The USDA has launched two new programs — the Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops and the Commodity Storage Assistance Program — to help specialty crop growers overcome market barriers for products and unlock pre-market storage for crops following severe weather events.
“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,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a news release.
Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops
The USDA’s 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.
The program will help specialty crop growers, who often have higher marketing costs due to the perishability of the produce, with specialized handling and transport equipment with temperature and humidity control; packaging; moving perishables to market quickly; and higher labor costs, according to the release. The USDA said it expects applications for the program to open in December.
Commodity Storage Assistance Program
Vilsack said the USDA will also create a Commodity Storage Assistance Program, which will provide $140 million to help producers gain access to a packinghouse or other facility necessary for the marketing of agricultural commodities and is designed for farmers nationwide due to disaster-related challenges.
This program will make commercial packinghouses and commercial storage facilities available for the orderly marketing of commodities by producers experiencing reduced commercial storage access due to natural disasters.
USDA said it will make $140 million in Commodity Credit Corporation funds available for this program for a wide range of commodities, and specialty crop growers will have to show that natural disasters caused a loss in commercial storage or marketing. The agency said it expects applications for the program to open in December.
“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,” Vilsack said.
The new programs complement disaster aid packages the Biden-Harris administration proposed to Congress, which include a request for resources for the agency’s Emergency Relief Program as well as nutrition assistance, rural infrastructure support and more, the release said.
Support from the National Potato Council
The National Potato Council said it welcomes the USDA announcement of the Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops program.
“The U.S. specialty crop sector, including potatoes, has faced a series of unforeseen challenges over the last four years,” Bob Mattive, a Colorado potato grower and NPC president, said in a news release. “Today’s USDA announcement recognizes these ongoing pressures and offers the opportunity for economic relief to impacted family farms. In making these farms eligible, USDA’s action also acknowledges the importance of the potato industry to the U.S. economy, including the more than 700,000 domestic workers supported throughout the potato supply chain. The relief offered today also highlights the need for the certainty offered by a fully reauthorized five-year farm bill, providing long-term investments in research, trade, pest and disease exclusion, crop insurance and other vital programs.”
NPC said it also welcomed the allocation of $72.9 million in grant funding through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program to fund innovative projects designed to bolster the competitiveness of the specialty crop sector. Specialty crop exports totaled $24.6 billion in fiscal year 2023, representing 13.8% of total U.S. agricultural exports, the release said.
