As for your contention that the response you received is a form letter- yes it’s a form letter. I know folks who participated in grassroots outreach on this issue who got the same response. My best guess is that you got this letter because there is nothing new to report. Conference negotiations on the Farm Bill have all but broken down and things are not looking positive to be completed by the time the current extension expires on March 15th.

The Senate passed Farm Bill did contain provisions (the newly proposed ACR program) regarding fruit and vegetables in the Midwest but it is at best a bandaid approach. It does little to nothing to help with fruit and veg planting issues right now and for the next couple of years, much less be a complete fix once it is fully implemented. Once the provisions are implemented, they still do not go far enough in lifting restrictions on planting fruit and veg in the Midwest.

The bottom line is that even though you feel frustration from receiving a form letter and from the talk of the Senate passed ACR program, please know that Senator Durbin and his staff have worked tirelessly behind the scenes on this issue and should be commended on their efforts on this front.

This is obviously a form response, can anyone direct me to a site or source where I can follow up to his response? It seems that there is a missing link between what he indicates is going on and what is going on…..

Thanks!

That being said, I would rather keep the politics of this conversation about the issue rather than the company I work for. In addition, I am representing my own opinions of how the Farm Bill process has gone and was not censoring it to represent the opinions of my company.

I will say though that I work for a company that grows and processes fruits and vegetables, not just in the Midwest but in other parts of the country as well, and for whom the issue of Farm Flex is a great concern.

If this issue is not fixed in the near future, it has the potential to push processors out of the Midwest if they are unable to find the growing acreage they need to meet demand for their product- and would put them in direct competition with fresh for acres in states like California, Texas and Florida, where they can double crop and have longer growing seasons.

I have worked in federal government policy for a number of years and I represent my company on issues such as the Farm Bill and others.

Thanks again for your response to my comments.

Remember Ronald Reagan’s… ” The most terrifying words in the English language are:
I’m from the goverment and I am here to help.”

or Reagan again… “I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.”

and let us not forget Reagan’s ” The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a goverment program.”

and last but not least ” If we ever forget that we are one nation under God. Then we will be a nation gone under.”

thanks for your thoughtful comments. they’ll mean much more if you can sign your post. I’d like to call attention to it. can you tell me who you are and what you do or in what way you worked in AG policy?

WHAT????? Insane. Talk about global footprints.

Following the Florida Tomato.Would make a great documentary, don’t you think?

In any case, good to see folks on this thread getting proactive with the powers that be. Make some noise!

First let me say that yes, USDA is bureaucratic and they make local farmers lives difficult at times, but the USDA should not bear the majority of blame for this mess that has created a need for Farm Flex. In fact, Deputy Secretary Chuck Conner has been supportive of Farm Flex legislative attempts.

For as long as AG policy has existed in this country, polarizing issues have been largely regional- Midwest v. South v. West Coast, etc.- and not partisan, Republican v. Democrat. Because AG issues pit region versus region, there often times are issues that do not relate to each other what so ever that become embroiled in a battle of which is more important – such is the case with Farm Flex.

Mr. Hedin is exactly correct in his assessment of the penalties effecting Midwest fruit and vegetable growers- locally grown, organic and processed. Farm Flex was introduced as a separate bill about 2 years before the Farm Bill reauthorization, as a means to alleviate the restrictions on plating fruits and vegetables in the Midwest. At the time Congressional Members indicated that Farm Flex seemed like a no-brainer and to hold out till the Farm Bill re-authorization.

Unfortunately, when re-authorization began the leadership of the national fresh produce associations decided to oppose Farm Flex in an effort to get increased money for specialty crops out of the reauthorization. The issues really have nothing in common, but set the stage to pit Midwest fruit and vegetables (locally grown, organic and processed) against the fresh interests on the West Coast.

Congressman Colin Peterson, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, has nearly the largest number of acres of fruits and vegetables for processing in his district, over any other Congressperson in the country. At the end of the day, the fresh interests pitted their issue against an issue of utmost importance in the Chairman’s district, to nearly ensure that their issues would make it into the Farm Bill.

The even more disappointing fact is that there were Congresspersons and Senators in California and other states who opposed the Farm Flex efforts, despite having both fresh acres and processing acres in their district or state.

At the end of the day, there is demand for fresh, organic, locally grown, and processed fruits and vegetables. The current iteration of the Farm Bill, going in to conference, does very little to ensure increased flexibility for fruits and vegetables in the Midwest. We can only hope that negotiations continue and some relief is provided to fruit and vegetable growers in the Midwest.

As for the comments folks have been sharing, if you want to go after anyone for the way things are currently, contact the Congressman and Senators who prevented Farm Flex from becoming part of the House and Senate Farm Bill’s- ask the national fresh associations why they have and continue to oppose Farm Flex efforts when locally grown, organic and processed fruit and vegetable production in the Midwest really pose no threat to them (after all, the Midwest has a very limited growing season compared to states like California). The comments against USDA are misguided- Congress makes the laws, USDA just enforces them.

It’s stunning, and reprehensible.

http://crunchychicken.blogspot.com/2008/03/fix-farm-bill.html

In those comments are several criticisms of the arguments made in the op-ed. I’d encourage you to read them and make up your own mind.

A few of the highlights:

“The clearest description of the Farm-Flex program for fruits and vegetables (FAVs) can be found at the web site of Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), the chief sponsor of the program. In her own words:

“Farm Flex pertains ONLY to FAVs under contract for processing. Farm Flex production would not enter fresh markets.”
[emphasis hers]”

and a longer snipet:

“As cited above, the Farm-Flex program will not solve Mr. Hayden’s problems with commodity subsidy laws because it does not allow the raising of produce for direct consumer sales; all produce grown under the program must be sold to processors for freezing and canning. If direct-to-consumer sales were allowed, Mr. Hayden would be even worse off; while he could then legally farm his leased 25 acres, the Farm-Flex program that will likely be enacted [pdf] will free up a total 70,000 acres. USDA under the Bush administration plans to do away with the fruit and vegetable restriction completely, allegedly to address WTO conflicts but in actuality to transfer even more power and income to large corporate farms. If this change is implemented, large mid-Western producers will be able to crush small operators like Hayden.

[end]

As an aside, if you’ve got any interest in growing food in the city, check out these pics.

Sues

But would it surprise you to know that the goverment through the Food and Drug Administration has the same devastating effects on little pharmas introducing life saving and life enhancing drugs and driving little pharmas OUT OF BIDNESS!.
TRUE THAT!!!!!!!!!!
There are some seriously sinister going on at the macro level.

Could this spawn the return of the victory garden, perhaps?