Specialty Crop Groups Say Final House Funding Bills Leave Growers Without Promised Relief

The House of Representatives passed the final slate of fiscal 2026 spending bills on Thursday, clearing the chamber without the growers' economic-assistance request that industry groups had pushed for, the National Potato Council notes. A minibus covering Defense, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, and Education passed 341-88. A separate Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill passed 220-207 after what the National Potato Council describes as contentious debate over ICE funding. Both measures now head to the Senate, which must act by Jan. 30 to avoid another partial government shutdown.

Earlier in the week, specialty crop leaders said they were deeply disappointed to learn the text of the now-passed funding package did not include economic assistance for growers. The National Potato Council reports that the omission landed alongside new American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) data estimating that U.S. potato growers alone absorbed $717 million in economic losses last year. That figure gives the disappointment a concrete anchor: this isn't a general complaint about neglect, it's a specific dollar loss inside one crop sector that the finished bill does nothing to address.

In response, the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA) renewed its call for no less than $5 billion in dedicated federal support to stabilize the sector. The alliance's co-chairs said in a statement that rising costs, domestic labor shortages, and market and weather challenges make the omission concerning. Central to the alliance's argument is a comparison of how existing relief has already been divided: SCFBA noted that USDA's Farmer Bridge Assistance program allocated $11 billion to row crops but reserved only $1 billion for "specialty crops and other commodities."

The SCFBA's position has not been made in isolation. The National Potato Council reports that the Congressional Specialty Crop Caucus and the American Farm Bureau Federation have echoed the call for assistance in recent weeks. Just last week, SCFBA joined agricultural organizations across the country, in a letter led by AFBF, urging Congress for immediate financial assistance for farmers and ranchers, citing record-high input costs and historically low market prices that the letter says have driven farmers to negative margins and nearly $100 billion in losses nationwide. In December, the Congressional Specialty Crop Caucus separately sent a letter urging equitable and timely economic relief specifically for specialty crop producers.

With the House-passed bills now before the Senate and a Jan. 30 deadline to avoid another partial shutdown, the specialty crop groups' request arrives at a narrow legislative window. The bills that passed address broad federal operations rather than farm-sector relief, meaning any dedicated assistance for specialty crops would need to come through a separate legislative or administrative vehicle if it is to materialize before growers face another planting or marketing cycle without it.