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2007 Farm Bill
Specialty Crops Policy Options and Consequences Project
The 2007 Farm Bill debate will provide the opportunity to explore policy options that can illuminate the challenges in maintaining or improving specialty crop competitiveness and responsiveness to changing market and social conditions.
The California Institute for the Study of Specialty Crops (CISSC) is overseeing a policy options and consequences project that is being conducted with seven universities in different regions of the United States. These universities include:
- Cornell University
- University of Florida
- Texas A&M University
- Arizona State University
- California State University Fresno
- Washington State University
- Michigan State University
Each region's study is headed by a principal investigator and their co-investigators who have expertise in one or more Farm Bill titles and are extremely knowledgeable about the unique issues confronting their regional specialty crop industries.
Policy options will be collaboratively explored in the context of the 2002 Farm Bill with special attention to regional perspectives. The policy options include:
- Farm Safety Net
- Risk Management
- Conservation Programs, including their interface with farm safety net and risk management programs
- Trade Issues relative to specialty crops (international competitiveness, non-tariff trade barriers, invasive pests, APHIS programs and homeland security, import policies and programs, and impact of WTO rulings such as the US and Brazil cotton dispute case on specialty crop production)
- Food Assistance and Nutrition Programs and their impact on specialty crop industries
- Rural Development and Small Farm Programs
- Research Programs
- Devolution of Federal Agricultural policy
In addition, each principal investigator will be conducting listening sessions in their regions, with some distributing follow-up surveys to gather input from their specialty crop stakeholders. These efforts are being coordinated with the regions' respective State Departments of Agriculture.
During 2006, CISSC plans to produce multiple policy briefs and research reports with a final comprehensive report that aims to provide a strong foundation for discussion and debate regarding the specialty crop industry's stake in the 2007 Farm Bill.