Protecting Our Produce Act

Ask any farmer as to the cause of depressed pricing for fruits and vegetables, and the subsequent financial struggles they face, and their #1 answer is ‘foreign imports’ – primarily from Central and South America. Broadly, these countries are not saddled with the same labor and environmental requirements and can dump all sorts of specialty crops into our market at prices the American farmer just cannot match.

As reported by the Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA), Senator Jon Ossoff (GA) and Congressman Sanford Bishop (GA-02) just introduced the Protecting Our Produce Act to boost resources for farmers facing unfairly priced imports. The Act sets up a five-year pilot program to provide support for certain crops – blueberries, squash, bell pepper, cucumber, asparagus – when the price falls below the five-year national average caused by cheap foreign imports. If this pilot proves successful, it could expand to where the real volume lies – tomatoes.

Key to any business is stable pricing at a level where hard work and know-how can lead to success. And that’s all the American farmer wants – a fair playing field. If this Act can help level the field, then the American farmer has a chance.