“Big Four” Farm Bill priorities incl. specialty crops

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Florida Governor Charlie Crist, and Texas Governor Rick Perry are calling on the U.S. Congress to act on issues of importance to the agricultural economies of the country’s four most populous states.The governors’ letter to the leadership of the Senate Agriculture Committee and the House Agriculture Committee outlines out six priorities for consideration as Congress deliberates on the 2007 Farm Bill. The issues include:
-increased funding specialty crop programs;
-protection for invasive species;
-crop insurance;
-funding for conservation programs;
-flexibility in administration of nutrition
programs; and
-support for organic agriculture.
The “Big 4” states represent the largest agricultural economies in the country — representing more than one third of the nation’s farmers, more than 174 million acres of cropland, and more than $60 billion in annual revenue. A copy of the letter dated June 26 can be found on NASDA‘s website.