
Today, House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (MN-02) delivered the following opening statement at a full committee hearing titled “An Examination of the State of the Specialty Crop Industry.” Watch the hearing here.
[As prepared for delivery.]
I want to thank the Chairman for holding this hearing today.
I also want to recognize the subcommittee Ranking Member Salinas, who has been a stalwart champion for our specialty crop farmers. Oregon, as we all know, is home to many specialty crops — including wine grapes and grass seed. She comes to work every day to fight on their behalf. Thank you for your leadership.
While row crops are critical to our nation’s energy and food security, specialty crops are just as important. Whether it’s fruits, nuts or vegetables, the specialty crops are staples of the American diet.
Like many of our row crop growers, specialty crop farmers are in a tough spot today. Labor costs are high. Production costs are being driven up by tariffs on inputs that simply cannot be sourced within the United States. Trump’s trade wars are causing market turmoil and impacting the cost of machinery and equipment. All of this makes it harder for specialty crop farmers to keep farming and harder for the average American to enjoy reasonably priced produce.
The Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill, which they are now trying to rebrand due to its unpopularity, was signed into law in July and made some investments in the farm safety net. However, many of the requests and needs of the specialty crop industry were left behind, like improvements to crop insurance.
I visited a berry farm in California earlier this year, where I spoke with farmers about the challenging economic headwinds they’re facing. Specialty crop farmers often produce delicate crops that require fundamentally different farming techniques and equipment than the corn and soybean farmers that call my southwest Minnesota district home.
The farmers I spoke with at the berry farm increasingly see the need for automation and mechanized labor to perform the specialized work necessary to tend to and harvest their crops. Their need to innovate new tools is underscored by the administration’s current assault on the farm labor community and the chaos it has caused across the farm country.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today, who are sure to talk more about that. I want to thank you for being here and for sharing your expertise and experience with us.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.