IFPA emphasizes importance of specialty crops to Congress

The International Fresh Produce Association urged Congress to prioritize specialty crops during testimony before the U.S. House Agriculture Committee on Sept. 16.

Dana Brennan, vice president of corporate affairs at Grimmway Farms and chair of IFPA’s U.S. Council Public Policy Committee, represented the fresh produce industry alongside the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture and AmericanHort.

She highlighted industry challenges including labor shortages, regulatory overreach and outdated policies.

Brennan noted that specialty crops, which represent hundreds of billions in farm-gate value, received 0.5% of farm bill funding in 2018. She called for more research funding in the next U.S. farm bill, along with modernized crop insurance for specialty crops, updated organic programs and increased access to fresh produce through federal nutrition programs and schools.

IFPA also welcome the White House’s Make American Healthy Again Commission report’s emphasis on “whole, healthy” foods. Leading up to the report, IFPA met with commission members to stress that fruit and vegetable consumption is essential to achieving national health goals, and that policymakers must consider realistic production needs.

The association also applauded the U.S. House Appropriations Committee’s advancement of a change to a farm worker program for U.S. growers. In its fiscal year 2026 appropriations bill, the House Appropriations Committee advanced a provision that would freeze the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) for H-2A workers at 2023 levels for two years.

“If passed into law, this would provide short-term relief to farmers facing high labor costs,” IFPA said in a statement. “The AEWR, which has more than doubled since 2005, plays an overbearing role in the skyrocketing cost of agricultural labor.”