A bipartisan group of lawmakers has created the Congressional Specialty Crops Caucus to build support for farm bill priorities.
Michigan Democrat Elisa Slotkin says she expects the caucus to also advocate for small farms.
“We need to make sure, particularly our small farmers, can survive,” she says. “We need to make sure we’re looking at the next generation of farmers. And while that may be easier to identify in a big farm with thousands and thousands of acres, a lot of our specialty crop farmers are smaller farms.”
During a call with reporters, California Congressman Jim Costa says specialty crop growers have special challenges that need to be addressed with additional funding for research and crop insurance.
