Specialty Crop and Value-Added Agriculture Promotion Act

Bill: 108-hr-4800
Sponsor: Rep. Hooley, Darlene [D-OR-5]
Introduced: 2004-07-09 in the House
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Agribusiness
Agricultural cooperatives
Agricultural subsidies
Block grants
Commerce
Congress
Congressional investigations
Congressional reporting requirements
Crop insurance
Department of Agriculture
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Elementary and secondary education
Farm produce
Farmers
Finance and Financial Sector
Fruit
Government Operations and Politics
Government publicity
Grants-in-aid
Insurance premiums
Law
Marketing of farm produce
Produce trade
Quality control
Quality of products
School lunch program
Social Welfare
Standards
Vegetables

Summary:
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: 
Specialty Crop and Value-Added Agriculture Promotion Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make annual State grants (based upon value of production) to enhance specialty crop competitiveness. Stipulates that such grants shall supplement and not replace State funds.
 
Defines &quot;specialty crop&quot; as any crop other than wheat, feed grains, oilseeds, cotton, rice, peanuts, sugar, and tobacco.
 
Amends the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 to replace the agricultural marketing resource center pilot project with a State block grant program for value-added agricultural product market development.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish a quality standardization program for certification of farmers and processors under quality assurance systems, which shall include 50 percent reimbursement of participant certification costs.
 
Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to direct the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out the adjusted gross revenue insurance pilot program as a permanent program. Authorizes the Corporation to: (1) expand the program to cover any county in which crops are produced; and (2) grant temporary policy subsidies for producers located in a county that has a high level of specialty crop production and has not had a high level of crop insurance coverage coverage.
 
Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to direct the Secretary to: (1) make available to students in not more than 100 schools in each State, and in elementary and secondary schools on one Indian reservation, free fresh and dried fruits and vegetables throughout the school day in one or more school-designated areas; and (2) give priority to States that produce large quantities of specialty crops.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-08-25
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Education Reform.
action_date: 2004-07-27
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Specialty Crops and Foreign Agriculture Programs.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: Introduced in House