“Specialty crops make up half of the agricultural cash receipts in America, and for too long they have not received the support they need and deserve in the Farm Bill,” said Stabenow. “Any legislation must include proper funding for this important agricultural sector, which remains a vital source of healthy foods for American consumers.”

Specialty crops- the fruits, vegetables and other crops that keep America healthy- make up half of the nation’s agricultural cash receipts, but have received little support in previous farm bills. That’s why this legislation is of particular importance to Michigan, which grows more diversity of crops than any other state except California. Michigan is proud to be a national leader in the production of numerous specialty crops, including blueberries, apples, cherries, asparagus, and celery.

As a member of the Farm Bill Conference Committee and Senate Agriculture Committee, Stabenow served as a leading voice for Michigan throughout the crafting of this legislation. She served on agricultural committees in all four legislative bodies in which she was a member, including the Michigan House, Michigan Senate, U.S. House and currently, the U.S. Senate. She is also the first Senator from Michigan to serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee since Senator Phil Hart from 1959 to 1962.

Specialty Crop Provisions Included in the Farm Bill:

$15 million for Asparagus:

This program will help support domestic asparagus producers in Michigan, Washington, and California who were hurt by the Andean Trade Preference Act. The market loss program will compensate these growers to help them plant new acreage and invest in more efficient planting and harvesting equipment.

$52 million for tree removal assistance:

This program will help increase payments to qualifying growers for tree removal and replacement as a result of damage caused by natural disaster. Current payments do not reflect the actual costs for removal and replacement.

$59 million for trade assistance:

This funding will help boost specialty crop exports by facilitating the removal of specialty crop trade barriers.

$230 Million for Specialty Crop Research

This establishes a specialty crop priority focused grant program, awarding grants to eligible public and private entities to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of U.S. specialty crop producers.

$78 Million for Organic Research

This will provide for organic agriculture research and extension, to enhance the ability of organic producers and processors to grow and market organic food, feed, and fiber.

$600 million for Specialty Crop Growers in the Disaster Relief Trust Fund:

Currently, ad hoc agriculture disaster relief packages often get to farmers too late - sometimes years after the disaster. This delay can mean the difference between maintaining production and losing a farm for good. Michigan has received about $260 million in disaster relief from 1995 to 2006. This fund will ensure Michigan farmers can get these payments faster and easier.

$499 million for the State Block Grants for Specialty Crops program:

These grants will help support state programs encouraging the consumption of fruits, vegetables and other specialty crops and enhance the competitiveness of the specialty crop industry.

$407 million for pests and disease prevention:

This provision will direct the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to create a program determining and prioritizing foreign threats to specialty crops’ production, such as bio-terrorism and will help protect the specialty crop industry from pests and diseases.

$20 million to establish a National Clean Plant Network:

The National Clean Plant Network will help ensure that nurseries provide safe virus-free plant materials to orchards, vineyards, and other growers. Plant materials such as apples, peaches, and grapes are particularly vulnerable to viruses.

$33 million for farmers’ markets:

These federal grants will support direct farmer-to-consumer marketing activities and transactions such as farmers’ markets, roadside stands, on-farm markets, and community supported agriculture.

$3 million for healthy food:

This program will help support an infrastructure that serves healthy, affordable food to low-income communities.

$1.3 billion for the School Snack Program:

This Stabenow provision will help support the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program with $1.3 billion in funding. This program helps increase children’s access to healthy food options, reducing their risk of obesity and improving their overall health. This program will serve up to 81,000 students in Michigan when fully implemented, and up to 3 million children around the country

$50 million for the Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program:

These grants will help support innovative community food projects and promote a wide variety of community-based solutions to local food system and food security problems.

$56 million for the Seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program:

This program will provide coupons to low-income seniors for the purchase of fresh, unprepared foods at farmers’ markets and other community based agriculture programs.

Other Provisions Included in the Farm Bill:

Nutrition Title Provisions:

Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program

• This Stabenow provision will help support the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program with $1.3 billion in funding. This program helps increase children’s access to healthy food options, reducing their risk of obesity and improving their overall health.
• This program will serve up to 81,000 students in Michigan when fully implemented, and up to 3 million children around the country

Buy American

• This Stabenow provision helps local farmers by enforcing a requirement for schools to purchase products from American producers (to the extent possible). Requires USDA to provide education and marketing to schools about “Buy American” to give our local farmers a chance to compete

Food Stamps

• $7.8 billion increase in Food Stamps funding
• This funding will reform the food stamp asset test to encourage savings among low-income families. The nutrition title indexes the asset limit to keep pace with inflation, and exempts tax-preferred education and retirement accounts from counting against the asset limit.
• This provision will also end the benefit erosion for food stamps by increasing the standard deduction, which functions as a cost of living adjustment, from $134 to $144 and indexes it to inflation, ending benefit erosion and increasing food stamp benefits for the majority of participating families.

