Bill would help state's produce growers

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers unveiled a compromise farm bill Thursday providing roughly $1.3 billion to the nation's fruit and vegetable growers for grants, research and help in opening foreign markets to the apples, cherries, raspberries and other crops grown in Washington and elsewhere.

After more than a year of haggling, the House and Senate are expected to vote next week on the final version of the $286 billion, five-year farm bill.

White House officials indicated President Bush is likely to veto the bill because it is too expensive at a time crop prices are sky high and because it includes trade-distorting provisions. It's unclear whether the measure will pass with enough votes to override a veto.

For the first time, the farm bill includes a section devoted to so-called specialty crops: fruits and vegetables. The $1.3 billion includes funding for an expanded program of block grants for the states along with money for research, pest and disease management, promotion and market-opening initiatives.

The bill also includes $1 billion to improve childhood nutrition through the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program, operated through schools.

Washington is the third-largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the nation behind California and Florida. Agriculture is the largest industry in the state, employing roughly 160,000 people and pumping $32 billion into the state's economy every year.

The Evergreen State ranks No. 1 in the production of such crops as apples, red raspberries, sweet cherries, pears and hops.

"It's a step in the right direction," said Henry Bierlink, executive director of the Washington Red Raspberry Commission. Even though specialty-crop growers had initially sought $5 billion, he said the latest bill recognizes for the first time that there is more to agriculture than corn, wheat, soybeans and cotton.

Many details of what's included in the bill remained sketchy Thursday. And although the bill apparently reins in some farm-subsidy programs, it reportedly falls short of what the White House and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had hoped for.

Only 20 percent of Washington's farmers receive federal subsidies, which totaled $2.5 billion in the past 10 years. Whitman County in Eastern Washington has traditionally been one of the top U.S. wheat-producing counties.

The language in the bill is complicated. One change involves lowering the income cutoff on eligibility for federal subsidies from $2.5 million to $500,000.

Specialty-crop growers do not receive direct federal subsidies. The bill provides $15 million to compensate asparagus growers in Washington, California and Michigan that have been hurt by cheap asparagus imports from South America.

The legislation also includes $20 million for the National Clean Plant Network. The new program, championed by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., is aimed at ensuring that safe, virus-free plant materials are available for use in orchards, vineyards and for other crops.