Ill 



costs of nursery crop losses, and, thereby result in denial of 

 disaster assistance applications which should otherwise qualify. 

 Therefore, AAN urges Congress and USDA to develop clearer 

 guidance in the process of valuing nursery crop losses. 



CONCLUSION 



Mr. Chairman, AAN deeply appreciates this opportunity to share 

 our concerns about the applicability of USDA's disaster 

 assistance programs to the nursery industry. We hope Congress 

 will work to overhaul the federal crop insurance system by 

 universally broadening its availability to all agricultural 

 crops, including nursery plants and trees, and by making its 

 purchase by farmers more economical . AAN would urge that crop 

 insurance premiums reflect the investments and management 

 practices made by strong and innovative farmers to mitigate their 

 crop losses. By overhauling the federal crop insurance system, 

 USDA disaster assistance programs could be revamped to help 

 restore farmers' lost income due to truly catastrophic disasters, 

 for which crop losses could not be averted no matter what 

 precautions are implemented by farmers. 



In the interim, AAN is happy to work with you, the Members of 

 this Subcommittee, and USDA to make the disaster assistance 

 programs more equitable and available to nursery farmers as 

 outlined herein. Thank you. 



