Collins, Golden Call on Administration to Support Maine Apple Orchards
Click HERE to read Senator Collins and Representative Golden’s letter
Washington, D.C.—In a continuation of their advocacy for Maine’s family-owned apple orchards, U.S. Senator Susan Collins and Representative Jared Golden wrote to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, urging him to provide assistance to help offset some of the economic harm many small growers are facing due to ongoing trade disputes.
Senator Collins and Representative Golden previously wrote to Secretary Perdue and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in September 2019, pressing them to provide relief for apple growers through its Agricultural Trade Promotion Program (ATP). Unfortunately, recent ATP payments have benefited only large apple exporters in the northwest at the expense of small- and medium-sized farms in the northeast.
“Enduring natural disasters and economic downturns, many family-owned orchards in the northeast have survived through hard work and ingenuity. Recent industry and international disruptions, however, have put these growers in an untenable situation that threatens their continued existence,” Senator Collins and Representative Golden wrote. “Unfortunately, the $23 billion in agricultural aid spent thus far under President Trump’s administration has not improved the financial stability of these [Maine apple] growers. Additionally, it does not inspire confidence within these smaller-scale businesses to hear it is your view that the ‘big get bigger and small go out’ in modern American agriculture. We do not believe that consolidation in agriculture is inevitable. Rather, we believe that diversity of scale is a strength of our agricultural industry that federal policy should support.”
“While farmers tell us that they much prefer free, open trade to government aid, should the USDA consider administering an additional round of agricultural aid payments, we strongly urge your department to extend such support to small farms and orchards – not simply the most prominent players in the industry,” Senator Collins and Representative Golden continued. “In the absence of additional aid payments, we urge you to develop other means to support small growers, such as expanding targeted grant programs.”
The vast majority of Maine apple farms are 15 acres or less, and the overall number of acres being used to grow apples in the state has declined steadily in recent years, from more than 3,330 in 2012 to roughly 2,670 in 2017.
Click HERE to read Senator Collins and Representative Golden’s letter
