Menendez, Booker Lead Colleagues in Urging Increased Funding for Cranberry Research

On Apr 5, 2019

U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker led a group of their colleagues from other cranberry-producing states in requesting a 25 percent increase in funding for cranberry research administered by the Department of Agriculture (USDA). Not only is New Jersey the nation’s third-largest cranberry producer – behind only Massachusetts and Wisconsin – but Rutgers University is home to a leading cranberry research program.

“A robust cranberry research funding level would support the additional equipment and research faculty needed to address the challenges faced by our cranberry farmers, including disease control, growing productivity and nutrient management,” the senators wrote in a letter to Sens. John Hoeven and Jeff Merkley, the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. “The additional funding would support critical research on constantly evolving crop diseases like cranberry fungal fruit rot complex and the cranberry false-blossom phytoplasma, which have the potential to destroy crops and create hardships for our farmers.”

The senators are requesting $4.989 million for Fiscal Year 2020, a $1 million increase from the current fiscal year.

“Cranberries are a familiar holiday staple that many Americans have come to expect and enjoy through the hard work of American cranberry farmers. Their farms support and employ thousands of people and are part of a $1 billion industry,” the letter continued. “A small increase in funding for cranberry research can have an outsized economic impact by helping these farmers fight diseases and grow more bountiful crops all while improving their environmental footprint.”

Joining Sens. Menendez and Booker on the letter are Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Bob Casey (D-Penn.).

In the 2018 Farm Bill, Sen. Menendez secured the inclusion of mandatory funding for the Technical Assistance of Specialty Crops (TASC) program, which will help cranberry farmers access export markets. He also secured funding for the Specialty Crop Block Grant, which provides block grants to state departments of agriculture to enhance the competitiveness of their specialty crops. New Jersey uses the grant, in part, to finance the Jersey Fresh marketing program that advertises New Jersey produce.

A copy of the letter can be found here and below.

Dear Chairman Hoeven and Ranking Member Merkley:

As you develop the Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, we respectfully request an increase in funding for cranberry research administered by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) within the Department of Agriculture (USDA).  We appreciate that the Appropriations Committee has long recognized the importance of cranberry research and America’s cranberry farmers, especially with the $1 million increase in funding for Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19).  With this in mind, we are requesting $4.989 million in funding for cranberry research within the USDA budget for ARS and NIFA, which is an increase of $1 million from the $3.989 million appropriated in FY19 and consistent with last year’s appropriations request.

A robust cranberry research funding level would support the additional equipment and research faculty needed to address the challenges faced by our cranberry farmers, including disease control, growing productivity and nutrient management.  The additional funding would support critical research on constantly evolving crop diseases like cranberry fungal fruit rot complex and the cranberry false-blossom phytoplasma, which have the potential to destroy crops and create hardships for our farmers.  Other decades-long research programs focus on genetically breeding resistant cranberry plants that can naturally fight these diseases without the use of potentially harmful chemicals.  Additional research programs focus on creating more efficient cranberry plants, which reduces the need for both water and fertilizer during the growing season.  Further research focuses on cranberry water usage so that cranberry farmers can be better stewards of their land and only use the amount of water necessary for their crops. 

Cranberries are a familiar holiday staple that many Americans have come to expect and enjoy through the hard work of American cranberry farmers.  Their farms support and employ thousands of people and are part of a $1 billion industry.  A small increase in funding for cranberry research can have an outsized economic impact by helping these farmers fight diseases and grow more bountiful crops all while improving their environmental footprint.

With this in mind, we respectfully request your support in this funding request of $4.989 million for cranberry research within the Agricultural Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and are grateful for the Appropriations Committee’s past support for this critical research.

Sincerely,

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