Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Ms. PINGREE. Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague from Washington State for yielding me the time and for speaking against this amendment.

Mr. Chair, I am sorry to say to my colleague from the other side of the aisle, we oppose this amendment, which would remove money from the highly successful Value Added Producer Grant program.

The base text of this farm bill already removes all mandatory funding from VAPG. Now this amendment would make a bad situation worse by rescinding $8 million from VAPG.

The Value Added Producer Grant is one of the only grant programs that goes directly to farmers.

At a time when the farm economy is hurting, we should be helping farmers find new markets, not taking away opportunities to do so.

USDA's Economic Research Service released a new report earlier this month. Businesses that receive VAPG support are less likely to fail than nonrecipient businesses, and businesses that receive VAPG support also employ more workers than nonrecipient businesses.

This amendment would also exclude beer, wine, distilled spirits, and hard cider projects from being eligible for VAPG. It is completely arbitrary and foolish to restrict these products.

In my State of Maine, there has been an explosion of craft breweries, distilleries, and cideries that are contributing to the local economy.

Two years ago, Ricker Hill Orchards in Maine received VAPG money to increase production of hard cider and fruit wine. This provided the farmers with an opportunity to diversify revenue and reach new markets.

This may be a very small program, but it can make a big impact on farmers and rural communities in States like mine and across the country.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment.

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