Keeping the U.S. specialty crop industry competitive in a global market is one of the key priorities for the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance. While not advocating for protectionist policies, industry members are seeking policies that prioritize the domestic industry. President and CEO of California Citrus Mutual, Casey Creamer said that principal is a unifying aspect of the diverse specialty crop industry.
“A lot of other countries implement several policies that promote and protect their domestic industry. It’s just time that there’s that focus here in the United States as well. And I sense that it’s shifting,” Creamer noted. “When we go back to D.C., you start to hear a little bit more of that competitiveness and protecting the domestic industries and workforce as well. So that’s kind of the direction I think that it’s going and that’s why it’s important to play a part with any government policy that you possibly can to help steer that direction.”
There is optimism that as the specialty crop industry continues to unify with common goals, policy influence will continue to grow. Whether its through the farm bill or other policy developments, industry members appear to be making headway in highlighting the needs of specialty crop producers. Creamer noted that that does not mean that every industry need is going to be met. However, participating in the conversation helps steer it in a more favorable direction.
“With the diversity of the specialty crop industry, we all have different needs and wants and interests. Things were done in a fashion that were uncoordinated and it minimized our ability to get things done in Washington, D.C., particularly for the farm bill,” said Creamer. “I think what you see in each farm bill, the specialty crops, when they work together and develop priorities and find the things that benefit the most, we tend to have a little bit more weight in the conversations.”
Brian German
Ag News Director / AgNet West