- Lawmakers Target Emergency Aid for Growers
- National Ag Day Celebrates American Producers
- NPC Joins Punchbowl News Summit on Agricultural Resilience
- Administration Announces New Measures to Assist Agriculture
- Potato LEAF Now Accepting 2026-27 Graduate-level Annual Scholarship Applications
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Lawmakers Target Emergency Aid for Growers
Key congressional leaders continue working to secure multi-billion-dollar assistance for agricultural producers as part of an upcoming supplemental spending package.
During this week’s Agri-Pulse Ag and Food Policy Summit, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-Ark.) indicated that a supplemental bill intended to fund the conflict with Iran provides a natural fit for this agricultural aid. He emphasized the urgency of the situation, noting that farmers desperately need relief from disrupted supply chains that are driving up the cost of essential inputs like fertilizer and fuel. To address these challenges quickly, Chairman Boozman expressed his intent to move a Senate version of the farm bill as “as soon as possible – weeks, not months and months,” instead of waiting for the full House to pass its version.
While House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson (R-Pa.) proposed earmarking as much as $10 billion specifically for specialty crop producers, the final figure remains under discussion among leadership. Senator John Hoeven (R-N.D.) suggested the final allocation might be lower than the initial $10 billion request, though he expects the package to include substantial funding for the sector. Chairman Boozman plans to coordinate closely with Chairman Thompson and Senator Hoeven to finalize a specific set-aside that supports specialty crop producers.
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National Ag Day Celebrates American Producers
This week in Washington, D.C., involved numerous events in support of National Ag Day, a dedicated celebration of the nation’s farmers, ranchers, and producers. This afternoon, the potato industry was in attendance at a White House event where the President gave remarks and hosted producers on the South Lawn.
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Left to right: Phillip Hickman, Dean Gibson, Gregg Halverson, Dave Warsh, Jann Moss, Dan Moss, Randy Mullen, Ben Sklarczyk, Bob Mattive, Ted Tschirky, and Dave Masser.
On Tuesday, NPC marked National Ag Day at USDA with BlackGold Farms and Pepsico. The event recognized those who provide essential food, fiber, and fuel to the country. Under this year's theme, "Together We Grow," the celebration highlighted the collective strength and resilience of the agricultural community.
Gregg Halverson of Black Gold Farms and Leah Halverson of Ten Acre Marketing were in attendance, along with NPC CEO Kam Quarles, where potatoes were planted in USDA’s garden.
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PepsiCo’s Steven Williams provides remarks at USDA.
Speakers at the event, including USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Chief Aubrey Bettencourt, PepsiCo's Steven Williams, and Farm Journal Foundation CEO Tricia Beal, underscored the vital role agriculture plays in the national interest. They emphasized how collaboration across the industry is necessary to maintain a robust economy while ensuring that products remain safe, abundant, and affordable for all consumers.
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NPC Joins Punchbowl News Summit on Agricultural Resilience
“Specialty crops are different than our Title 1 colleagues,” NPC CEO Kam Quarles tells attendees during an industry roundtable hosted by Punchbowl News. While many of the Farm Bill’s safety net programs are not available to specialty crop growers, “we're all playing in this very volatile economic environment and the stress that our specialty crop producers feel – our potato producers feel – is just as intense as our Title 1 colleagues. It's forcing us to look at things that we really haven't been after in the past, like economic relief, direct payments, those types of things – a place where the specialty crop industry has really never gone before.”
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Kam Quarles, NPC CEO, Neal Caskey, NCGA CEO, Steve Censky, ASA CEO, and Punchbowl News reporter Andrew Desiderio.
The event, sponsored by PepsiCo, included a conversation with Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.), a fireside chat with Steven Williams, Executive Vice President and Vice Chairman of PepsiCo, and potato grower Katie Floming, Vice President and Operations Manager of Neumiller Farms, as well as an industry expert panel that included Quarles, Steve Censky
CEO of the American Soybean Association, and Neil Caskey, CEO of the National Corn Growers Association.
Watch a replay of the full event here.
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Administration Announces New Measures to Assist Agriculture
This afternoon, the Trump Administration announced several programs intended to assist producers during this economic crisis. The tools include loan guarantees through the Small Business Administration as well as regulatory relief on farm equipment.
“We appreciate the Administration attempting to assist producers through programs under their authority. However, the scope of this economic crisis means that real relief will only come from a meaningful direct payment package. Congress must deliver those resources. We continue to encourage the House, Senate, and the Administration to provide both the necessary funding and the right program to efficiently distribute those funds to impacted specialty crop growers,” said Kam Quarles, NPC CEO.
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Potato LEAF Now Accepting 2026-27 Graduate-level Annual Scholarship Applications
The Potato Leadership, Education and Advancement Foundation (Potato LEAF) is now accepting applications for its annual graduate-level academic scholarship. Potato LEAF will award one $10,000 scholarship to honor a graduate student (master's degree or higher) working to conduct research and provide information that will improve the future of the U.S. potato industry. Focus may include basic or applied research that improves potato production efficiency, addresses pest management and disease issues, increases consumer benefits from potato consumption, and or produces knowledge related to advancing the competitiveness of the U.S. potato industry.
The application deadline is June 12, 2026. The scholarship will be awarded in August 2026 for the 2026-27 academic year.
The scholarship application and information on past recipients can be found here. Please email info@pleaf.org with any questions.
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