DeLauro Leads 32 Members in Letter Urging Additional Support for Small & Specialty Farmers

WASHINGTON —Today, US Representative Rosa DeLauro led a letter to President Trump and United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, signed by 32 members of Congress, urging the Trump Administration to include small and specialty crop farms if the Administration moves forward with any federal effort to provide economic relief for farm losses due to President Trump’s trade wars: 

“This is a crisis, and it is worsening every day,” the legislators wrote. “If your Administration moves forward with plans to provide economic relief to large farmers suffering due to high input costs and lost export markets, you must not forget about small and medium-sized farms, family farms, and specialty crop farmers. These farmers are vital to local economies and are the backbone of our nation’s food supply. They provide fresh fruit and vegetables to local stores, feed our families, and power rural communities by creating jobs and supporting local businesses. The loss of even more small farms will devastate communities, restrict the food supply, and have long-term economic and food security ramifications for the United States and for the world.”

The text of the letter is available here.

Cosigners: Alma Adams, Gabe Amo, Becca Balint, Sanford Bishop, Suzanne Bonamici, Julia Brownley, André Carson, Ed Case, Emanuel Cleaver, Joe Courtney, Shomari Figures, Maggie Goodlander, Josh Harder, Jahana Hayes, Chrissy Houlahan, Jared Huffman, Jonathan Jackson, Hank Johnson, Marcy Kaptur, Bill Keating, Greg Landsman, John Larson, Jim McGovern, Chris Pappas, Patrick Ryan, Bobby Scott, Eric Sorensen, Melanie Stansbury, Bennie Thompson, Jill Tokuda, Bonnie Watson Coleman