Newhouse Take on CFAP-2 Pt 3
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. With Round 2 of the USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program underway, there are still many issues producers are dealing with directly and indirectly related to the pandemic.
U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse says assistance programs like CFAP and the CARES Act are certainly important …
NEWHOUSE … “Then beyond that, all of the things that we’ve been working on prior to the pandemic are still as important, in fact, more important than ever.”
And, Newhouse says we’ve also got to sell our products …
NEWHOUSE … “We’ve got to continue working on opening up more markets for our products, leveling the playing field with our trading partners, for example, the USMCA that we passed. We need to continue with some of the victories we’ve had with trade deals.”
But before sales, Newhouse says we’ve got to harvest the crops …
NEWHOUSE … “I continue to work, in fact, I’m putting together a group of people again to strategize and see how we can move forward with our ag labor reform legislation and what next steps are there.”
Newhouse says it’s a balancing act …
NEWHOUSE … “So, all of those things that make for a competitive agricultural industry that we’d been working on pre-pandemic, we’ll continue to work on post-pandemic to make sure that we can thrive on into the future as we get over this COVID pandemic.”
Newhouse says Central Washington farmers in his district are resilient, but the pandemic and other issues have impacted their ability to maintain a strong, stable food supply chain.
