemic in this country and specifically has it helped address these issues in Michigan where you're serving now?
▶ 1:53:22Absolutely. I I think that that statement around how we modernize our outlook on agriculture, I think, is really critical here. uh and and having agriculture seen as solutions to these bigger issues that are occurring across the country, right? Livability communities, the pursuit of the American dream for a lot of rural areas. Um how agriculture plays into to the health of people, the health of people, communities, um that has to be the way in which we approach this kind of work.
▶ 1:53:47And so investments into specialty crops being seen as investments into our future, food security, the health of people. I think that's a really fundamental position shift here um that drives um the kind of investments that get at what you're talking about of why this work is important for communities.
▶ 1:54:04Thank you. Anybody else got any ideas on that one? Thank you. I would just add that um we have and especially crop farm bill alliance and IFPA have been wildly supportive of increase uh with the um fresh fresh fruit and vegetable program in elementary schools and the potential expansion. I think we know any of us who have children that the earlier you expose them to fresh fresh fruits and vegetables the more likely they're going to eat um those throughout their life. So I would add to that as well.
▶ 1:54:30Again thank you all for being here today and uh Mr. Chairman I yield back. Gentleman yields back. Now recognize the gentle lady from Maine, Miss Pingry, for five minutes.
▶ 1:54:41Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you very much for having this hearing and thank you so much to all of you for spending your time with us. Um, I probably could spend my whole time just kind of ranting about so many of the things that my colleagues have already discussed. And first and foremost is is just the very idea that we call this specialty crops. I think that most of you realize you're working in a field about vital nutritious items or or whether it's a home horiculture. Uh really critical things to our environment.
▶ 1:55:08So I apologize that for so long we've called this a specialty item when it really is essential nutrition and the very fruits and vegetables we depend on every day. And thank you for working in that industry. I'm particularly worried about the budget cuts and the cuts that have already been done whether it's at the USDA or some of the other programs that I know in my state our specialty crop growers particularly depend on um in these challenging times whether it's uh in relation to the tariffs or the extreme weather that we've been having in our state we had a very wet spring so
▶ 1:55:38our pollinators couldn't do their jobs in the blueberry fields and now we haven't had much rain since July so we're in an extreme drought and we really need that assistance from the federal government particularly when its comes to the local offices, the NRCS and other places that are underst staffed. We've lost most of our engineers. So, if you're looking for drought planning assistance, how to do more irrigation, the help just isn't there. And one of the cuts that has been mentioned before, but I was really disappointed to see was that last March, USDA canceled the billions.
▶ 1:56:06The billion dollars that went in the local food purchase assistance and local food for school programs combined, that was over $2 million to my state. might not sound like a lot in a smaller state, but 1.3 million people, not that many farmers. This was a really good guaranteed source of income. And as so many of you have already mentioned, this is fresh fruits and vegetables that go into food pantries and a school lunch programs where we really want to make sure those are accessible and available.
▶ 1:56:32So, um, do you have any any of you want to comment on the importance of programs like that or what you're also doing? Uh, I know in Michigan you've got some of your own programs going on or the Gusnet program. so many of the things that allow people to access healthy fruits and vegetables and give our farmers that guaranteed income that helps make them assure that they've got funding on the bottom line. I'll just go through whoever wants to discuss that.
▶ 1:56:55I'll just briefly re reiterate our farmtof family program of of investments in that work being seen as investments in the future of our state. Right? It's economic opportunities for farms certainly. Um, but when I one of the the greatest concerns I hear from farmers time and time again is the health of their communities and what the economic outlook for rural areas needs to is, right? And what can it be?
▶ 1:57:18Um, we've got to be providing um solutions to communities and and being and and framing our work as investments beyond just agriculture and farms, but into communities so we have an ecosystem of success. Um, that kind of work is really critical uh starting at those those early early levels. Thanks. I mean, I think I've said it before and I'll say it again.
▶ 1:57:39I think anything that increases consumption and access um in those programs and the recipients were supportive of um of course we are having open and IFPA is having open conversations with the administration and Congress, both sides of the aisle. Um the importance of those programs and we will continue to do so. Thank you. And I do want to say we have a bipartisan bill going on uh largely growing out of this committee and the dissatisfaction with those funds being cut and looking for ways to make sure that on a on a bipartisan basis.
▶ 1:58:07This isn't a partisan issue, making sure your farmers in rural areas have that support. Um let me just jump to crop insurance. You've brought that up before, but um all of you have given really good examples. Uh same thing, you know, we're experiencing this extreme weather and New England has not been exempt from that. I already mentioned the um rain in the spring, the drought now um and just the challenges that specialty crop I just hate saying the word but um that farmers face.
▶ 1:58:34You know so many successes have grown in our state because of the lo the interest in purchasing locally belonging to a CSA farmers markets all those things but these are the very farmers that aren't commodity farmers and it's almost impossible to use this system as many of you have mentioned. So before I talk for too long, uh do you want to just talk about it a little bit more and why or or any ideas that you have about how we could fix this finally so it works?
▶ 1:58:59Yeah, thank you, Congresswoman. Uh I understand you're an organic farmer yourself, so congratulations.
▶ 1:59:04That's true. Spent many years uh might even have a little dirt there right now from the weekend.
▶ 1:59:08We have something in common. Thank you. Uh I just appreciate you acknowledging that the specialty crop industry really does need help in the insurance area. uh rather than get too far in the weeds, I would just say that there are pilot programs running at USDA and I'm grateful for that. But I hope we can change them around to where they're actually effective. Uh whether it's this controlled environment CE program that I'm particularly interested in but isn't helpful.
▶ 1:59:31Uh or the nursery value select NVS, which is a catastrophic program that just doesn't ever reach the trigger to be helpful. So there are specific issues that need fixing and I appreciate your attention to it. Thank you.
▶ 1:59:44I ran out of time and I'll be respectful of everyone else's time, but um I do want to just note that you mentioned a couple of times your worries about inflation and um the impact that could have on people using ornamentals and I know how important the horiculture industry is and just what a great benefit it was during the pandemic that so many more people decided to plant that garden and have sort of the therapeutic and family-based experience of doing that outside and I would hate to see that go away. So, thank you all for your work. Really great to have you here today. Thank you, Congresswoman.
▶ 2:00:14Thank you very much for your comments.
▶ 2:00:16I thank the gentle lady and now recognize the gentleman from Iowa, Mr. Fenster, for five minutes.
▶ 2:00:22Thank you, chairman, and thank you, ranking member, for holding this hearing today. And thank you to our witnesses. Thank you for coming. I I read your testimonies. Very impressive. You know, I look at special crops, and they're so important to our agricultural uh and, you know, to feeding the world in essence, what you do. And there's so many pieces and parts that go into specialty crops when you start thinking about it.
▶ 2:00:46Whether it be uh policy, regulatory environment, transportation, uh you know, uh tax provisions. I want to talk briefly about tax provisions. You know, all these things sort of go bump in the night that they affect you. Um when when we start thinking of tax provisions, you think of what we passed in this the the last bill, the reconciliation bill, uh whether it be the death tax so you can move that that family farm to the next generation. uh 199A, if you're a pass through, you get a 25% qualified business income.
▶ 2:01:15Uh whether it be 179 depreciation, buying a piece of equipment, you know, these are all very important pieces. And uh Mr. France, I'd love for you to talk about what I just said. How is it important to you? And can you can you talk about some of these changes that might affect the family farm?
▶ 2:01:32Yeah, thank you, Congressman. Uh the provisions in your recently passed budget bill are extremely helpful and we're very grateful for them. So, thank you. Um, I'll speak first to the estate tax. U, my brother Keith and I were blessed to have parents that transitioned ownership of our farm 25 years ago. And now here we are looking at the blessing really of the opportunity of passing the farm to our children in the next decade.
▶ 2:01:53And were it not for the increase to 15 million per individual of the lifetime exemption and the permanency that you've brought to uh the law, uh it likely wouldn't be able to be possible in California where farm uh real estate is so expensive. So very grateful for that. Um I've already touched on bonus appreciation in a little way, but R&D tax credits as well. That's something we take advantage of and we're very grateful for. So thank you very much.
▶ 2:02:17Yeah. Well well thank you. I'm glad you addressed that. I mean again it's about passing that finally farm to the next generation and we see that all over the over the agricultural landscape of the the the great concern of how do you instead of having corporate farmers buy the land, how do we get it to the next generation and the death tax is a big part of that. I want to talk a little bit about another issue when it comes to transportation of goods and and if you start looking around the world, how do we open new markets especially for specialty crops?
▶ 2:02:46A lot of specialty crops need uh refrigeration and and how do we move into countries like Africa and other uh warmer climates uh when we don't have uh refrigeration. And I want to talk to um uh Mr. Boring about this. Can you talk about the importance of cold chain capacity a and uh the markets and especially the specialty crops when it comes to exporting and and trying to expand these
▶ 2:03:17Yeah, I appreciate that question. Uh constraints on cold storage capacity are something we continually hear in Michigan as well. Um those being barriers to to growers uh adding capacity, adding additional market access. Um and that even extends into the infrastructure investments of how we ship that product, right? As as as you talk about here, um having those kind of investments seen as greater good of how we, you know, rise the tide and especially crops, I think is really critical.
▶ 2:03:43I'd also hit on too of of uh it reinforces the need for continued investment into research um around how we have alternate storage um capacity and preservation techniques for our crops so that we can take some of these these fresh market products u potentially put them into a stable format dried otherwise so that we can access some of these markets um with acknowledgements of one some of the constraints that are going to occur in those specific geographies.
▶ 2:04:08Yeah, docu Dr. Boring I think you're right. I mean, you think about research is so critical and and it's exciting to see what we're going to do in the next farm bill. When it comes to research, uh it's it's the key. I mean, if we want to continue to to be exporters to the global world, we have to do a lot more research and and obviously cold change storage is part of this. Uh but but we have a lot of work to do. So, thank you for your for your comments. Um we've already talked about specialy crop insurance. I'm not going to get into that. It's so important.
▶ 2:04:38Uh I heard some of your comments. Uh to me it's invaluable to make sure that we have some some backing uh when we have catastrophic events and we have that periodically. I'm from Iowa, second largest egg district in the country. Um you know when we have datos or or you know drought or whatever it might be, we have to have protection. So with that I I thank you for your witnesses and I yield back.
▶ 2:05:00Thank the gentleman yields back. Now recognize gentle lady from Illinois, Miss Bazinski for five minutes.
▶ 2:05:05Thank you Mr. chairman and thank you ranking member Craig um for calling this hearing today. I want to say thank you to the witnesses as well for traveling here to be a part of this. I appreciate it. Uh my district in Illinois is home to over 1 million acres of farmland. In fact, farms make up over 70% of the total land in my district.
▶ 2:05:25Um, and while my district, like most of central and southern Illinois, is home to some of the highest yielding corn and soybean farms in the country, it is also home to a huge variety of specialty crop production as well. Collinsville, Illinois is the horseradish capital of the world if you didn't know that.
▶ 2:05:44Um, in fact, Collinsville supplies about twothirds of the entire world's I've heard from those farmers um and I'm sure many of you have as well that specialty crop operations face unique challenges with access to labor and of course those needs have only gotten more complicated in the wake of the administration's immigration policies beyond horseradish production across my district there are fruit and vegetable operations that supply our local communities with a variety of
▶ 2:06:14fresh healthy uh local food I've had the privilege to visit Solraia a farm in um Urbana, Illinois several times now and have heard directly from them as well as the organizations that they supply with their food. One serious concern they brought to me that I'm sure everyone has heard about is the cancellation of the local food purchase assistance cooperative agreement and the local foods for schools programs.
▶ 2:06:42Not only has this been a problem for the farmers and the people they feed, but the University of Illinois Extension Illinois Eats program in my district administered these programs across the state of Illinois. I was proud to join Congressman Breznahan and a great team of lawmakers to introduce the local farmers feed feeding our communities act earlier this summer to reinvest in these vital programs that I mentioned.
▶ 2:07:09Uh, but I think the heart of this is that farmers need market access for their products. Um, whether domestically or internationally. I know Congressman Finstra just spoke to that. A healthy farm economy relies on farmers having somewhere to sell. Uh, Director Boring, um, I am excited to see the success that Michigan's farmto-f family program has had in connecting specialty crop producers to local consumers.
▶ 2:07:38Can you elaborate a little bit on the impact of this program that it's had in both improving market access for farmers and increasing food security on a regional
▶ 2:07:49Well, certainly uh and appreciate the question there. Um I can highlight a few uh specific examples of work we've been able to do and and and knowing this this is really pretty a new program that we're looking to to stand up here. Uh we've specifically worked on on creating opportunities for local grocery access in different places. We're replicating success of uh farm stop models that have been really pioneered in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
▶ 2:08:14Um but the ability to put into smaller communities consignment based grocery access in essence brickandmortar farmers markets where local farmers are are supplying products into those areas um but they don't have the hassle necessarily of manning a farmers market in the evening and weekends.
▶ 2:08:32Um, it really provides an avenue of of how communities can have farm produce and food access in new and different ways and have that viewed as a community asset to the livability of downtowns and and an economic way for for small farms to diversify in different ways. So, um, the collaboration with other states including Illinois, of how we kind of push those new models, um, I think is is is really exciting of where we might go with that work.
▶ 2:08:57So, you think that model could be replicated maybe in other places as well? Yes, certainly.
▶ 2:09:03And have you thought at all about what in the farm bill we would need to be prioritized in order to see those types of programs be replicated?
▶ 2:09:11Absolutely. I think some of the um the creation of some new new and unique pilot programs that recognize some of the work that is occurring in in uh dynamic ways in states that's utilizing some creativity and um well that's how we come up with a good policy, right? We take local ideas, we might replicate them and build them up at the state level and and hopefully some of those find their way to a federal level so we can replicate examples of success.
▶ 2:09:32Okay, thank you. I'll yield back. Thank
▶ 2:09:36Gentle yields back. Now recognize a gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. Harris, for five minutes.
▶ 2:09:41Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and uh thanks to all of you on the panel for uh your time and uh and perseverance in uh hanging out throughout this time. Um, as we've listened today, uh, obviously specialty crops play a vital role in the American agriculture industry. In fact, in my home state of North Carolina, farmers produce a wide range of specialty crops like sweet potatoes, strawberries, cucumbers, and peanuts that feed our communities and provide thousands of jobs to hardworking North Carolinians.
▶ 2:10:11But too often I hear from constituents in my district that they consistently have to deal with excessive government regulations that hinder their ability to meet demand. Miss Brennan, you mentioned similar concerns in your written testimony um saying the specialty crop industry is under siege from regulatory overreach and outdated policies.
▶ 2:10:33I want to ask you if I can in a few moments this afternoon, in your view, what specific regulations do you believe Congress could address to ease the burdens affecting farmers in the specialty crop industry?
▶ 2:10:49Thank you for the question, Congressman. I appreciate it. I think there's any number of issues. The thing that comes to mind immediately for a number of us who maybe don't qualify for some of the programs are the AGI limits and things that are very tangible boots on the ground issues that could we could address in the long run that could assist us um in qualifying for programs that maybe Mr. France and I wouldn't uh necessarily qualify for is the first thing that comes to mind.
▶ 2:11:09But I'm happy to to send a long list to you, sir, after this.
▶ 2:11:12Well, and and that would be helpful when we're talking about moving forward and we're talking about legislation. Uh that would be be important. And kind of going off that, Dr. Boring, I'll turn to you. In your role as a state level agriculture policymaker, how does your agency balance state regulations while at the same time not over burdening producers with excess regulations that hinder their operation?
▶ 2:11:36Well, I I think you hit on a really critical element and and it's a fundamental piece of our department kind of ethos is the fact that we're partners with farms and agra businesses across the state, right? Um our mission here is to ensure compliance, provide clear, consistent rules uh by which businesses operate and then help farms and aggra businesses of how they comply with these sorts of things.
▶ 2:11:57So um our pre-minent focus here is is making sure that folks clearly understand things and and us working as educational partners and resources of how we all get to where we need to go together.
▶ 2:12:08Gotcha. Well, from your conversations with other state officials, how can reducing federal red tape empower the specialty crop producers to operate more efficiently and compete more
▶ 2:12:21I think there's a lot of opportunities of just clarifying different uh regulatory roles, right? And we hear from growers a lot of times of of um how state-based regulation and and uh requirements are oftent times not well coordinated with federal um addressing those kinds of issues there um I think are continued. It's the small little things like that that ultimately do add up and make a difference for growers.
▶ 2:12:46Well, thank you for that insight. I I believe that rather than micromanaging farmers, Washington should instead lower barriers and focus on building an environment that allows them to grow, innovate, and thrive because that that's what all of us want for our farmers. Mr. France, in your testimony, you spoke to how the nursery industry is actually impacted by the inflationary pressures, many of which were exasperated by irresponsible government under the previous administration.
▶ 2:13:13I want to give you a moment if you can to elaborate on how these challenges have actually impacted your operations.
▶ 2:13:21Yes. Thank you, Congressman. I want to first just acknowledge your prior comment and that is that I do believe that the American farmer and what they've done productivity wise is nothing short of awesome and largely that's happened when government has stayed out of the way. So I completely appreciate your philosophy. Uh as far as the question to direct impacts of inflation, uh our product is demonstrabably more expensive today than it was 5 years ago.
▶ 2:13:46And as I alluded to previously, um no one really has to buy a flower. And so when when costs go up and they have broadly gone up as a macro picture, we have no choice but to pass those costs on to the American consumer. and we we want to see prices come down to put our product back inside the the budget of the average shopper at at stores across America. Thank you.
▶ 2:14:10Got you.
▶ 2:14:11Well, thank you. And Mr. Chairman, with that, I'll yield back.
▶ 2:14:14Gentleman yields back. Now recognize gentleman from California, Mr. Carvajal, for five minutes.
▶ 2:14:19Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thank you to all the speakers that are here today. Um, Miss Brennan, as you know, I represent California's central coast where agriculture is the number one industry. Specialty crops account for the a significant portion of agriculture grown in our state, which is the number one agriculture state in the nation, as well as in my district, including Grimway Farms in Yukuyama.
▶ 2:14:47Growers require an adequate workforce in order to maintain crop production. Congress can ensure our growers have enough labor by advancing bills like the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which I am a co-sponsor of. Currently, the Trump administration intensify deportation efforts, have created significant uncertainty within California's agricultural labor force. Between March and August, the US agriculture industry has lost an 155,000 workers.
▶ 2:15:16Local stakeholders in my district have voiced their concerns over the impacts of these actions. Given the uncertainty of of this immigration climate, what impacts have you seen on your farms, Miss Brennan? And what steps do you think Congress should take to best address and support specialty crop growers and their workforce?
▶ 2:15:39Congressman, I appreciate the question and we also, as with Congressman New House, appreciate being in your district as well. Um, I think it goes without saying that that topic has obviously been top of mind for many of our industry. We have long advocated for and asked for a reliable legal workforce. Um, and the ability via your efforts with the farm workforce modernization act um, and have asked Congress to act in order to step up for our industry. I think I can speak for all of us to say it's not just our industry being affected by these issues.
▶ 2:16:10Um, and yet we are of course at the forefront of where we feel it first. Um, so I appreciate your leadership in that area. I would ask that you continue to lead. Um, and as you can imagine, it's certainly a topic um, that is top of mind for all of
▶ 2:16:26Thank you. Miss Brennan, in your testimony, you mentioned the need for greater federal investment in research and development for agriculture technology. Can you expand on how the federal government can support research and increase innovation within the specialty crop sector and help produce grim help producers like Grimway Farms?
▶ 2:16:47Absolutely. I mentioned it earlier but we are um subject crops make up a third of crop receipts in the US and yet we see such a small percentage of the R&D dollars. Um, we believe as a coalition that strategic federal investment will lead to additional private sector investment as well and we see that as a net positive for the industry.
▶ 2:17:10Thank you. Continuing with you, uh you noted that unlike commodity crops, specialty crop growers growers currently lack access to affordable and effective crop insurance yet are still subject to market price fluctuations and vulnerable uh to natural disasters. When considering updates to insurance policy, what options do you believe are the most needed to better help manage production risk and protect specialty crop
▶ 2:17:39Congressman, I appreciate that. I would point to the specialty farm um crop bill, specialty farm bill, crop alliance. That's a mouthful. Um recommendations that house a long laundry list of things we would appreciate. Um obviously a lot of our specialty crop growers are operating without a federally subsidized safety net. So anything to add to that program would be incredibly helpful. So I'm we'll follow up with a that full list as well for you if you'd like it.
▶ 2:18:05Thank you. Mr. France, you mentioned that certain exemptions on the tariffs have saved your industry millions. However, there are other inputs still subject to tariffs that are currently impacting your business. Can you share what inputs are still impacted and how they are affecting your farms as well as how those tariffs might be impacting other nurseries like those in my Yes, Congressman, thank you for your questions and thank you for highlighting the uh the labor issue and for your leadership in
▶ 2:18:35that area. Uh certainly your comments highlight the need for labor reform. Um to your question, I'll give you an example. A lot of nurseries across the country dig trees out of the ground and they wrap them in burlap to protect the root ball and keep them keep them secure until they can get planted in the ground. Burlap comes from India off the jute tree. It's the only place you can buy burlap is off the jute tree which isn't to grow in America. So there's an example of of an item that must be sourced internationally that we would like to see exempt from tariffs.
▶ 2:19:05Thank you.
▶ 2:19:06Thank you. In closing, let me say my colleague, Miss Ping Gray, mentioned uh therapeutic gardens during this pandemic. I I tell you having worked in the farms and the fields with my father. I did not do a therapeutic garden. I have a lot of PTSD from that work. Um, but I think for those that were able to appreciate and do that, I think it's a great idea.
▶ 2:19:33Mr. Chair, I yield back.
▶ 2:19:38The chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas, Mr. Crawford, for five
▶ 2:19:43I think, Madam Chair, I appreciate it. Um, I know this has already been brought up by several of the members already and I kind of came late to the game, but I I appreciate the the topic. I'm not going to ask our witnesses to answer. Um, but I do want to add my voice to the course of people raising the alarm about H2A.
▶ 2:20:00in the last Congress and this you may have been made aware of this but in the last Congress um we actually stood up in under GT Chairman Thompson's uh direction under his leadership we stood up an a labor working group uh um group and spent about a year or so meeting with various stakeholders across the country uh representing a diverse mix of crops and production and all of that and at the end of that effort like I said about a year-long effort Um
▶ 2:20:31we made we came up with 21 recommendations to the committees of Uh 15 of which were unanimous in their adoption. All 21 recommendations were certainly bipartisan but 15 were unanimous and so this was definitely you know solid work done by the participants uh that panel the panel on the a labor working group under this committee.
▶ 2:20:56The sad part about this is that the ad committee where the the bulk of the subject matter expertise resides is a committee that has no jurisdiction. So we're relying on five other committees to essentially do the work to address the needs of the H2A workforce. And you know the you know the bigger problem here as you know the the things that we can't control for example commodity markets. We can't necessarily control prices of commodities.
▶ 2:21:25We certainly can't control the weather, but things that we can control and that is policy here in Washington and how that's having a negative impact on the workforce and and we can have a conversation about outsourcing our our labor which we've done and which is, you know, a separate conversation of why we're so heavily reliant on an H2A workforce. But the fact remains that we are and as such we don't need to further penalize our farmers when they're already farming below cost of production as it is.
▶ 2:21:54And so we're adding insult to injury by making it that much more difficult to manage the workforce that they rely on to get the job done. So I know this is impacting across the spectrum of a production whether you're a specialty crop producer um you know growing berries somewhere or whether you're a you know a large scale rowcrop producer anywhere in the country uh could be livestock production you name it across the spectrum of of a production this is a problem.
▶ 2:22:22So, we definitely um we've gotten the support of the chairman and the ranking member on this issue. Um I'm it's my hope that we'll make those referrals to the appropriate committees of of jurisdiction, but recognizing of course that you know these recommendations didn't come in a vacuum. I mean, it was it was the result of a year-long effort dealing with um producers of virtually every commodity.
▶ 2:22:46Um people who rely on uh a migrant workforce to be able to get the job done to feed and clothe America. So, uh, I appreciate you being here today and I appreciate the members who spoke earlier raising this this issue and and your answers to those questions will help inform this committee on the direction that we ought to go in terms of making recommendations to the committees and and one of the recommendations I would make in addition to the 21 that we're making is maybe the ad committee have more jurisdiction in that role.
▶ 2:23:17uh because it's a difficult problem set and without the appropriate subject matter expertise, it's that much more difficult to legislate the appropriate solutions. And with that, Madam Chair, I'll yield back.
▶ 2:23:27Thank you. The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Oregon, Miss Selenas, for five minutes.
▶ 2:23:34Thank you, Madam Chair, and I want to thank uh Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member Craig, for holding this hearing today. I appreciate that um both of you really follow through on your commitment to ensure this committee focuses on the importance of specialty crop industry to our entire agriculture community. And thank you to our witnesses for making the time today to be with us. So I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I want to give one final opportunity as we start to close out this hearing on crop insurance.
▶ 2:23:58Um, for Oregon, the nursery greenhouse industry represents the leading agricultural um, commodity in Oregon's conifer, shade, Christmas, and flowering trees are number one in US sales. Unfortunately, I have consistently heard from our nurseries and other multicrop producers that they simply can't find crop insurance that works for them. And for any witnesses who would like to jump in again just one final time and Miss Brennan, Mr. France, thank you for the testimony that you've already provided.
▶ 2:24:26But, you know, why is it that crop insurance offerings, including whole farm revenue protection, fail to meet the needs of these diversified operations? And are there any additional suggestions you might make um that we can alter to meet the needs of these producers?
▶ 2:24:42Thank you, Congresswoman. I'll I'll take a crack at it. Uh the first one is to your specific question around the whole farm um program. It's again has a 50% threshold of loss and for us small growers who have with diversified crops that's just an unacceptable standard to be met. It's just we'll be bankrupt before we hit that number. Uh to ask your to try to address your specific question there's a program right now at USDA called controlled environment which I know is important to you. There's a lot of green houses in Oregon.
▶ 2:25:11Uh the controlled environment is a program that addresses quarantine risk when the when USDA or the any government agency uh quarantines a crop in a greenhouse or any controlled environment nursery uh anywhere in America because of a quarantine that's outside the control of the grower. No risk or no fault at the grower and the crop is has to be destroyed. That grower is compensated for the crop. Our problem is that USDA doesn't order us to destroy our citrus. they just take away market access.
▶ 2:25:40And so to give you a metaphor to example would be as if a potato grower in Idaho was told you can keep selling your potatoes but only in Idaho. And so it's not possible to move all your ID all your potatoes out inside the the state of Idaho. And so that's an example where the program is well intended, but we have yet to have a situation where USDA has ever in the country ordered a destruction order for such that have been quarantined inside of a controlled environment. So it it needs help.
▶ 2:26:09And that's just a real specific example of how the controlled environment greenhouse um program could be broadened to where a a quarantine would be viewed more generally. If you lose market access, that's a triggering event to where the the producer could be paid. Thank you.
▶ 2:26:25Understandable. Thank you. Miss Brennan, did you want to add anything? And thank you for offering your 21 points. I'll I'll take a look when you um send them over. Would anybody else like to weigh
▶ 2:26:35All right. Thank you. So, this hearing serves as a reminder of the unique and varied needs of specialty crop producers. It's why it's so critical that this committee continues to increase investment and improve research programs specific to specialty crops like the specialty crop research initiative. So, Dr. um Sigilly, thank you so much for being here. I'm um honored to have Oregon State um represented here again.
▶ 2:26:58Um what suggestions do you have given you have so much experience with this grant process to improve the STCRI grant especially as we increase investment?
▶ 2:27:08Thank you Congressman Selenas. Uh so I would say I have five things but I'll go with the important ones here. So the timely release of proposals, requests for proposals is really important because as researchers we are always busy with applying for different programs and if we don't have any certaintity in uh the RFPs then probably we are not planning well. So you may not receive quality proposals. So that's an important thing. So I would expect a timely release of proposals from the SR program.
▶ 2:27:34Uh the second one is adequate time between release of proposals and the submission as well because this year we have seen with some programs there is only a month or maybe two months to apply not I'm not talking about SR with other Afrey programs. So that is a limitation for us as well in applying and providing some good proposals and the other one is uh I would say wave the matching requirements. There is one catch there for matching funds and not all universities and all researchers are able to provide matching funds.
▶ 2:28:02I think we have been graciously waved for the last five years for matching but I think that language still exists in the STRI program. So I would say if we can look into that and see that is waved that would be really beneficial for researchers that apply for these type of grants. And I would want add one more thing into this is uh uh also seek constructive feedback.
▶ 2:28:22the program officers or managers whatever we call them they need to seek some good input from uh the reviewers as well because sometimes the review process becomes more cumbersome if the applicant is not able to understand the process how it has gone through so we need some more constructive feedback from the reviewers as well
▶ 2:28:39so essentially technical assistance as you're going through the process itself
▶ 2:28:42thank you my time is expired I yield
▶ 2:28:46thank the general lady I now recognize gentle lady from Illinois uh Miss Miller for five minutes.
▶ 2:28:53Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to our witnesses for being here today. Illinois is proud to be a national leader in specialty crops. We grow more pumpkins than any other state. 11,000 acres for jacko'lanterns, 15,000 acres for processing, and another 10,000 acres that grow a variety of a different pumpkin species.
▶ 2:29:17We produce twothirds of America's horseradish worth over 10 million a year and we rank third in popcorn production. Altogether, specialty crops in Illinois cover over 83,000 acres and generate nearly half a billion dollars annually for our family farmers. But these farmers are being squeezed by skyrocketing input costs, labor shortages, pests and disease, and unfair foreign competition.
▶ 2:29:44Too often, Washington's policies ignore our specialty crop producers. Our farmers don't want handouts. They want Washington to get out of the way. They want a fair shake in the marketplace. And they want the tools to keep producing the safest, healthiest food in the world right here at home.
▶ 2:30:04As we start having more farm bill discussions, we must ensure it reflects America first agriculture, supporting our growers, strengthening our food security, and keeping our family farms and business for the next generation. So my first question is for Dr. Boring. This specialty crop block grant program provides critical research and resources for farmers.
▶ 2:30:30How can we strengthen this program so Illinois growers have the tools that they need to succeed?
