By Frank Giles
The 2018 farm bill expired in September 2023. Since that time, the old legislation has been extended twice, which is now in effect until September 2025. In the meantime, various spending measures have been added to help tide American agriculture over. But a new farm bill is needed to provide future agricultural policy direction and to help address some of the current issues facing farmers.
Dave Puglia recently joined the AgNet West Radio Network to discuss key priorities for fruit and vegetable growers. He is a co-chair of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA) and is president and chief executive officer of Western Growers.
Beyond Reconciliation
Puglia noted that House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) had been able to continue, and in some cases, increase funding for key provisions important to specialty crop growers. Some of those include the Specialty Crop Research Initiative, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Pest Management Policy and the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
“But there are a number of things that we (SCFBA) have proposed that cannot be done via reconciliation,” Puglia said. “That’s because some actions require the creation of new policy, which must be done via a new farm bill. One of those priorities is pushing for greater access to crop insurance programs for specialty crop growers.”
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