Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), the Democratic leader of the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture as well as a member of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, applauded today’s decision by the Biden-Harris Administration to direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help farmers who grow fruits, vegetables, and nuts overcome market barriers for their products, and help producers access necessary pre-market storage for their crops following severe weather events, including recent hurricanes.

Specifically, the new Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops initiative will provide $2 billion to assist specialty crop growers in maintaining a strong domestic supply and expanding market opportunities for their crops. USDA anticipates applications will open in December 2024. 

“Georgia’s specialty crop growers are helping feed America – and the world – with the highest quality and affordable produce and nuts. They do so in the face of many challenges, including unfairly priced imports and market volatility due to extreme weather events and natural disasters,” said Congressman Bishop. “This commitment by the Biden-Harris Administration is a monumental investment that will help protect our specialty crop growers for years to come.”

“From providing high-quality, nutritious, American-grown fruits, vegetables, and nuts to our nation and the world, to serving as economic pillars of their communities, specialty crop producers play a critical role in the success of U.S. agriculture,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops and Commodity Storage Assistance programs will be important for producers in every corner of the United States, but they come at an especially critical time for southeastern farmers, who will face a difficult and long recovery after this season’s devastating hurricanes.”

Today’s announcement follows months of work by Congressman Bishop to encourage the Administration to help specialty crop growers, as well as years of engagement with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to address challenges faced by Georgia’s fruit and vegetable farmers.

In August, he introduced the H.R. 9240, the Protecting Our Produce Act, to help provide certain U.S. seasonal and perishable fruit and vegetable producers with relief from unfairly priced seasonal imports. And last year, he celebrated the decision by India’s government to reduce tariffs on U.S. pecan exports by 70% which was the result of more than a decade of bipartisan, collaborative effort across both Democratic and Republican administrations.

USDA is also creating the Commodity Storage Assistance Program, which will provide $140 million to help producers gain access to a packinghouse, grain elevator, or other facility necessary for the marketing of agricultural commodities. This program is designed for farmers nationwide due to disaster-related challenges, and USDA anticipates high signup rates in the Southeast due to the devastation caused by Hurricanes Debbie, Helene and Milton.

These programs also complement the disaster assistance package the Biden-Harris Administration has proposed to Congress, which included a request for resources for USDA’s Emergency Relief Program (ERP), Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP), and Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP). The ERP and ELRP provide support for disaster losses for row crop, specialty crop, and livestock producers, while the EFRP helps landowners with forest rehabilitation.