July 15, 2009 Georgia Department of Agriculture 19 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. SW Atlanta, GA 30334 The State of Georgia is one of the largest fruit producers in the U.S. Unfortunately, there is a lot of waste in this industry and 50% of the fruit never makes it to the market. Because of recent congressional mandates that call for the production of 36 billion gallons of fuel ethanol annually by the year 2022, there is a significant opportunity to convert the waste fruit into fuel ethanol and a dried distillers grains co-product that would be used as animal feed

March 27, 2009 Produce for Better Health Foundation 5341 Limestone Road Wilmington, DE 19808 Dear SCRI Reviewer: On behalf of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association this letter shows our support for the Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) Specialty Crop Research Initiative grant application, entitled, “The Intensity/Amount of Marketing Required to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Consumption.”  Since 1991 PBH has worked to increase fruit and vegetable consumption to improve the health of all Americans.  GFVGA and our member companies have been strong supporters of their 5 A Day effort, which has since evolved into the Fruits & Veggies—More

February 11, 2009 Honorable, On behalf of the Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA) representing the more than 2,000 growers in Georgia we write this letter asking Congress not take any action that will interfere with the ability of the Farm Credit System to continue to serve Georgia’s specialty crop growers.  As you may know, fruit and vegetable production in Georgia is valued in excess of $800 million at the farm gate. As the state’s number two cash crop, most Georgia fruits & vegetables are grown for the fresh market to be sold and consumed in other states.  This

Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance The following comments to Docket No. AMS-FV-08-0057; FV-08-379 IFR, Notice of Request for Approval of a New Information Collection, are submitted on behalf of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA). The SCFBA is a diverse group of specialty crop producer organizations representing more than 120 crops in all 50 states. Members of the SCFBA were active in the legislative effort to create the block grant program for specialty crops fruit and the SCFBA was instrumental in obtaining expanded funding for this program during the 2008 Farm Bill debate. The effective administration of this program