U.S Farm Bill sent to President Trump’s desk for signature

On Wednesday December 12, the U.S. House and Senate voted to reauthorize the $867 billion Farm Bill, providing funding and policy direction for agricultural, trade, conservation and nutrition programs for the next five years. The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 passed the House on a vote of 369-47 and the Senate by a vote of 87-13.

After many months of work, and through coordination with the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance, Produce Marketing Association (PMA) is pleased to see the House and Senate approve this bill and looks forward to it moving quickly to The President for signature.

PMA are particularly pleased to see important provisions for the fresh produce and floral industry in the following areas:

• Funding for research on critical issues for specialty crops, including produce and floral.
• Continued funding for critical export promotion and trade facilitation programs.
• Expanded nutrition programs providing fruits and vegetables to children and vulnerable populations.
• Policy recognizing the importance of fruits and vegetables in preventing and combating chronic disease.
• Ensuring USDA has necessary resources to combat pests and diseases, which threaten specialty crop production and exports.
• Maintaining funding to states for specialty crop block grants.

With passage of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, the U.S. government provides important direction to the fresh produce and floral industry. PMA looks forward to The President’s signature.  Produce Marketing Association (PMA) is the leading trade association representing companies from every segment of the global produce and floral supply chain. PMA helps members grow by providing connections that expand business opportunities and increase sales and consumption.

CIOPORA, the International Community of Breeders of Asexually Reproduced Ornamental and Fruit Plants, equally looks forward to the The President’s signature as this is an important step, specifically in respect of Essentially Derived Varieties – the concept that is absent from the US Plant Patent provisions. Once breeders in the US are able to protect their novelties by PVP titles, the varieties essentially derived from their protected varieties will fall under the scope of their right. The commercialization of such EDVs will only be possible with authorization of the title holder of the initial variety.

CIOPORA brings together 125 plant breeders, national breeder associations, patent attorneys and Intellectual Property consultants from 25 countries, whose joint efforts are aimed at the development, improvement and harmonization of national and international regulations of Plant Variety Protection (PVP). The law provides for a broad set of measures for agriculture and beyond, including a major amendment to the US Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA), which will henceforth extend the US Plant Variety Protection to asexually reproduced plant varieties.

For more information visit The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 on Congress.GOV

For more information, visit www.pma.com  

Photography: Benary