Budget measure includes $12B in specialty crop relief

A $95 billion budget reconciliation measure measure that narrowly passed the U.S. House last week allocates up to $12 billion in relief for the strained farm economy.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Senate will hold the legislation until lawmakers establish a clear plan to fund the federal government past September and avert a shutdown. 

The National Potato Council (NPC) joined 47 allied agricultural organizations in a July 21 letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, urging Congress to provide at least $12 billion in relief for agriculture as part of the House budget package.

“We appreciate the White House’s request for additional economic relief funding for agriculture,” NPC CEO Kam Quarles said in a statement. “Congress will decide the level of that funding and its need is growing more critical as the crisis impacting potatoes continues to expand. Clearly the specialty crop industry’s request for no less than $5 billion is well justified.”

During the NPC Summer Meeting last week in Detroit, data revealed that losses in the Russet variety of potatoes alone are now estimated to be over $640 million nationwide. Earlier estimates this year forecast $500 million in losses.

In the letter (.pdf), the groups detailed economic pressures mounting across farm country, including weak commodity prices, rising labor costs and input price spikes for fertilizer and fuel driven by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. 

“As they navigate one of the toughest economic stretches in decades, many farm families are worried about more than just covering record-high bills — they’re also concerned about securing the credit they need to plant and grow next year’s crop,” the coalition wrote in the letter.

With total losses across the farm economy vastly exceeding $12 billion, the requested relief would complement existing programs, including the Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops Program and the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program, to deliver stability to producers, the coalition said.

“America’s family farms produce the food, fiber and fuel that Americans rely on every day, and their work supports jobs and economic activity across this country,” the letter read in part. “We ask for your leadership and support in preserving this critical assistance and ensuring timely relief reaches farm families as quickly as possible.”