Letter to Sonny Perdue, Secretary of the Dept. of Agriculture - U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Calls on USDA to Support Wisconsin Cranberry Growers Amidst Coronavirus Pandemic

Letter

Dear Secretary Perdue:

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic disruption has created great challenges for
the cranberry industry. I urge you to consider the impact and magnitude of these disruptions as
you allocate the $9.5 billion made available to support agriculture, including specialty crops, in
the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Specifically, I ask you to use
these funds to provide direct financial assistance to cranberry growers and use Section 32
authority to make purchases of surplus cranberry products, including juice. As the impact of this
emergency continues to unfold in the coming months, I urge you to utilize all available programs
and authorities at USDA to enable growers to weather these challenges.

Affecting cranberry growers from coast-to-coast, the sudden and unpredictable closure of foodservice businesses combined with government-issued stay-at-home orders have heightened the
stress of an already challenging business environment. The growing season is now upon us, and
some seasonal farm workers that cranberry growers rely on were unable to return to cranberry
marshes due to travel restrictions. Many growers would like to immediately hire unemployed
members of their community to replace them, but they do not have sufficient funds immediately
available to do so. Small growers are especially hard hit because many of these families have
unexpectedly lost their non-agricultural income, which was critical for their cash flow. The loss
of this additional income leaves many of these growers and their businesses on the brink of
collapse.

Consumption of cranberry products away from home has fallen by sixty percent since the onset
of the pandemic, and prolonged severe economic damage will continue to affect cranberry
consumption in the months and years to come. This economic fallout comes on the heels of years
of significant losses in cranberry export markets due to retaliatory tariffs, which have
undermined relationships with large overseas buyers that were developed over many years. Prior
to the onset of retaliatory tariffs, China was the largest overseas buyer of cranberries, purchasing
$55 million of product annually. The global pandemic now means prolonged export market
closures during the year when cranberry growers were optimistic about rebuilding relationships
with international customers.

There are numerous challenges facing cranberry growers at this time, and they cannot weather
them alone. Please use the funds provided by Congress to directly assist cranberry growers
during this incredibly challenging time. These family farms play a critical role in providing
Americans healthy food and driving our rural economy. I request that you provide these
hardworking growers the resources they need to keep their businesses running so they can
continue to contribute to our nation's productivity and wellbeing for generations to come.

Sincerely,

Source