Four specialty crop organizations sent a letter of thanks to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins for USDA’s work on the Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops program. National Potato Council CEO Kam Quarles said USDA expedited the distribution of these payments. “When you couple these MASC payments with the farm bill enhancements, the federal government really stood up for the fruit and vegetable industry in the United States over the past week or so,” said Qurales. “I think it’s going to put producers in a much stronger position going forward. It might not solve all the issues, but certainly the federal government’s stepping up for them.”
