FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Alexis Silveira
Director of Membership and Communications
(559) 901-7023
Alexis@cacitrusmutual.com
California Citrus Mutual Supports the Elimination of Payment Limits in the CFAP
April 24, 2020, Exeter, Calif.- California Citrus Mutual thanks the broad delegation of representatives in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives for supporting the fresh produce industry’s request to eliminate payment limitations in the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). Led by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and Congressman Jimmy Panetta, 28 members of the Senate and 126 members of the House sent a letter this week to the President and USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue asking for an elimination of the payment limit of $125,000 per commodity and $250,00 per individual or entity. The following is a statement of California Citrus Mutual President Casey Creamer on the Congressional call to eliminate the payment limits.
“We appreciate the strong bipartisan effort in both the Senate and the House to eliminate the payment limits for the produce industry and other commodities. The limits are based on a Farm Bill policy for other government payment programs and should not be applied to this highly unique situation. Growers of crops with high production costs like citrus should be compensated for their actual losses and not be limited by an arbitrary cap. Roughly 80% of lemon growers who have suffered losses due to the foodservice decline would be adversely affected by the unnecessarily low payment limits.
“Our congressional representatives here in California understand these dynamics and have been very supportive of the industry’s needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Special thanks to California Senator Feinstein and Representatives Panetta, Costa, Brownley, Carbajal, Cox, Harder, LaMalfa, Nunes, and Ruiz for engaging with President Trump and Secretary Purdue on behalf of California specialty crop producers. We look forward to continuing to work with Congress and USDA to secure the additional funding necessary to keep all of agriculture viable during these uncertain times.”
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About California Citrus Mutual (CCM)
CCM is a voluntary, non-profit trade association representing CA citrus growers on the economic, regulatory, and political issues that impact them most.