▶ 2:30:37Uh, appreciate that question. I I would say a big step has already been taken of increased the funding capacity within the program. Uh, that that certainly helps. I think those steps that have been implemented uh over time of increasing the program flexibility of um state determining priorities that regional work um that's often so fundamental for how universities uh put adequate resources at a problem. I think those have been reflective um and are positive steps here that the industry's articulated here.
▶ 2:31:06I would say um really that continued view of um the relative importance of these is is the cultural identity of places uh increased predictability around what that funding is going to look like into the future so that researchers commodity organizations can build long-term strategic approaches
▶ 2:31:24about how we're developing solutions. Um, it's the nimleness of how we respond to these ongoing threats, but at the same time, the the ability to invest um in a comprehensive strategy on a multi-year basis of how we develop markets more broadly and address some of these broader concerns um I think is really critical and and represents a new area of of investment that the program could pursue.
▶ 2:31:47Thank you, Miss Brennan. Labor shortages and rising co costs are squeezing family farms. What improvements to crop insurance and support for mechanization would help US producers compete fairly against cheap foreign labor?
▶ 2:32:04Yeah, I I think to your point about mechanization and automation, I think any additional federal strategic investments in those areas will help tremendously for the family farmer or for any farmer um and specialty crops. So, I would be uh supportive of that and I can pass along additional feedback. But again, especially crop farm bill alliance priorities details that pretty um specifically and I think will off act as a resource.
▶ 2:32:25Thank you. And Mr. Fron, combining high input costs and foreign imports, it's been undercutting our growers. What changes to crop insurance would give American specialty crop producers a fair shot instead of pricing them out of the
▶ 2:32:42Thank you, Congresswoman, for your question. Uh first of all as a for as a person born on Halloween I thank you for those pumpkins that your state is growing. Uh to your question about automation to my colleague I would ask that you would work to get tariffs removed from automation machinery that comes in the nursery industries case often from Western Europe nations like Holland.
▶ 2:33:03The Netherlands lead the lead the world in nursery automation and it would be extremely helpful to us as growers to have tariffs removed on specific pieces of machinery that cannot be sourced domestically. Uh to your question, Congresswoman, on insurance, um as I've stated previously, the specialty crop industry, especially nurseries where we have so much diversity on farm crop diversity, it's very challenging for the programs to be effective.
▶ 2:33:31And so I would ask for an opportunity to to brief you uh in more detail where we could explain what we think is a better path forward to make nurseries be more eligible for specialty crop insurance. Thank you.
▶ 2:33:44Great. And we do want free and fair trade which is the purpose of the tariffs and we do want to um you know be producing our own equipment here. So thank you very much and I yield back.
▶ 2:33:57J yields back. Now recognize Jolie from Maryland. Mrs. Mlan Delaney for five
▶ 2:34:03Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you all for being here today. I think you're almost at the tail end, and I appreciate um you you uh pushing through. So, I represent Maryland's sixth district where specialty agriculture is both a key driver of our local economy and an essential part really of our farming um cultural identity. Um from the a reserve to the mountains of western Maryland to our Chesapeake Bay.
▶ 2:34:27And our region has a diverse climate which um supports a wide range of crops including my visits to Lewis Orchards um Butler Orchard and Lingmore wine sellers and this incredible richness and diversity really informs a lot of my questions. Um as we discuss the challenges and opportunities facing this sector. Um I look forward to hearing your insights.
▶ 2:34:50Um, and I do have a few questions, but I do have to say I really appreciated your testimonies related to the need for a stable legal workforce. Um, really focusing on increasing um, inflationary pressures including tariffs and items that can't be procured here like Pete Moss and and burlap, which I didn't know about, and the dire need for affordable tailor crop insurance. And Mr. France, I'm an Idaho potato farmer's daughter, so I liked those those comments.
▶ 2:35:19So, um, my first is about risk mitigation. Um, Mr. France, um, farming has always been risky, but with unpredictable weather, rising costs, and changing markets, it's getting even riskier. And the recent flooding in my districts shows how hard natural disasters can hit farming and rural communities. And I often hear that our farmers um that that the insurance really doesn't properly reflect the actual losses.
▶ 2:35:45For instance, um, in western Maryland, a late frost can turn, you know, fresh fruit into, um, processing fruit overnight. You grow over 700 plant varieties. And with that kind of diversity, the reporting requirements on acreage and production and and history, I think, could be overwhelming.
▶ 2:36:04Could you tell me a little about what changes would help with reporting requirements and insurance, which would make it more workable for Thank you, Congresswoman, for your question and I appreciate your interest in horiculture very much. Um, we do have a tremendous number of crops and it is pretty intense place to be keeping track of everything.
▶ 2:36:25Uh, we have full-time people that all they do is is drive the farm and update our inventory in order to ensure that we're able to meet the record reporting requirements that we have in place uh to be compliant and for our sales team to be able to know what plants look like at any given time. Um, I also appreciate your comment about the the urgent need for a legal workforce.
▶ 2:36:46Um, if I think about what I hope everyone here remembers when we leave this hearing, it's the urgency around the need for a labor workforce solution.
▶ 2:36:57Thank you.
▶ 2:36:58So, Mr. Sugali, um, Sugali, um, I've really been impressed by your research on honeybees and nutrition and pollination. really critical work for agriculture. Um and um many of our um uh bureaus and research institutes in Maryland have focused on a lot of that.
▶ 2:37:19We are proud to host USDA's B research lab at the Beltsville Agricultural Center, Bark, and which really has been a center of innovation for over a century. Uh, USDA's recent proposed plan of reorganization includes closing bark, which is very sad to many of us within Maryland.
▶ 2:37:39And while I'm deeply grateful for Senator Rollins, you know, focus on data and open communications and collaboration, I'm also very concerned about the long-term effects of USDA's research capacity and the loss of decadesl long institutional expertise due to the relocations. I'd really value your thoughts on why continued investments in USDA research and institutions like bark can matters for the field and if time if some of the others could comment as well.
▶ 2:38:07Thank you congresswoman. So the beltsville b lab is really critical. It's a historical lab and they have a lot of specimens as well from a long time and I think it's a really critical we keep those labs there because it's strategically located as well. It's not about whether it will serve in a different location because they are strategically located to serve the northeast as well as all the regions in the country.
▶ 2:38:29So, so we have I think I have signed a petition as well for that to uh request that the Beltsville lab should stay there because all researchers across the nation that do honeybee research, they all appreciate how valuable this uh Beltville lab is in DC area. So, we appreciate your input on that as well. Does anyone else have any um comments on on USDA and research and location?
▶ 2:38:52I'll just thank you for the question. I'll just reiterate that or come in behind and say that the belts filled out is the location where some of those trees are located that are very permanently rooted into the ground.
▶ 2:39:02Yes. Yes. Thank you. Um I'm running out of time and I yield back, but I will be submitting um uh questions for the record. Thank you.
▶ 2:39:10Thank Thank the gentle lady. Now recognize the gentleman from Wisconsin, Mr. Weed, for five minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to all of you um for being here today. You know, as eating healthier becomes an increasingly popular topic for the American people, I think this discussion today is especially pertinent. You know, I do believe that encouraging the American people to eat healthier is important for a strong nation and ultimately for our national security.
▶ 2:39:37It should go without saying, of course, that meeting the demand to do just that depends on having a specialty crop industry. Wisconsin is obviously known for its famous dairy products. However, the state is also a leader in a multitude of specialty crops. Door County in my district is globally renowned for its cherry industry. Additionally, many people do not know that Wisconsin produces 60% of the country's cranberry crop.
▶ 2:40:02Other specialty crops Wisconsin leads in are snap peas, ginsing, potatoes, carrots, and green peas. Additionally, Wisconsin ranks third in the country for the number of organic farms. I look forward to continuing the discussion here on how we can better support and enhance the specialty crop industry in the upcoming farm bill and have appreciated what we've learned thus far.
▶ 2:40:27So this question can go to to any of you as the national conversation which again is a very very good thing that people the American people overwhelmingly are talking about eating healthy and being healthy and living a healthy lifestyle.
▶ 2:40:41Um can we expect that specialty crop producers as well as those who may want to begin to produce specialty crops are are we able to meet that demand with the current state of specialty crop Congressman, I'll just make a quick comment and pass it on to my colleagues, but I just want to say to you, thank you for your support of the farm bill. And I'm the farmer on the panel, so I don't have a lot of technical expertise, but I can tell you that American Hort, who I represent today, was supportive of the last version.
▶ 2:41:11And we just want to see a something along the lines of what was passed last time or what was proposed last year, moved forward. In other words, if I could be just so direct, we would be super happy to pass what's in front of you.
▶ 2:41:24Thank you. Mr. Boring,
▶ 2:41:27I would certainly say that the nation uh and the upper Midwest in particular has the capacity for the production um to be meeting this challenge ahead of us, right, of how we're feeding ourselves in a in a more wholesome manner. I would say the way in which you go about that's very important as well and and running parallel to the with the theme that that food security is national security of of certainly um putting in place the structures and the mechanisms and the policies to not only be eating healthier but but caring and investing in where we grow those sorts of products.
▶ 2:41:57If you wouldn't mind I would add this. Um obviously we take our job very seriously to bring fresh and healthy produce to tables across the world. Um, but I would add that to the extent that Congress can reaffirm the USDA's authority to drive domestic uh, consumption and promotion, we would appreciate that greatly because I think there's certainly no shortage of a desire to grow more um, for folks, but that's certainly a need that I think USDA can fill.
▶ 2:42:24Great. Uh, well, Mrs. Brennan, um, how do you specifically expect organic production to fit into this discussion? I thought you'd never ask. Um, thank you, Congressman. I appreciate it. As you may be aware, um, organic sales, uh, specifically in crops led by fruit and vegetables accounts for about 58% of the organic market. Um, we see that driving about$9 billion in sales, which is a huge economic driver. We've seen consumption go up and interest go up.
▶ 2:42:52So, we we do see it as um, something that can drive market advantages for us uh, as growers, but also for anyone interested in getting organics as well. So, exciting times ahead. Can you elaborate on the growing importance,
▶ 2:43:05you know, on organic crops in our make, you know, in our agriculture?