Senior Farmers Markets

• Will provide coupons to low-income seniors for the purchase of fresh, unprepared foods at farmers’ markets and other community based agriculture programs.

. The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)

• This program supplies food to homeless shelters, food banks and disaster relief centers. These agencies are currently facing rising food costs and a drop in donations.
• $1.25 billion increase

Community Foods Program

• $50 million for Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program
• These grants will help support innovative community food projects and promote a wide variety of community-based solutions to local food system and food security problems. Additionally, the Farm Bill makes this program permanent and authorizes studies on finding better ways to improve fresh food delivery to isolated areas.

Renaming the Food Stamp Program

• The nutrition title agreement would rename the Food Stamp Program the "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program" (SNAP); and authorizes the Congressional Hunger Center's fellows programs.

Conservation/Great Lakes Provisions:

The Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control

• Senator Stabenow added language so this funding can be used to help implement the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy (GLRC) to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Connecting the program to the GLRC strategy will help two priority recommendations – targeting clean-up activities in severely polluted rural watersheds, and restoring urban watersheds degraded by development.

Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP)

• $1.3 billion authorized to enroll new acreage. This funding will enhance the first lines of defense for water quality and providing more wildlife habitat.

Conservation Easements – Tax Incentive

• Gifts of conservation easements to organizations that are dedicated to maintaining natural habitats, open spaces, or traditional agriculture help protect our nation’s heritage.
• Extends for two years an enhanced tax deduction for conservation easements, which would allow all taxpayers to deduct up to 50 percent of their adjusted gross income (AGI) for donations of conservation easements, or 100 percent of the their AGI if they are a farmer, rancher or forester.

Endangered Species Protection – Permanent Deductions

• Additionally, the farm bill would establish a new tax incentive for taxpayers who take voluntary measures to aid in the recovery of threatened and endangered species. These incentives allow a deduction for the costs of implementing habitat restoration actions from a recovery plan.

Farmland Protection Program

• Over $500 million in additional money (doubles current funding) to provide matching funds to help buy the development rights to keep farm land in agriculture uses.
• Complete change in program to make it more flexible for participants.

Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)

• This program allows private landowners to apply for grants to restore and create new habitats for game and nongame species.

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

• $2.4 billion in additional funds to help producers meet more environmentally safe guidelines. Non-industrial private forest land clarified as eligible land.
• Expand program to include working lands that contain forestry and riparian areas.

Alternative Energy Provisions:

Cellulosic Ethanol Tax Credit

• Creates a new tax credit for the production of cellulosic ethanol. This tax credit will help build upon the traditional corn ethanol tax credit so we can find new sources of renewable fuels. This will also help alleviate the demands put upon corn and overall food prices.

Loan Guarantees for Advanced Biofuels Production

• $320 million in mandatory funding for loan guarantees to assist in the development and construction of commercial, advanced biofuel production plants.

Biomass Research and Development Act

• $118 million in mandatory funding for continued research of cellulosic ethanol by extending the Biomass Research Development Act. Also establishes a Forest Bioenergy Program to address the use of woody biomass for energy production.

Rural Energy for America Program (REAP)

• Reauthorizes and provides $250 in mandatory funds which provides loans, loan guarantees and grants for producers to purchase and install on the farm renewable energy systems.

CCC Bioenergy Program

• Makes adjustments to this program to provide incentives for increased use of agriculture commodities (except corn) and agriculture and forestry waste for biofuels. Provides $300 in mandatory funding over the life of the bill.

Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP)

• Provides incentives for producers to establish and grow cellulosic energy crops. $70 million in mandatory funding for 2009-12.

Feedstock Flexibility Program for Bioenergy Producers

• Requires the Secretary to purchase sugar for bioenergy production to avoid forfeitures of sugar to the Commodity Credit Corporation, and to ensure that the sugar loan program is operated at no cost to the federal government.

Biodiesel Fuel Education Program

• $1 million in mandatory funding for the reauthorization of this program.