Senate Appropriations Committee Approves
FY 2004 Agriculture Legislation
July 17, 2003

Washington, DC -- U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) announced today that the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved funding for a number of important California agricultural priorities including research into ways to eradicate Glassy Winged Sharpshooter.

"California is the number one agriculture producing State, and this is why I am so pleased that the Appropriation committee has provided funding for many of California's agriculture needs," Senator Feinstein said. "Exotic pests, such as the glassy winged sharp shooter, pose a fundamental threat to California agriculture. It is critical that we do all that we can to eliminate the threat from this and other exotic pests."

The FY2003 Agriculture Appropriations Bill approved by the Committee today includes the following items of interest to California:

• $22.5 million for State eradication efforts into the Glassy Winged Sharpshooter;
• $2.25 million for Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service Piece's Disease Research;
• $3.8 million for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Service to research ways to combat the Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter;
• $1.048 million for Sudden Oak Death research;
• $638,000 for the Bi-National Ag Research/Development Program;
• $2 million for the Center for Exotic Pest Research (UC Riverside);
• $427,000 for the Central California Ozone Study;
• $1.788 million for the East-West Viticulture Consortium;
• $3.5 million Methyl Bromide Transition Program;
• $795,000 for the Food Animal Residue avoidance databank;
• $2.5 million Appropriate Technology Transfer for rural areas;
• $180 million for the National Research Initiative, a USDA competitive research grant program;
• $25 million for the farmers's market nutrition program; and
• $1 billion for Environmental Quality Incentives Program, a program that allows farmers to receive compensation for conserving habitat, protecting open space, and preserving farmland.
  

In addition, the bill includes report language that:

• Encourages the Secretary of Agriculture to use existing Commodity Credit Corporation authorities and resources to provide assistance in response to animal and plant health threats, and to allow compensation to avocado and citrus growers in California and poultry industry in California.



• Urges the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to continue working closely with US avocado growers to implement procedures for import of Mexican Avocados. It also directs APHIS to report on the status of Mexican avocado imports, including problems with pets surveys, oversight by APHIS personnel, diversion of Mexican avocados to other than an approved destination. The Committee also directs APHIS to include independent, third party scientists in the development of any pest risk assessment in the Federal Register. Report to Congress before they publish results expanding approved areas or lengthening the time periods for import of Mexican avocados.

• Encourages the Risk Management Agency to develop and implement an option to the current crop insurance program for avocados to cover losses due to quarantines and do so in close cooperation with the California avocado industry, and comment and report on the economic impacts of recent domestic quarantines and analyze options for protecting avocado growers from future losses due to such actions. The Committee also expects the USDA to report within 6 months on progress in developing a program for a rider option for avocado crop insurance to address future quarantine due to any injurious pest or disease, including fruit fly infestation.

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