▶ 2:43:09Yeah, I mean, overall, we're looking at that becoming the economic driver around pricing, availability. Um, I don't know if you want me to touch on something specifically, but I mean, I'm happy to chat further outside of this, but something we're very proud of as a as a large organic grower.
▶ 2:43:22Well, yeah, we definitely um be open to that outside of this. Um, so how should the upcoming farm bill better support and and address this this growing
▶ 2:43:32Absolutely. I believe we have at least one recommendation I referenced earlier which is looking at the transparency with which NOSB is looking at policies every five years. Farm Bill can address some of that um to bring stakeholders to the table so that every five years we're looking at at the NOSB policies. They're allowing tech and the latest um information to inform what that looks like going forward.
▶ 2:43:54Great. Well, thank you for this great discussion and as we can all continue to to make, you know, America healthy again and and uh it is very important. So, appreciate it, Mr. Chairman. I yield
▶ 2:44:03Gentlemen yields back. Thank the gentleman. Now, recognize the gentleman from New York, Mr. Manion, for five
▶ 2:44:09Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you to the witnesses who are here today. Uh today's farm economy is flashing red due to too many variables that are creating a lack of predictability. uh increasing high input costs, volatile trade policy, uncertainty around immigration, and farm labor rules that are shifting week to week.
▶ 2:44:32So, this administration's approach has created a lot of whiplash and not enough uh shifting away from specialty crops. My heart goes out to all of you, but also to corn and soybean farmers across the country who have seen once reliable export and aid markets stall, leaving them with plentiful harvests, but too few customers because of the tariffs.
▶ 2:45:00I appreciate the comments from some of my colleagues today on both sides of the aisle as we had a discussion about automation and farm machinery that is not produced domestically. And my guess would be that there is very little expectation, realistic expectation that that farm machinery and automation would quickly be made domestically. And therefore our farmers need help.
▶ 2:45:30Now uh sh Congress shall have the power to collect taxes, duties, impost excises to pay debts and provide for the common events and the general welfare. I am a team player. My team is the House of Trade policy is our job.
▶ 2:45:56But just yesterday in the rules committee, a rule was passed to prevent privilege floor motions related to tariffs from hitting the floor. So we have seated our power. Why? Why have we done that? It's an easy thing that we can fix. All we have to do is our jobs.
▶ 2:46:22In central New York, the pain of the multitude of variables are showing up in our specialty crops. New York is the number two apple producing state with roughly 30.5 million bushels projected this season. Our grapes and wine support thousands of jobs from the Fingerlakes to the Mohawk Valley on farms and in packing houses, tasting rooms, and small businesses throughout our communities.
▶ 2:46:53When trade relationships are fickle and labor rules change week to week, we are not serving our farmers well. We need to fix that. We need to fix it together. and we can fix it because it's our job to fix it. In the midst of these challenges, it's important to highlight what is working.
▶ 2:47:15Through the specialty crop block grant program and specialty crop research initiative, New York universities and growers are leveraging federal support to deliver practical solutions like tackling spotted lantern fly and fire blight and helping producers access new markets. Recent increases for these programs were the right call. Now, USDA must keep those funding opportunities predictable and on time so growers can plan ahead.
▶ 2:47:45The bottom line is that New York farmers need open markets, a committed and legal labor force, and science-driven resources that keep their farms resilient. And I am ready to work with all of my colleagues to deliver solutions to keep our egg economy strong. As a former biology and chemistry teacher, Dr. Sigily, I'm going to ask you a question.
▶ 2:48:12In your expert opinion, using the research that is Um, in my conversations with local farmers, neonoid seed coating is an essential tool that they need to be able to assure their crop yields. In your is there a significant negative impact on the honeybee population as a result of the use of neonoids?
▶ 2:48:44Yeah, thank thank you congress uh congressman. So there's been a lot of research in the last 15 years on neonicotenoids and what we have seen is it's still a mixed uh results we are seeing or conclusions. It's uh so there's no conclusive evidence at this point that just the neonics are causing it but I think they are contributing to some degree to the to the decline in B populations but I don't think they are the primary cause for declines at this point of time.
▶ 2:49:11Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you Mr. Chair.
▶ 2:49:21I back gentleman yields back. I apologize I was distracted but for a good reason with a baby. Uh now u recognize the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Breahan for 5 minutes.
▶ 2:49:35Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to the ranking member for holding this hearing. As you know well, Mr. Chairman, specialty crops are one of the cornerstones of Pennsylvania's agriculture economy, especially in northeastern Pennsylvania where over twothirds of the crops grown in my district are specialty crops. Because of their complexities and unique challenges, I know the specialty crop industry often gets overlooked, even though these are products that Americans see most when they walk into the grocery store or farmers market.
▶ 2:50:05Reminding Americans about exactly who and where their food comes from has been the emphasis of my work in this committee. Just last month, I had the chance to visit and tour Brace's Orchard right in my backyard in Dallas, Pennsylvania. This ninth generation orchard is a staple of the Back Mountain community. The Brace family grows everything from apples to peaches to fresh flowers and shared how they were able to provide 55,000 pounds of fresh fruit to local food banks for distribution.
▶ 2:50:34These types of stories are exactly why I introduced my bill, the local farmers feeding our communities act, which will help boost the purchasing of locally grown food by farmers and growers like like the braces and ensure it's distributed to those in need inside of their communities. My first question is for Dr. Boring. First off, thank you to the NS NASDA for your support on the local farmers feeding our communities act and excited to work together to get that across the finish line.
▶ 2:51:00Uh, but I also wanted to ask you to expand on the Michigan farmtof family program you mentioned in your testimony and shine some light on any lessons that Congress could take away from this program.
▶ 2:51:11Well, really I appreciate the the question on that. Um, I would say that the continued investment in these kinds of areas seen as just more broadly advancing the the public good here. Uh, the long-term best interest of communities um creating meaningful ways for farms to diversify and have additional profitability is really essential here.
▶ 2:51:29Um it speaks to the continued investment in in areas that we need to be um building the connective tissue around agra food systems right of of making sure that we've got um capacity from um institutions to have um staffing capacity, funding capacity to be valuing local production. um but also making sure that we're making investments in distribution, transportation, aggregation so that um uh we've got pathways for small and diversified farms uh to be able to access markets for the betterment of local economies.
▶ 2:52:00Well, thank you for that. Um I also noticed that the most of the specialty crop farms in my district are family or operated, small or midsized or run by beginning farmers and in many cases all three. Uh, I'd welcome any feedback from the witnesses to answer this, but I'm curious about what unique challenges these types of farmers face and how this committee and Congress can best support them and help set them up for long-term success. I'll I'll continue with you, Dr. Boring.
▶ 2:52:29Well, I would say the the recognition of um building resiliency and diversity into our systems is for our long-term best interest here, right? um making sure that we've got the the capacity there for um farms of all kinds to access markets. And again, it's distribution, it's transportation, it's aggregation about bringing sufficient quantities of produce together so that we can access into markets. Uh but the recognition of the fact that it's going to take farms of all kinds um sometimes with unique challenges of each individual type of operation.
▶ 2:52:58Um so we've got ultimately resilient systems here for the betterment of our egg
▶ 2:53:04I I appreciate that, Mr. France. How about you?
▶ 2:53:08My comment is uh thank you congressman for the question. I appreciate your passion for this. Um in specialty crops we do highlight our size and often we overemphasize how small we are and how insignificant any one given sector or crop is. But I would highlight that the some of the parts is we're pretty mighty. Uh just just the horicultural sector alone we contribute 348 billion dollars to the economy across the country. And that's that's an outdated survey from Texas A&M.
▶ 2:53:34So collectively us specialty crop growers are have a substantial contribution to the economy. Thank you.
▶ 2:53:42Uh any other witnesses? No thanks. Okay
▶ 2:53:46Yeah I can I can just say something about uh so so as as I think uh Dr. uh um boring mentioned uh so there is a unique challenges with we grow more than 300 different specialty crops here in the United States and each of one comes with a different like for blueberries for example like for harvesting we're looking for some technology where we can have mechanized harvesting and it's not that easy because they are very soft and you have to be very careful how you harvest so so coming back to your question I think because of this uniqueness probably we need more funding to support these
▶ 2:54:16kind of specialty crop industries not just with which I'm representing today but but for other things with crop insurance and other things that my colleagues have spoken
▶ 2:54:25I I appreciate that, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
▶ 2:54:28Gentleman yields back. Now recognize gentleman from California, Mr. Costa, for five minutes.
▶ 2:54:34Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee here. Um I think it's appropriate that we take this time and I want to thank the panel to discuss the challenges of specialty crops in America and and not only to the witnesses, but to the two that are from California.
▶ 2:54:50Obviously, I have some familiarity with uh your efforts, a third generation uh farmer myself and um having represented nine out of the 10 counties in the valley over the years in Sacramento and now in Washington, we're very proud in California of our specialty crops. Although when I go to the grocery store, as a um person who likes to cook and so forth, I never see any signs directing you to the specialty crop section of the grocery store.
▶ 2:55:18Clearly, food is a national security and the crops that we're talking about that today are are essential to a a healthy diet and nutrition daily. And food is a national security issue. We don't treat it that way often. Uh in California, uh the farmers, ranchers, dairymen, and women produce half the nation's fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Uh 20% of the dairy production. The list goes on and on. Last year it was $61 billion at the farm gate.
▶ 2:55:46uh 44% of our agriculture is exported and I want to center a little bit on research and the issue of tariffs because I think they're critical. Uh right now this issue of mass deportation which has brought fear in the agricultural labor market that I've not seen in my entire life. 70% of our workforce uh unfortunately is undocumented and it's a problem.
▶ 2:56:10But tariffs create uncertainty and their attacks on not only American consumers but also American producers, agricultural producers as well as manufacturers. Um the impact of trade uh let's start there. Um and uh I want to find out from Miss Brennan and Mr. France uh the uncertainty that's been created over the last six to eight months on these tariff wars.
▶ 2:56:38uh what what what does that do to your uh ability to market uh as Grimway Farms does so successfully, Miss Miss Brennan,
▶ 2:56:48and I'm glad you talked about the organic production.
▶ 2:56:50Yeah, absolutely. I thank you for your question and thank your leadership in the valley. Um I will just say personally I've appreciate it for your your time in Congress very much and your representation of our industry. Um I would say that you know we haven't seen a direct necessarily a direct impact for us. However, the uncertainty is absolutely something that the industry and special crop industry speaks of quite often.
