[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 182 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 182

  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that specialty 
 crops are a vital part of agriculture in the United States, that the 
   Committee on Agriculture should propose funding for programs that 
  support specialty crops priorities, and that legislation should be 
 passed that includes funding reflecting specialty crops as a growing 
            and important part of United States agriculture.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 25, 2013

 Ms. DelBene (for herself, Mr. Vargas, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Benishek, Mr. 
   Hastings of Washington, Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, Ms. 
 Kuster, Mr. Schrader, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Garamendi, and Mr. Reichert) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                             on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that specialty 
 crops are a vital part of agriculture in the United States, that the 
   Committee on Agriculture should propose funding for programs that 
  support specialty crops priorities, and that legislation should be 
 passed that includes funding reflecting specialty crops as a growing 
            and important part of United States agriculture.

Whereas specialty crops are defined as fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried 
        fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops including floriculture;
Whereas farmers in the United States grow more than 350 types of fruit, 
        vegetable, tree nut, flower, nursery, and other horticultural crops;
Whereas the yearly value of specialty crop production totals more than 
        $50,000,000,000 which accounts for about half of all domestic crop 
        value;
Whereas specialty crops represent more than \1/3\ of the value of United States 
        crop production in a given year;
Whereas sales of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables total nearly 
        $100,000,000,000 annually;
Whereas combined exports of specialty crops grown in the United States totaled 
        nearly $15,900,000,000 as recently as 2010, which accounts for about 15 
        percent of all agricultural exports from the United States;
Whereas there are about 248,000 farms that grow a variety of specialty crops, 
        and every single State has at least some specialty crop production;
Whereas overall spending on specialty crops remains a small percentage of all 
        funding for crops, even taking into account mandatory and discretionary 
        funding combined;
Whereas specialty crops are not eligible for many of the traditional support 
        programs that benefit producers of other crops;
Whereas programs that support specialty crops are generally available to all 
        crops, while the opposite is true of specific commodity crops;
Whereas fruits and vegetables like red raspberries, almonds, apples, apricots, 
        avocados, bananas, beans, blueberries, citrus, cherries, cranberries, 
        figs, grapes, macadamia nuts, nectarines, onions, papayas, peaches, 
        pecans, peppers, plums, potatoes, pumpkins, sweet corn, certain 
        tomatoes, walnuts, asparagus, beets, strawberries, broccoli, and carrots 
        are just a few of the hundreds of specialty crops grown in the United 
        States;
Whereas specialty crops are a driving force in promoting a healthier country and 
        are part of a healthy, balanced diet that can help consumers reach 
        recommended dietary goals, which call for half of plates to be fruits 
        and vegetables;
Whereas the authorities in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 
        U.S.C. 8701 et seq.) that expired on September 30, 2012, were extended 
        under the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-240) 
        until September 30, 2013;
Whereas many agriculture programs did not receive any additional mandatory 
        funding under that extension;
Whereas a vital program for specialty crops, the specialty crop research 
        initiative, established under section 412 of the Agricultural Research, 
        Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7632), did not 
        receive any additional mandatory funding under that extension;
Whereas a vital program for specialty crops, the national clean plant network, 
        established under section 10202 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy 
        Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 7761), did not receive any additional mandatory 
        funding under that extension;
Whereas it is paramount that the House of Representatives passes a new 5-year 
        farm bill to reauthorize agriculture programs without funding in fiscal 
        year 2013, to provide funding for such programs in fiscal year 2014 and 
        fiscal years thereafter, and to provide certainty to farmers across the 
        United States;
Whereas the number of farms producing and sales of fruits, berries, and tree 
        nuts in the United States is steadily increasing;
Whereas according to the most recent census data published by the Census of 
        Agriculture in 2007, 112,690 farms produced fruits, tree nuts, and 
        berries with a total value of $18,600,000,000, an increase of 
        $4,900,000,000 in 5 years;
Whereas the Census shows an increase in the value of sales for vegetables, 
        potatoes and melons from $12,800,000,000 in 2002 to $14,700,000,000 in 
        2007, an increase of 15 percent;
Whereas nursery, greenhouse, floriculture, and sod sales increased 13 percent 
        from 2002 and 2007, from $14,700,000,000 to $16,600,000,000;
Whereas it is evident that specialty crops are an increasingly important part of 
        agriculture in the United States; and
Whereas specialty crops should get their fair share of consideration and funding 
        in agriculture generally, but especially in the farm bill: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) specialty crops are a vital part of agriculture in the 
        United States;
            (2) the Committee on Agriculture should propose funding for 
        programs that support specialty crops priorities; and
            (3) legislation should be passed that includes funding 
        reflecting specialty crops as a growing and important part of 
        United States agriculture.
                                 <all>