By Clint Thompson
The specialty crop sector benefited from the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill. That was a point of emphasis from Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (PA-15), chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, during his talk last week at the Southern Peanut Growers Conference in Panama City Beach, Florida.
The legislation provided a boost to crop research, which directly impacts specialty crop producers. Thompson elaborated on the legislative victory during a press conference following his talk.
“I’m really excited for specialty crops. We haven’t always done a good job in the past in terms of serving the specialty crops. We’ve got, I don’t know how many specialty crops we have, but it’s probably close to a 1,000 throughout the United States. I think Florida has 400. California has 600 alone,” Thompson said.
“We did some things under the research title within the One Big Beautiful Bill in terms of Specialty Crop Research Block Grants. We did a significant investment in research overall, and also, I believe $155 million, in that neighborhood annually, of mandatory spending investing in our land-grant universities for our research facilities. Some of that I’m sure will go towards specialty crops in the future.”
Program Specifics
Funding for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program increased to $85 million through 2025 and $100 million in 2026. The bill also helps growers manage citrus greening and the spotted lanternfly more effectively by increasing funding for the Plant Pest and Disease Management and Disaster Prevention to $90 million in 2026.
Funding for the Specialty Crop Research Initiative increased to $175 million in fiscal year 2026, which more than doubles the current funding. It increases research on pest management, crop breeding and mechanization for high-value crops.
“The 2018 farm bill was a really good farm bill for specialty crops. We just kept that momentum going here in 2025,” Thompson said.