News Coverage
Farm Legislation Would Aid N.J.
Published May 13, 2008
WASHINGTON — The $300 billion farm bill Congress is expected to consider this week -- but President Bush threatens to veto -- would help New Jersey's fruit and vegetable farmers as well as promote land conservation and organic farming, both big priorities for the Garden State, supporters say.
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They add that the bill would mark the first time the federal government has agreed to allocate money -- $1 billion over five years -- specifically to help fruit and vegetable farmers.
However, growers of so-called specialty crops, who dominate New Jersey agriculture, won't receive direct taxpayer subsidies. Federal assistance will take the form of marketing and grants to states, a boost in the agricultural research budget, and enhanced support for organic farming and including more fruits and vegetables in school meals.
Until now, supporters say, growers of commodity crops such as corn, soybeans, wheat and cotton -- most of which is grown outside the urban Northeast -- were heavily favored in farm legislation by being given billions of dollars worth of taxpayer subsidies.
They also got the bulk of attention in terms of research and other help.
"We are very excited about the prospects of this bill. For the first time in 70-plus years of farm policy in this country, this bill recognizes the importance of fruit and vegetable to our agriculture," Robert Guenther, spokesman for the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance, said Tuesday in Washington.
His group and 500 others led by the National Farmers Union are furiously lobbying the House and the Senate to pass the bill and overturn Bush's veto if he exercises it.
A two-thirds majority is needed to overturn a veto.
The Bush administration opposes the legislation saying it's filled with costly giveaways to wealthy farmers.
Under the bill, a married couple making up to $1.5 million a year could still receive farm subsidies.
The Bush administration wants to limit payments to those making no more than $200,000.
Peter Furey, executive director of the New Jersey Farm Bureau, urged Bush to sign the bill, saying it would benefit the urban and rural parts of the state.
Northeasterners lobbied Congress hard to get fair consideration in the bill and their efforts have paid off, he added.
"I am not putting too rosy a spin on this but what we are pleased about is we are coming close to the finish line to get this bill passed," Furey said in a telephone interview.
"If we do not adopt it . . . we will have introduced an element of uncertainty into the business of farming. . . . The risk of not having a farm bill is having an outdated farm bill that does not match reality."
Last year, the House and the Senate passed competing versions of the farm bill but negotiations broke down over a compromise.
The Senate also rejected an alternative proposal by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., which would have eliminated all crop subsidies and replaced them with crop-loss insurance.
The bill Congress is scheduled to consider this week keeps the subsidies, the main reason why some traditional Bush critics like the Environmental Working Group are siding with the president in opposing the legislation.
