IV 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 177 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that specialty crops 

are a vital part of agriculture in the United States, and that Congress 

should fund programs that support specialty crops as a growing and 

important part of agriculture in the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 26, 2015 

Ms. DELBENE (for herself, Mr. SCHRADER, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. BENISHEK, Mr. HECK of Washington, 

Mr. REICHERT, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico, Mr. 

COURTNEY, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. GARAMENDI, and Ms. 

GABBARD) 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, and that Congress should fund programs 

that support specialty crops as a growing and important 

part of agriculture in the United States. 

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; 


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•HRES 177 IH 

Whereas the yearly value of specialty crop production totals 

nearly $60 billion, which accounts for about one-fourth of 

all domestic crop value; 

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 about $14 billion as recently as 

2013, which accounts for about 10 percent of all agricultural exports from the United States; 

Whereas there are about 245,000 farms that grow a variety 

of specialty crops; 

Whereas specialty crop production is most highly concentrated in California, Florida, Washington, Oregon, 

North Dakota, and Michigan, however all 50 States have 

at least some specialty crop production; 

Whereas the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–79), 

also referred to as the 2014 Farm Bill, included unprecedented and historic amounts of funding for critical programs such as the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, 

the Specialty Crop Research Initiative, and the National 

Clean Plant Network; 

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), received mandatory 

funding through Fiscal Year 2018 and beyond in the 

2014 Farm Bill; 

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 


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•HRES 177 IH 

U.S.C. 7761), saw an increase in mandatory funding 

from the 2014 Farm Bill; 

Whereas a vital program for specialty crops, the Specialty 

Crop Block Grant Program, established under section 

10202 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 

2008 (7 U.S.C. 7761), saw an increase in mandatory 

funding from the 2014 Farm Bill; 

Whereas many important agriculture programs did not, however, receive mandatory funding under the 2014 Farm 

Bill; 

Whereas it is paramount that Congress builds on the 

progress of the 2014 Farm Bill to provide funding for 

these programs in future Farm Bills, so as to provide 

certainty to farmers across the United States; 

Whereas overall spending on specialty crops still remains a 

small percentage of all funding for crops, however, 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, 


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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 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 2012, 106,000 farms 

produced fruits, tree nuts, and berries with a total value 

of $25,900,000,000, an increase of $7,300,000,000 in 5 

years; 

Whereas the Census shows an increase in the value of sales 

for vegetables, potatoes, and melons from 

$14,700,000,000 in 2007 to $16,900,000,000 in 2012; 

Whereas the value of nursery, greenhouse, and floriculture 

sales represented $14,500,000,000 in 2012; 

Whereas it is evident that specialty crops are an increasingly 

important part of agriculture in the United States; and 

Whereas specialty crops deserve their fair share of consideration and funding in agriculture generally, but especially 

in the annual appropriations process and future Farm 

Bills: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 

3 (1) specialty crops are a vital part of agri4 culture in the United States; and 


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1 (2) Congress should fund programs that sup2 port specialty crops as a growing and important part 

3 of agriculture in the United States. 

Æ 


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