McLean, Va. – Members of Congress from key apple producing states today introduced legislation to provide $250 million to compensate U.S. apple growers for market losses sustained during the 2000 crop year.

Reps. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y), John Sweeney (R-N.Y.) and James Walsh (R-N.Y) introduced the Apple Market Loss Assistance Act in the House of Representatives, while Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) sponsored companion legislation in the Senate.

“America’s apple growers are suffering the worst economic losses in more than 70 years due to adverse marketing conditions largely beyond their control,” said U.S. Apple Association (USApple) President and CEO Kraig R. Naasz, whose group is working closely with the bill’s sponsors in Congress to garner this much-needed assistance. “Current apple prices, which are as much as 40 percent below production costs, are pushing apple growers deeper into financial crisis and driving many family farms out of existence.”

The legislation would reimburse apple growers for a portion of the losses they sustained in marketing the 2000 apple crop by authorizing a pro-rata payment on each producer’s total production of up to 20 million pounds.

U.S. apple growers have sustained losses of $1.5 billion over the past five years, including an estimated $500 million during the past year alone, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) statistics. Unfairly priced imports, excessive regulatory costs, stagnant domestic consumption, food retail consolidation, subsidized foreign competition, diminished exports and global overproduction have all contributed to the economic plight of America’s apple growers.

“Our nation’s apple producers have long prided themselves on their independence from the federal government,” said Naasz. “Until our government can achieve parity with our foreign competitors, however, most apple growers would rather accept a helping hand than lose a farm that has been in the family for generations.”

Naasz continued, “USApple will continue to fight for the survival of America’s apple growers by working with our government’s trade negotiators to level the playing field and our industry’s key allies in Congress to secure this desperately needed market loss assistance.”

Apple Growers Expected To Receive Payments As Early As June 15
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is expected to begin distributing $100 million in market loss assistance to apple growers as early as Friday, June 15, under provisions adopted by the 106th Congress as part of the fiscal 2001 agricultural appropriations act (Public Law 106-387). Individual apple growers may receive as much as $28,000 depending on the volume of apples they produced in either 1998 or 1999.

Approximately 7,500 growers nationwide, representing more than five billion pounds of production, applied for assistance to their local FSA office between March 8 and May 4. Payments will be made on a producer’s first 1.6 million pounds of production in either 1998 or 1999 at a USDA-calculated payment rate of roughly one and three-quarter cents per pound.

“Apple growers across America have been hard hit by five disastrous years in a row, and for far too many producers this assistance can’t come soon enough,” said Naasz. “We greatly appreciate Congress for having heard and responded to our pleas for assistance, as well as Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman for expeditiously distributing this aid to our nation’s apple growers.”

The U.S. Apple Association (USApple) is the national trade association representing all segments of the apple industry. Members include 40 state apple associations representing 9,000 apple growers throughout the country, as well as nearly 500 individual firms involved in the apple business. USApple’s mission is to provide the means for all segments of the U.S. apple industry to join in appropriate collective efforts to profitably produce and market apples and apple products.