<p><strong> Washington, D.C.</strong><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Last week, 83 congress members representing the key specialty crop industry interests sent a letter to House agricultural leadership. The letter entreats them to pass the Farm Bill and requests the need to defend the specialty crop. The correspondence was addressed to Chairman Frank Lucas and Ranking Member Collin Peterson.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> The letter sent to the House focuses on the pest management programs and research programs such as the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the Agriculture Research Service. Also, it voices the members’ needs for the trade assistance programs including the Market Access Program and Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops, according to a press release. These are the resources that the industry needs to continue to provide safe, healthy products to an increasingly health-conscious consumer base.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Robert Guenther, Secretary of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance reacted positively to the congress members’ action. “This letter shows the leadership of the House of Representatives that there is strong support for the specialty crop industry and that there is a strong desire to pass the Farm Bill before it reaches its September 30 expiration date… we appreciate their willingness to work towards a stronger specialty crop industry.”</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>www.strongeragriculture.org</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
