By Clint Thompson
The ongoing farm bill discussions were a highlight of this year’s general session at the Citrus and Specialty Crop Expo.
Tori Rumenik, director of commodity services and supply chain at the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association (FFVA), discussed the important piece of legislation. She believes its finalization will hinge greatly on what happens in November.
“I think it really depends on how the election goes. I think when we’ve got Sen. (Debbie) Stabenow, who’s really motivated to get this done, and we’ve got GT Thompson, who’s really motivated to get this done. But you can’t take out that political piece of which party is going to go which way,” Rumenik said. “Realistically, I think we’re probably looking at next year for anything to get done. But in my heart, I hope that we get it this year, because we’ve got a lot of really good stuff in there.”
While the majority of farm bill funding is geared towards nutrition, it leaves very little for production agriculture. Rumenik estimated about 5% is dedicated to specialty crops. That places an emphasis on specialty crop initiatives like mechanization and automation be prioritized.
“That’s why we keep saying we need, especially we’re in Florida, we need our Florida representatives, our Southeast representatives, to stand up and say, when this farm bill is brought to the floor, it has to include our specialty crop priorities. It’s non-negotiable for us, and it should be non-negotiable for our leaders,” Rumenik said.