▶ 2:57:10Um, I think to the extent that Congress can um step in to ensure that we have market access domestically and internationally to compete globally is incredibly important and will continue to
▶ 2:57:21because you're price takers and not price makers. And so the world markets for all of the different commodities that you grow and the same with you, Mr. France, is depending upon what the world market is.
▶ 2:57:32Mr. France, you want to comment? Yes, Congressman, good to see you. Another a fellow Central Valley resident. Uh, thank you for your support over the years for our various issues, especially
▶ 2:57:41Mr. Gray wanted to be here. He's under the weather, but he said to give you his
▶ 2:57:44Thank you. Thank you. I'll just highlight that our industry largely is not much of an exporter. Uh, but we are absolutely um very discretionary. People buy our products on impulse and if they're feeling uncertain, they're less inclined to buy uh discretionary items like flowers. Let me move over to the issue of research and development because there's been a lot of cuts that took place with Doge originally resulting in over 1,600 employees being reduced in the USDA alone.
▶ 2:58:13I'm a big believer in public private partnerships and the University of California a research facilities throughout the state uh both at the Kernney station and the parlor station provides a lot of innovation in terms of plant development and the plant sciences issue. Have you found that to be an impact, Mr. France? Are you concerned about that public private partnership, the muscle that's really developed as a result of all that research that takes place?
▶ 2:58:41Congressman, uh, thank you for the question. I don't have expertise in that in that area.
▶ 2:58:46Um, any Dr. Seali Seagali?
▶ 2:58:50Yeah, Congressman. uh yeah we do have some concerns because we do as universities work with USDA as partners and sometimes uh there have been long-term relationships we have developed for doing research with USDA partners and if we lose workforce at the USDA probably that's going to impact in a big way what we have been doing for the last 20 30 years
▶ 2:59:10and and obviously that research has led to so many innovations in a sciences that we appreciate today and there's obviously a lot more to be learned and and gained I think with artificial intelligence and other developments in in the whole issue of agriculture would you say?
▶ 2:59:28Absolutely. Yeah, I agree with that.
▶ 2:59:30Miss Brennan, u your Grimway Farms is obviously a leading uh uh developer of a products. Um do you have any partnerships that you would like to talk
▶ 2:59:43I I don't today sir, but I certainly am happy to talk to you at another time.
▶ 2:59:47Okay, my time is expired. Uh thank you the chairman and we'll continue this effort and uh and move along. Thank you.
▶ 2:59:56I thank the gentleman and now I recognize the uh um also the gentleman from California, Mr. Lalfa for five minutes.
▶ 3:00:07Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for having this important committee on our specialty crops. Um I wanted to ask Miss Renan there Grimway. Well, first of all,
▶ 3:00:16where do you get the seeds for those little carrots? I'm trying to figure I can't find those.
▶ 3:00:22Very special place,
▶ 3:00:23Very special place. Very special place.
▶ 3:00:25I'm sure we can get you some special
▶ 3:00:27All right. All right. Cuz all I get is a big old long one. So, all right. Thank you. Um, that's not the real question. So, um, I wanted to cover with you a little bit. It's a bit of a it's it's a big deal. H2A uh we've had a skyrocketing in the number of positions that were uh requested and certified just the last uh 20 years or so.
▶ 3:00:49And this isn't necessarily in our committee's uh jurisdiction, but would you talk to us a moment about how important it is that we reform H2A and get the labor we need here and just how difficult it is right now? How do you how do you see what do you see as the the future of the whole industry if if it continues to be this uh difficult?
▶ 3:01:09Yeah, I I think sir, we've talked a little bit earlier uh on about the need for reform at H2A. I think we've all um said something akin to that. I think I'm happy to to supply with some recommendations from IFPA who have been very vocal um with the administration and Congress on the need to reform that program. I think at a minimum Congress um regardless of which program we're talking about needs to step up and step in um to look at bipartisan reform because um something's got to give.
▶ 3:01:37we took a couple good swings at it around here before
▶ 3:01:39Yes, you did. We appreciate it very
▶ 3:01:41We can uh get that momentum once again. Uh Mr. France again both two fellow uh farming operations California I grow a little bit of rice up north of both of you and u indeed California has its challenges but uh on issues Mr. trance on crop insurance.
▶ 3:01:58It's something we've fought really hard to uh improve and uh have more strong in the last two farm bills here especially as a specialy crop Um tell tell me what what do you see as it for a diversified diversified farm and especially crop how well the insurance policies the availability etc is working for for you with u you know in in your in your line as well as we know there's a lot of tree nut crops
▶ 3:02:29uh vineyards things like that that all have to try and deal with this. Uh tell me tell me a little bit how this works out for you or do they even pencil out? Yes, Congressman Lafa, good to see you. Uh, good to see another Californian. Thank you for your question and thank you for your support for our industry over the years. Um, as I previously shared in my testimony, the specialty crop growers like myself who have a large diversity of crops on farm at any given time find that the current insurance programs are just not workable.
▶ 3:03:00The threshold to trigger a pay a payable event are essentially unattainable. And so we would love to work with you. We've mentioned the Specialty Crop Alliance, American Hort. We have recommendations to to bring to the table and we'd hope you'd consider moving them forward. Thank you.
▶ 3:03:15Okay. Do you see the work so far in the farm bill as a step in a direction towards that or does it still need
▶ 3:03:21I believe it still needs improvement, but we certainly see the farm bill as as a step in the right direction. We hope it gets passed.
▶ 3:03:26Yeah, certainly. Okay. Um, and for anybody on the panel that cares to, uh, you know, I mean, disasters just seem like they're in ineligible in this country. So, um, it's not with, it's not, it's going to be when, right? Either on price or uncertainly on on what nature does. So, um, so how much can any individual farmer endure? Um, are you going to be even close to being made whole? I think we know the answer to that. It's just matter.
▶ 3:03:56Can you scrape by? But the feedback I'm getting is that especially crop folks especially are getting uh the the the the leftovers. They're on they're on the bottom of the pot year after year in these in these issues. And again, federal government can't do everything for everybody. That's that's a reality as well.
▶ 3:04:16But um would you would you on this panel give me a a perspective of how disaster funding rollouts have actually worked out in the areas of specialy crops and also offer maybe can Congress and USDA take notes to make future processes work a little bit better for uh not just the title ones at the top for specialy crop as well. I'm going to give you 30 seconds to do it, but
▶ 3:04:39yeah, I mean I would I would just speak to directly to our recommendations which include the establishment of industry-ledd advisory committee at RMA. Um, additionally greater flexibility, you know, in the development of the policies around specialy crops in that area and then enhance enhanced data collection for specialty crops. But then I would also turn to um the the real need for Congress to remove or clarify that all revenue insurance policies should be agnostic to what causes the loss. Um those are some very specific
▶ 3:05:09Okay. Thank you. Anybody else? Few
▶ 3:05:12I was just going to thank you for your for your highlighting of change of weather. Certainly in California, we see more heat, we see more cold, we see more dry, we see more rain. And so certainly climate variability is real as it pertains to crop insurance.
▶ 3:05:26Okay. Thank you. That underlines why we need to have more water storage to catch the water before it runs away instead of being snow sitting up there on the mountain all year. So, let's build some dams. And I'll yield back, Mr. Chairman. Thank you much.
▶ 3:05:37Thank the gentleman. Now recognize the gentleman from North Carolina, uh, Mr. Davis, for five minutes.
▶ 3:05:42Thank you so much, Mr. Chair, and to the ranking member to our witnesses who are here today. Um, North Carolina's first district, um, is well known for different row crops, um, grown in the district. Um there are many uh that may not know but we tend to rank number one with sweet potato produ production and I'm really proud of that. In addition um the district produces countless berries, vegetables, cultivated trees.
▶ 3:06:07Um with this increased production u level um comes the need to for a stable and affordable agricultural workforce. Um, so I would like to focus my attention and question um, briefly on the H2A program. For any of the witnesses, what specific challenges, especially related to cost and harvesting, do specialty crop producers face compared to those um, when using the H2A program?
▶ 3:06:37Congressman, uh, thank you for your question. I personally am not an H2 H2A user but a large number of nurseries especially on the east coast south and northeast are and it is an indispensable program for them. Uh their consistent voice is the a the high cost of comp of of program the difficulty in challenging the challenging neighborhood environment to navigate to get employees on your farm.
▶ 3:07:04They would ask that there be a single electronic application process to be able to streamline uh getting people onto farm. And the last one is just the variability of cost even inside the same contract year. So it's very challenging to budget if you are end up paying different wages uh halfway through your contract than what you thought you were signing up for. So again, it's indispensable. We don't want to see it go away, but it could absolutely, as you've heard us previously testify, could use could use some help. Thank
▶ 3:07:32Thank you so for that. Um, as I said earlier, sweet potatoes are huge for us in North Carolina. North Carolina farmers produce over 60% of the total US market. In 2024, these exports um totaled over 129 million. So, access to foreign markets is a top priority for NC1 sweet potato farmers. Um, Mrs.
▶ 3:07:54Brennan, um, given your role as the chair of the International Fresh Produce Association's public policy, um, committee, can you speak on the challenges that specialty crop producers and consumers have faced this year with so much trade uncertainty?
▶ 3:08:09Thank you, Congressman. I appreciate the question. Um, I think our members see a lot of benefit in programs like market access, um, and technical assistant for task for specialty crops. Um I think they see that as critical in opening new foreign markets. I think I would also add that there's a real need um and we've referenced it earlier in the hearing for um some trade enforcement to protect the growers here and resources to ensure that they can compete fairly in the global market.
▶ 3:08:38Well, thank you so much for that as well. Um the monocrop pest management program or the our four program has been essential for special crop growers in their fight against different pests. Uh the program allows the crop protection industry to provide safety, effective and economical crop um production um products for growers and of specialty crops.
▶ 3:09:01For all of the witnesses, anyone like to weigh in here, what specific ways has the R4 program benefited the special crop industry? Uh Congressman, thank you for the question. uh IR4 is especially important for the nursery industry because many of our crops are so small that our pesticide or fungicide needs the usage the quantity usage is so small that private chemical companies don't wish to invest in pursuing that particular market.
