WASHINGTON—Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Jan. 19 announced the availability $45 million in FY2010 funds for Section 10201 of the 2008 Farm Bill to fund projects to "build and preserve critical plant health safeguarding initiatives across America."
Section 10201 provides funding to more than 50 specialty crop stakeholders, including state departments of agriculture, universities, nonprofit organizations and USDA agencies. In 2010, it will fund more than 200 state, regional and national projects directed at enhancing early plant pest detection and surveillance, threat identification and mitigation and safeguarding nursery production.
According to Robert Guenther, United Fresh senior vice president of public policy, and the secretary of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA), "Key members of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance were consistently engaged with APHIS since the Farm Bill became law in 2008 to ensure USDA released funding for section 10201 in a timely manner, and also to ensure funds addressed our industry's plant pest and disease priorities. All-in-all, this is truly an important accomplishment, due in large part to SCFBA efforts."
