•HRES 346 IH 
Whereas the yearly value of specialty crop production totals 
nearly $60,000,000,000, 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 $14,000,000,000 as recently 
as 2013, which accounts for about 10 percent of all agri-
cultural exports from the United States; 
Whereas approximately 245,000 farms in the United States 
grow a variety of specialty crops; 
Whereas all 50 States have specialty crop production, which 
is most highly concentrated in California, Florida, Wash-
ington, Oregon, North Dakota, and Michigan; 
Whereas the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–79) 
included unprecedented amounts of funding for vital and 
critical programs such as the Specialty Crop Block Grant 
Program, the Specialty Crop Research Initiative, and the 
National Clean Plant Network; 
Whereas, pursuant to section 7306 of the Agricultural Act of 
2014, the Specialty Crop Research Initiative, established 
under section 412 of the Agricultural Research, Exten-
sion, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 
7632), received mandatory funding for fiscal year 2018 
and subsequent fiscal years; 
Whereas mandatory funding for the National Clean Plant 
Network under section 420 of the Plant Protection Act 
(7 U.S.C. 7721) was increased by the Agricultural Act of 
2014; 
Whereas mandatory funding for the Specialty Crop Block 
Grant Program under section 420 of the Plant Protection 
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•HRES 346 IH 
Act (7 U.S.C. 7721) was increased by the Agricultural 
Act of 2014; 
Whereas many important agriculture programs did not, how-
ever, receive mandatory funding under the Agricultural 
Act of 2014; 
Whereas it is paramount that Congress builds on the 
progress of the Agricultural Act of 2014 to provide fund-
ing for these programs in the next act authorizing agri-
cultural programs for a fiscal year after fiscal year 2018, 
so as to provide certainty to producers across the United 
States; 
Whereas overall spending on specialty crops is a small per-
centage of all funding for crops, including mandatory and 
discretionary spending; 
Whereas producers of 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, pep-
pers, plums, potatoes, pumpkins, sweet corn, certain to-
matoes, 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 
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•HRES 346 IH 
goals, which call for half of plates to be fruits and vegeta-
bles; 
Whereas the number of farms producing fruits, berries, and 
tree nuts in the United States is steadily increasing; 
Whereas sales of fruits, berries, and tree nuts in the United 
States are 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 according to such Census, the value of sales for 
vegetables, 
potatoes 
and 
melons 
increased 
from 
$14,700,000,000 in 2007 to $16,900,000,000 in 2012; 
Whereas according to such Census, the value of nursery, 
greenhouse, and floriculture sales was $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 consider-
ation and funding in agriculture generally, but especially 
in the annual appropriations process and the next act au-
thorizing agricultural programs for a fiscal year after fis-
cal year 2018: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) specialty crops are a vital part of agri-
culture in the United States; and 
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(2) Congress should pass legislation funding 
programs that support specialty crops as a growing 
and important part of agriculture in the United 
States. 
Æ 
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