WATCH: Sen. Schiff Presses Secretary of Agriculture on Increasing Support for Specialty Crop Farmers

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, pressed U.S. Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) Brooke Rollins on her commitment to increasing assistance for specialty crop farmers.

During his questioning, Schiff pushed Rollins to respond to the need for support for specialty crop farmers for recent market disruptions, disaster assistance, and recent outbreaks of pests and disease. Following Schiff's questioning, Secretary Rollins responded that the USDA has more than doubled the original funding for market relief assistance to specialty crop farmers, extended the deadline for farmers to apply for disaster assistance, and assured that USDA would secure resources for California grape growers facing the consequences of the invasive glassy-winged sharpshooter.

Background: Schiff is the first senator from California to serve on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry in over 30 years.Last week,Schiff introduced six new pieces of legislation aimed at expanding support and market access for specialty crop farmers and to level the playing field for California growers in the upcoming Farm Bill.

Senator Schiff also recently outlined his priorities for the next Farm Bill and his plans to push for a bill that advances economic opportunity, health, sustainability, national security, and prosperity. During the first year and a half of the Senator's term on the Senate Agriculture Committee, he has visited farms across the entirety of California, learning about the Golden State's countless agricultural industries, including strawberries, almonds, broccoli, celery, and leafy greens.

Watch the full clip HERE. Download the clip HERE.

Key excerpt:

Schiff: You were recently in California, so you know how important our Golden State is to producing healthy fruits and vegetables. This is why last week I introduced a package of six bills to increase support and level the playing field for specialty crop farmers. I want to thank you for moving in the right direction with an increased allotment for specialty crop farmers from an initial $850 million to 1.625 billion for assistance to specialty crop farmers. However, specialty crops account for 30% of the total U.S. crop sales, and the industry is facing several billion dollars in losses due to market disruptions over the last year and a half. They are continuing to ask for 5 billion, up from the 1.6 in additional help to have this funding doled out based on revenue, similar to how CFAP two under the first Trump administration was implemented. And I wanted to ask whether you would consider increasing the amount going to specialty crops, given their significant percentage of the food production in the country and their significant losses. But also, if you would consider reevaluating how that, how USDA is distributing the relief and using the formula similar to CFAP two under the first Trump administration.

Rollins: We would love any feedback, and we've said that all along. It's one of the reasons that we basically doubled, maybe even more than doubled, the original plan. As we have made clear, this is hopefully we can lean on Congress to step into these gaps that USDA sort of bubble gumming and duct taping some of these programs together is very difficult on the bottom line. So, we'll look forward to working together, but yes, of course, we're always open to that sort of feedback.

Schiff: And is there any constraint in using the CCC money that you need addressed in the Farm Bill or otherwise to augment what we can do for these specialty crop farmers?

Rollins: Yes, so what we've discussed is the CCC is a really important tool for USDA. I don't really, for the American farmer, I don't know that I really ever really appreciated it until this job. But it has been at a loan limit of $30 billion for decades. It was never tied to inflation when it was instituted, I think, in the 1930s if I'm not misspeaking. So, yes, there's a lot of work that can't, that Congress can do. It's a congressionally authorized fund, obviously, to adjust, and even just tying to inflation. We're obviously talking to Senator Hoeven and a lot of people on this committee almost daily about the importance of that. And the other important point of that, Senator, is that a lot of the really good things that happened under the Working Families Tax Cut Act, the reference price increase, et cetera, that is going to come, crop insurance, crop protection, et cetera, the additional money is going to come from the CCC fund. So we are, we're really stretched right now on the CCC.

Schiff: We will provide you, and I'll make sure that our specialty crop farmers provide you with additional information about why using CFAP two would be a more fair formula for farmers and more workable, given the nature of how they grow their crops, which is very different than row crops.

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