The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced two investments designed to support the U.S. specialty crops industry of Michigan and Leelanau County.
The announcement of the Assisting Specialty Crop Exports (ASCE) initiative will provide $65 million for projects that will help the specialty crop sector increase global exports and expand to new markets, according to a press release from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
“Specialty crop producers feed our nation and the world … Yet, they have unique challenges and opportunities to compete in the domestic market and a vast array of barriers that prevent their world-class products from entering foreign markets,” Vilsack said.
According to the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD), Director Dr. Tim Boring stated 2.5 million will be allocated to Michigan, with other moneys up for grabs.
“Addressing two really important needs of continued research and the ability for the specialty crop industry to be in a good position to deal with climate resiliency issues. While, at the same time, building market support for regional agricultural promotion. The promotion program is gonna have a big difference in how we can market products in new and emerging markets across the world,” Boring said.
USDA has identified three workstreams to assist specialty crop exporters: commodity-specifi c trade and regulatory capacity building; plastics and packaging solutions; and funding of a maximum residue limits (MRL) database. Each workstream addresses a critical issue identified by specialty crop producers and exporters, according to a press release. These efforts will create new market opportunities and ensure existing markets remain open to U.S. specialty crops.
The United States enjoyed a three-year streak of record agricultural exports from 20212023, with exports expected to remain high in 2024. Even at record export levels, the 2023 agricultural trade deficit is $19 billion, and USDA has projected that it will grow in 2024, according to a press release. There is also increased competition in the United States’ export markets in Asia and Africa. Therefore, additional investments in market development are needed to sustain and open new markets, according to a press release. The USDA’s Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP) will help exporters to diversify their markets and ensure continuity of the relationships key to market development.
Boring said that investments will primarily help small and medium sized producers expand their market horizons and simplify the process.
“Growers in Leelanau County have a vested interest in the ease and access of Washington apples across the Pacific Ocean because it means that there’s a greater market demand and opportunity for our products here across the United States,” Boring said.
The 2.5 million investment is well over $500,000 MDARD spent on “specialty crop block grant funding” in 2023.
Boring states that MDARD is closely evaluating the import pressure on the local market, as well as dealing with the growing frustration of labor wages for farmers alike.
“That’s where you really get effective use of these dollars, and it demonstrates it’s effective in industry, academia, and the working relationship yields a lot of dividends,” Boring said. “I’m going to continue to maintain optimism around the industry that we’re going to continue to plan on this industry being strong and vibrant ahead. So we are taking the long term steps there, but we are absolutely aware of how significant the labor issue is for growers.”
The grant’s goal is to enhance access to the international market for specialty crop growers and funding for research projects.
“We produce a really high quality product here in Michigan and that’s recognized around the world. So there’s an aspect here of continuing to educate and demonstrate to different markets around the world that a higher quality product is available through Michigan,” Boring said. “Then it supports programs like this to make sure that once folks are demanding that product, we can get it there in an economical and reasonable way,” Boring added.
The speciality crop block grants aren’t a pathway for labor relief, although Boring says at the Great Lakes Fruit and Vegetable Expo in January had a specific focus on the development of automation in the long term for mitigating the needs for not relying on hand labor is a real path forward, according to Boring.
“But those are solutions, you know, for tomorrow, whereas a lot of the labor issues demand some attention for today as well,” Boring said.
