Third-generation nurseryman Bernie Kohl Jr. testified July 21 before the U.S. House of Representatives on 2008 Farm Bill programs pertinent to the nursery and greenhouse industry. Kohl, president of Angelica Nurseries, the largest production nursery in Maryland, appeared before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture to discuss what is working, and what is not, as Congress moves closer to debating a new farm bill.
Much of Kohl’s testimony focused on new and strengthened programs to prevent and respond to plant pest threats. Foreign pests that have arrived in the U.S. as consequences of globalization are seriously harming the industry with production challenges, quarantines and lost market access. Emerald ash borer, Asian longhorned beetle, and Phytophthora ramorum are just a few examples of severe challenges causing production problems and market disruption for nurseries. Section 10201 of the 2008 Farm Bill provides important new funding for innovative strategies to identify and address such threats before they establish and affect U.S. producers.
Many state nursery and landscape associations have taken advantage of the Farm Bill’s Specialty Crop Block Grant program, which provides funding to states for specialty crop promotion and related programs. Kohl highlighted several success stories including grants awarded to the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association (to improve the success of roadside plantings for runoff mitigation), and the North Carolina Green Industry Council (for consumer awareness and education on water-efficient landscape practices).
To view ANLA/Kohl’s full testimony, go here.
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