▶ 3:09:30So we can use the the federal funds to help leverage research in continuing to develop additional crop protection tools that are vital for our crops. Thank you.
▶ 3:09:40Anyone else?
▶ 3:09:41I would add just one additional thing. I think there's a very direct ask from the industry that Congress would provide no less than $25 million annually to that program to ensure and more we will take more believe me um to ensure that we have the crop protection tools Well, let me say uh Mr. Chair to the ranking member, thank you so much for um this panel today and to all of our witnesses um thank you for being with us
▶ 3:10:10I yield back. Gentleman yields back. Uh now recognize the gentle lady from Texas, Miss Dela Cruz for five minutes.
▶ 3:10:19Thank you so much to all of our witnesses for being here and thank you Mr. Chairman and ranking member for holding this very important meeting. Um, my name is Congresswoman Monica Dela Cruz and I have the honor of representing deep south Texas including um the Macallen Edinburg area which we are known for our citrus and for our specialty uh crops.
▶ 3:10:47So this was um very important that not only that I tend but that we hear from those specialists in the area and what we can do better. In my in my district, my constituents, my farmers and ranchers have complained about two things.
▶ 3:11:08uh one being the 1944 water treaty and how the Mexican government has failed to abide by the treaty, thus not giving our farmers and ranchers the water that we have desperately needed. This is not a new problem. It's been a problem for over 80 years. And sadly, uh previous to me becoming the congresswoman for South Texas, there was nothing done about it.
▶ 3:11:34And even more sad because of the lack of effort that was done by the former congressman in this area. Sadly, we lost the only existing sugar mill in Texas. And what a devastation for our economy, for the loss of jobs, and those farmers and ranchers who just those farmers who just worked years doing something that they loved.
▶ 3:12:01Um, thankfully earlier this year under a Trump presidency, we were able to do two things. The first is hold the Mexican government accountable and force them to give us the water that they owe us. And the second is to give them the economic relief so that they could keep their farms and keep farming uh because we were very very close to losing our citrus industry.
▶ 3:12:28So, I'm very glad that I was able to work with the chairman here uh for a committee as well as Secretary Rollins and Secretary Rubio and of course the White House having their support. But the fight is not over. And in fact, when I've been listening here in this hearing, I'm hearing things that I've heard over and over again.
▶ 3:12:50uh number one from the H2A working group that the chairman put together and actually uh Congressman Gay Vosquez mentioned it and it was simple process and simple changes that we could make to the H2A program that would make significant difference.
▶ 3:13:10Um that's why I proudly introduced something called the Brasetto program 2.0 0 act because it has common sense and I see Michael writing it down. Thank you. That's the Brasero Brero program 2.0. A lot of people know this Brasetto program was uh in the 1960s. It was widely successful and what it did what it did was it helped our farmers bring over the labor that they needed to help them farm.
▶ 3:13:38This is hard work and uh we want to make sure that we have a process in place to get the labor market that we need and what this will do is ultimately drive down prices and also save farms because right now they're having such a hard time finding labor. So what does the Brasto program do?
▶ 3:13:58This legislation will streamline the application process, which I heard earlier uh just a second ago, someone was saying we need to streamline the process so that there are not so many applications to do, but we have one process. We also expand the H2A access to green houses. And what we've heard over and over today, um make a fair wage calculation.
▶ 3:14:25The current AWAR calculation is complex and what we want to do is we want to make it a regional calculation which we heard over and over again over these last several um hours. Allow the for a 12-month contract instead of a 10-month contract. Have regional labor permitting and single petition for staggering needs. And then of course streamline recruiting. Does that sound like something that would help our a community?
▶ 3:14:55Is that a yes? Is anybody a no? Go ahead, Michael.
▶ 3:15:00Congresswoman, thank you for your for your comments. Uh, I just want to start by saying that some of my best friends in life would only citizens and present in my world because of the BERO program. So, I'm very familiar with it and very supportive. Uh, as far as your ver your bill, I haven't seen it, but I know the association I'm representing today look forward to reading it and getting involved. So, thank you for for what you're doing. Well, I'll leave you with this. We have over 20 organizations and associations.
▶ 3:15:27Everybody from the Texas Farm Bureau to the Watermelon Association, the PCAN Association that is backing this important act. So, I ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to look for this piece of legislation and get on it so that we can help our farmers and ranchers today. Thank you. I yield back.
▶ 3:15:47The gentleoman yields back. The chair now recognizes uh the gentle lady from Connecticut, Mrs. Hayes.
▶ 3:15:53Thank you, and thank you to our witnesses for being here today and for your testimony. Specialty crops account for a large portion of the farm economy in Connecticut. According to the 2022 sensor of agriculture, over $362 million of farm sales in Connecticut came from nursery, greenhouse, Florida, and sod growers. You probably guessed I'm from Connecticut. I'm sorry. I should have said that.
▶ 3:16:20An additional 89 million in sales comes from farms producing vegetables, fruits, or nuts. Unfortunately, the number of farms has declined in recent years with the total farmland area in Connecticut declining by about 2,000 acres between 2022 and 2024. This reflects a nationwide trend. A combination of high land prices and limited safety net options makes it extremely difficult for Connecticut farmers to recover from a poor harvest or an economic downturn.
▶ 3:16:51I reintroduced the Save Our Small Farms Act, legislation that would help farmers with limited access to crop insurance receive more accurate payouts for the non-insured from the non-insured disaster assistance program while creating an on-ramp to a whole farm recovery protection program which can better serve small diversified operations like the ones I represent in my home state of Connecticut. Mr. France.
▶ 3:17:16Your testimony mentioned the need for crop insurance reforms and your materials included a recommendation that the whole farm revenue protection program be updated. Can you talk a little bit about why traditional crop insurance offerings are insufficient for the horiculture industry and the types of growers that I just described?
▶ 3:17:36Thank you, Congresswoman. Uh, I appreciate the question. The whole farm program uh requires at a minimum 50% loss before a payout can occur. And so for us nursery folks across the country who have a broad diversity of crops on our farm at any given time, it's essentially impossible to have half of them die because of any one given event. Anything can happen, but for example, where I am from in California, frost, a freezing kill is our biggest single risk.
▶ 3:18:05Well, at any given time, at least half of the plants we grow are not they don't freeze. They're they're for cold markets. And so, even if we had a a killing frost that took out one-third of our citrus production, it still wouldn't be a payable event. So, that's the is our our concern around the whole farm
▶ 3:18:21Thank you. That's a great example because I know we encourage these small farmers to diversify so that they're not in these situations, but by doing that, they are basically pricing themselves out of these programs. at the cost of insurance is only one barrier uh that producers face when trying to gain coverage. In parts of the country like New England, there's no viable insurance policies for farmers to purchase land in the to purchase uh in the first place.
▶ 3:18:48Uh the agents have no incentive to create new products for those who cannot access insurance. USDA offers limited resources. Producers face delays and burdensome paperwork for payments that do not cover the value of their assets while extreme weather, which threatens their livelihood, is becoming more frequent. Mr. Brennan, in your testimony, you said USDA must be empowered to develop a better safety net for specialty crop growers.
▶ 3:19:15Can you tell us what Congress can do to create practical and competitive insurance offerings in places like New England and similar region? I'm sorry, Mrs.
▶ 3:19:26That's okay. You can call me whatever you'd like. It's okay.
▶ 3:19:31Um, thank you for the question. I, you know, I I appreciate the sentiment in your comments. I think, um, the Specy Crop Farm Bill Alliance has a pretty hefty list of recommendations that includes a number of items. One thing that comes to mind, and just to sort of riff off of what Mr. Fran said is that there's a real call to create a advisory committee at RMA that would inform what that crop insurance could look like from the perspective of a producer and especially crop grower.
▶ 3:19:58So bringing that voice to the table I think would go a great go a great deal of a way to where we need to be uh tomorrow.
▶ 3:20:05Thank you. Uh on this committee, I really try to amplify the voices of small farmers because the only way our a ecosystem works is if everybody feels represented and included. And while much of the work that we do really um can be is to the benefit of large farmers and people who are single industry producers. There are lots of other farmers who either by design or default end up not being able to access these programs.
▶ 3:20:35And we really have an opportunity on this committee based on the testimony of people like you to really think about the nuances um that our farmers face and our act producers face and make sure that we are doing the most good across the entire industry. And with that, I yield back. The gentle lady yields back. The chairwoman now recognizes herself for five minutes.
▶ 3:20:59I'd like to thank our witnesses for appearing before us today and as a Floridaian and the lone Floridaian on this committee. I am particularly excited about this topic. Obviously home to over 300 specialty crops, Florida is a leader in this space and so it's honor to not only serve on this committee but to be the voice on behalf of the thousands of producers that call the sunshine state home. The latest census of agriculture proves the robust nature of Florida's specialty crop industry.
▶ 3:21:30In 2022, the state sold over 1.4 billion with a B dollars of fruits, tree nuts, and berries, 3.4 billion in nursery, greenhouse, floriculture, and sod, and over 1.9 billion in vegetables, melons, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. These specialty crops represent more than half of the total value in agriculture sold this year.
▶ 3:21:53Now, I know it is not the purview or jurisdiction of this committee, but I would be remiss if I did not mention the importance of labor in today's hearing. As we all know that specialty crops require a tremendous amount of labor. And as I speak to our producers around the state and quite frankly around the country, we all recognize that there is a dire need for reliable and affordable But we have a challenge in this country.
▶ 3:22:23I'm hopeful that one day we can have a conversation about the need for uh reforms and the specialty crop research also uh that is so dire for this industry. I'm hopeful that we can have a different conversation about keeping the industry resilient and well funded. So I'm going to begin with you Mr. France. Uh you had mentioned talking to my colleague from California that the farm bill was in uh a step in the right direction.
▶ 3:22:50Now, as you know, Florida's nursery and ornamental industry is one of the largest in the United States. Yet, it faces hurricane re hurricane risk, pest threats, and supply chain disruptions. Specifically, what improvements could be made to crop insurance and disaster relief programs to better serve our nursery and specialty crop producers? And I know that we know the shortcomings broadly, but if you could speak to specific fixes that Congress could undertake, that would be appreciated.
