04/04/06 Craig introduces specialty crop bill

Idaho's Larry Craig and Michigan's Debbie Stabenow have introduced a bill in the US Senate that would do more to promote specialty crops. CRAIG "And we hope it will become a title in the new Farm Bill. First of all it sets forth a definition of what is a specialty crop and it begins to create some resources for the recognition of specialty crops, the promotion of them." Idaho is a major specialty crop producer thanks to potatoes, onions, apples, cherries, mint and so many more but those commodities were never covered in prior Farm Bill legislation. The Craig-Stabenow bill requires the USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation to provide the states with 200 million dollars worth of block grant money to help enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. CRAIG "It will allow smaller units of farming. It begins to identify with the community again instead of the large broad commercialized farming that was very much a part of the American landscape decades ago. Craig says he and fellow Senator Mike Crapo will do all they can to educate Congress on the challenges that Idaho specialty producers face. And spring is here for sure. Diversion gates on the Boise River were opened yesterday and water is starting to fill 500 miles of canals in Nampa-Meridian Irrigation District. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott