On 11 March, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins urging the agency to include nursery, mushroom, and floriculture crops in the Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers (ASCF) Program. The USDA excluded these growers from market relief funding for specialty crops, even though federal law has recognized them as specialty crops for more than two decades.
"Nursery, mushroom, and floriculture farmers are a vital part of American agriculture," Booker wrote. "These growers contribute significantly to local economies, support tens of thousands of jobs, and supply domestic and international markets with high-value agricultural products."
Booker noted that the same market challenges affecting other specialty crops are also impacting indoor and ornamental growers, such as rising labor costs, higher input prices, and ongoing market instability.
"Without access to bridge assistance, viable family farms and businesses face the real risk of closure. Excluding these producers leaves a substantial segment of American agriculture without the support intended to stabilize the broader farm economy," he wrote.
Booker urged the USDA to include these farmers in the program and asked the agency to extend the program's acreage reporting deadline to give all specialty crop producers adequate time to apply.
He concluded the letter by urging the USDA to base program payments on aggregate sales or revenue, which he said would be a better fit for specialty crops.
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For more information:
Senator Cory Booker
Tel: +1 973 639 8700
www.booker.senate.gov
