WASHINGTON — The legislative text for Farm Bill 2.0 by U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Chairman John Boozman drew praise from agricultural organizations across the U.S. That includes the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA).
Kam Quarles, CEO of the National Potato Council and co-chair of the SCFBA, discussed the Senate version which followed the House passage of the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2026 on April 30.
“It was a very positive and necessary step. We want to maintain the momentum that the House has generated. Obviously, the House has passed their version of the bill. Now it’s over to the Senate,” Quarles said. “The Senate needs to respond. It likely will look a little bit different than the House. That’s not a surprise. It happens every time we do a farm bill.
“For specialty crops, what we’ve seen in the discussion draft, overall, it mirrors what the House has provided in one of the, certainly the best farm bill that specialty crops have ever seen. There are some tweaks that we would like to see made, but on balance, this is a great thing for the U.S. fruit and vegetable industry, and we want to keep it going and get it to the president’s desk before the year is out.”
The SCFBA is co-chaired by Cathy Burns, CEO of the International Fresh Produce Association; Mike Joyner, President of the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association; Dave Puglia, President and CEO of Western Growers; and Kam Quarles, CEO of the National Potato Council.