▶ 3:23:16Congresswoman, if you'll indulge me, I'm going to answer your question because you said hurricanes slightly different. You have a booming citrus industry in Florida. You're the most important uh one of the most important industries you have in your state. There is a particular request I have of this
▶ 3:23:32I'm all ears.
▶ 3:23:33And that is that there are challenges in the citrus protocol, the citrus regulations that deal with what to do with breaches. We grow our citrus inside USDA certified houses that exclude pest in order to prevent your citrus orchards from being the continued spread of HLB.
▶ 3:23:53When hurricanes come or even small breaches, but certainly hurricanes are a significant factor and a big one, it's very difficult, if not impossible, for the nursery growers in your state to get reertified. And in some cases, the lack of reertification is more impactful to their business than the hurricane itself.
▶ 3:24:10And so it would be enormously helpful if we could see some sort of help getting an update to a decade old regulation that is still waiting for improvements from industry to make um the breach protocol be more effective on our on our nurseries and farms.
▶ 3:24:29That's very helpful. Thank you. Thank you. And I and I want to echo I mean the citrus industry as we know you can't really talk about Florida with without talking about citrus and I'm fearful that with every grove that goes under and another housing development replaces it that just breaks my heart that could be the final crop. So that is something very very tangible that I believe we can undertake and I will follow up with you to see if we can get that addressed
▶ 3:24:53I appreciate it.
▶ 3:24:54Thank you. Uh Dr. Dr. Boring, based on your experience, can you share the uncertainty around the farm bill reauthorization, specifically how that impacts investment decisions and planning for the following season?
▶ 3:25:05Certainly, I I think you really touch on that um as one of the more significant barriers that growers I know in Michigan and across the country continue to experience is the uncertainty. Um there's certainly ramifications around trade of what that looks like moving forward. uh but the the standing up some of these uh more significant more um more comprehensive risk management strategies.
▶ 3:25:26Um I'll I'll additionally highlight some of the concerns and and the pressures of uncertainty on permanent crops um of of how growers need to forecast far into the future of what return on investment is going to be. So oftent times when we're establishing asparagus, apples, cherries, um there's a delayed payoff there before those those crops become fruit bearing um that we can start gathering investments.
▶ 3:25:50So um growers in those industries in particular are really plagued by the uncertainty that's that's currently out there uh with some of the uncertainty certainly around Farmville about how we we make long-term bets on the futures of these industries when there's so much hanging out there that we we're just not sure about at this time.
▶ 3:26:06No, thank you. I I agree wholeheartedly the uncertainty is absolutely um something that has plagued the industry and we need to do a better job here in Congress in in delivering. So uh my time has expired. Uh at this time I wish to recognize the gentleman from Michigan, Mr. Tandahar.
▶ 3:26:23Uh thank you uh chairwoman and thank you ranking member uh for organizing this uh hearing and certainly welcome to all of our esteemed uh uh panelist here particularly I want to welcome Dr. Tim Boring, a fellow Uh, good to see you, sir, here. Um, I, uh, my name is Shri Tanidar.
▶ 3:26:49I proudly represent uh, Michigan's 13th congressional district uh, including the great city of Detroit and uh, you know, I want to particularly talk about uh, Detroit, you know, and I understand uh, Dr. rewarding as you said. Uh we uh Michigan is uh you know a leading um specialty crop uh state with over 300 different crops.
▶ 3:27:19My I want to focus a little bit on Detroit which is a big part of my district. uh 35% at or below poverty level uh in during COVID uh RCD indiscriminately suffered uh lack of uh nutrition nutritional uh products is a huge issue. Uh now with the SNAP cuts uh that's just going to go into a huge disadvantage.
▶ 3:27:50um many food desserts in my district at in Ramulus and parts of Detroit and I've I've first and seen constituents the only access to food is gas stations. Uh with lack of public uh there is no other place uh they could go uh receive uh food. Um we do have a lot of blight and lot of empty spaces. empty spaces.
▶ 3:28:18I see homes and then I see another block uh empty. Uh what can we do to um encourage uh urban farming? Uh I know uh there are some good efforts in Detroit, but not enough not enough to provide uh the good nutrition um uh my constituents need and deserve.
▶ 3:28:44Um and uh with the lack of uh SNAP funding uh this is going to be a critical issue. How can the farm bill that's coming up, how can that make a difference uh for urban farming? Uh how can we get good nutritious food in the hands of people?
▶ 3:29:04Well, I'll say that Detroit's really been a pioneer in the urban egg effort across the country. Um, and I'll commend the city for making investments of standing up off sustainability and and and and um funding positions uh within city government that recognize recognize the importance of urban agriculture.
▶ 3:29:19Visiting so many of the farms um in the Detroit area, it it's really struck me of of um the power of food um as culture as as social connectiveness of of economic opportunities in places that don't often have enough of those.
▶ 3:29:36Um, so one of the big emphasises of our department of of how we've sought to increase economic opportunity and the livability of places certainly I think it's an important pathway in rural America that's got a number of challenges um but the same kind of power of that those programs to urban areas as well to increase livability of places to increase o economic opportunities to build social culture um to invest in a meaningful way into the future of communities and a lot of that's food right um so it's really struck me is the
▶ 3:30:06power of this kind of work to to transcend geographies and particular um demographic areas. Um the recognition of agriculture as a way that moves all of us ahead I think is is really critical um how we frame this issues and approach to the work.
▶ 3:30:21Thank you. Thank you. And I want to particularly uh honor uh our former uh US Senator Debbie Stabina and her great work in the agriculture area. Uh I want to go back to the climate vulnerabilities and anyone on the panel. How can the farm bill help uh mitigate some of the climate vulnerabilities for small farmers?
▶ 3:30:47I'll talk very briefly the pieces of how we potentially link conservation programs with risk mitigation and the recognition of investments in the soil capacity to weather drought to weather too much rain. Um those have demonstrable benefits. um of how we build in resiliency and it becomes hard sometimes of how we bring together siloed programs in different areas. Um but I think there is a lot of power there about how we more effectively use taxpayer dollars um to achieve goals and multiple different fronts.
▶ 3:31:17Thank you Dr. Boring and my time is up so I yield back chair bone. I thank the gentleman and um before we uh adjourn today um I invite the ranking member to share any closing comments that she might
▶ 3:31:34Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I so appreciate the opportunity to listen and to learn from our witnesses uh here today. It's no surprise that America's specialty crops are valued at over $115 billion annually and that our fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, spices, and decorative plants are enjoyed worldwide.
▶ 3:31:59We have heard from a wide range of stakeholders that interact with the Farm Bill's specialty crop programs and have shed light on these programs successes and opportunities for improvement. As we wrap up this examination of the state of the specialty crop industry, it's clear that folks across this industry face unique challenges that make it even more difficult to navigate farm uncertainty, labor shortages, disaster recovery, and the everchanging tariffs.
▶ 3:32:29I would like to thank our witnesses again for their time and expertise uh here today. and I remain committed to continuing this conversation and working on tailored and permanent legislative solutions to make sure that the specialty crop industry is adequately supported by the Congress. Thank you again and I yield back.
▶ 3:32:51I thank the ranking member. I also want to lend my thank you to our witnesses uh for bringing you know uh bringing your expertise to the table here and helping us uh shape um um future policy uh that we will see here.
▶ 3:33:09Uh thank you to the staff uh all the staff that worked so hard uh to uh make sure that this uh we were prepared for and uh quite frankly were able to conduct uh uh this uh you know without a glitch was uh uh much appreciated.
▶ 3:33:27Um while the specific number of specialty crops grown in the United States is is not fixed due to ongoing innovation in variety um the total number of varieties grown is somewhere well over a thousand in in our country. Uh HR1 uh not only recognized the importance of specialty crops but delivered significant support for for specialty crops.
▶ 3:33:53um whole farm revenue coverage uh increased to 90% to um expand access for specialty crops. Uh the AGI limitation waiver if a producers's income has 75% or more income from the farming or or ranching will allow them to take advantage of programs like NAP and TAP uh which will create more data for RMA uh to create more insurance policies for specialty
▶ 3:34:23crops. uh the uh doubling of uh market access program and the foreign mark foreign market development program. Uh $95 million year increase especially crop research initiative. $15 million increase in specialy crop block grant program. $15 million increase in plant pest and disease management and disaster prevention program.
▶ 3:34:48Um, and I will say, uh, this was, uh, these were, uh, things that are now law as of, uh, July 4th of um, when, um, when we included Farm Bill uh, in the HR1. U,, but these are all initiatives that that we we really developed in a bipartisan way um, under the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024. And we did that working with you all.
▶ 3:35:18You all have been at the table, you know, whether it's been here in Washington or quite frankly those uh um those farm bill listening sessions in about uh I don't know where we are 42 different states, one territory. Um you all have been at the table and helped us to to shape uh those um what we're able to achieve using the vehicle that was presented to us which was the uh budget reconciliation act. But there there more that remains to be done.
▶ 3:35:47That was very clear uh from uh your presentations, your written testimony, your oral testimony and and the interactions with all the members uh here in the committee. Uh we need workforce Um without it we have food insecurity which leads to national insecurity. Uh we need new trade winds um that benefit specialty crops.
▶ 3:36:11Um we need the opening of the of humanitarian of the humanitarian aid pipeline. Uh that includes specialty crops. Uh um so that that it's a it's another market for us as we as we serve people and other countries are living in conditions of famine and um and starvation. Uh we need uh fixes to other things that as we go forward we know that we need to do with Farm Bill 2.0.
▶ 3:36:410 uh fixes to the research programs. Uh carveouts for mechanization and automation. Um we need to improve specially crop block grants to enhance producer collaboration with states. Uh reauthorize the market access programs for specialy crops with further improvement to crop insurance.
▶ 3:37:03Um my prediction is till we're done uh uh with um adding what we've accomplished with Farm Bill 1.0 with with what we know and we need to do in 2.0 and your testimony has been very instructive of what we need to do. Uh we will have the uh probably the strongest and the best farm bill uh for specialy crops that we've ever seen. And so thank you for being to able to to help to uh to shape that.
▶ 3:37:31So under the rules of the committee, the record of today's hearing will remain open for 10 calendar days to receive additional material and supplementary written responses from the witnesses to any question posed by a member. This hearing of the committee on agriculture is adjourned.