WineAmerica Celebrates Passage of 2014 Farm Bill

Washington, DC – WineAmerica wishes to congratulate the Senate for passing the 2014 Farm Bill on a strong bi-partisan basis (68-32). The leadership and unceasing efforts of Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow and Ranking Member Thad Cochran, along with their counterparts in the House, are to be applauded for acting in the best interests of agriculture and the American public.

This Farm Bill represents an increase in investment of 55 percent over the 2008 Farm Bill funding levels in critical specialty crop initiatives and programs, including the State Block Grant Program, Specialty Research Initiative, the pest and disease prevention program, along with maintaining funding in the Market Access Program. This legislation represents the most significant government investment ever into the competitiveness of specialty crop producers and wine industry members. We salute Congress for this action and anticipate the President’s signature on the bill in the coming days.

WineAmerica also wishes to thank its members across the country who reached out to their legislators in support of the bill. These efforts coincided with the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance, a national coalition of more than 120 organizations representing specialty crop growers. A summary prepared by the Alliance of the bill’s impact on the specialty crop and wine industry is available upon request. Please email or call Mark Chandler, Executive Director, WineAmerica at mchandler@nullwineamerica.org, or 202.223.5170.

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