07/22/05 Concord grape juice bonus buy

07/22/05 Concord grape juice bonus buy

U.S.D.A. occasionally buys commodities above their normal purchase allocations. These so-called "bonus buys" are designed to help growers and industries where the commodity faces a surplus. Recently, U.S. Representative Doc Hastings submitted a letter to U.S.D.A. asking the agency to conduct a bonus buy of Concord grape juice for federal nutrition programs. The Congressman was asked who the request, if approved by U.S.D.A., would help. The answer was grape juice producers with Northwest plants like Welch's. HASTINGS: Anybody that processes a Concord grape because if the Secretary accepts my suggestion of a bonus buy, obviously, that will take product off the market and I'm sure that Welch's would be impacted as would other juice processors. This is not the first time a bonus buy request on Concord grape juice has been made before U.S.D.A. And Hastings says the agency has a proven track record of issuing such bonus buys, which in turn has stabilized Concord markets. HASTINGS: Hopefully, the Secretary will do that. In the past, that has worked to take some product off the market before the new product comes on line. With more than 13,000 acres planted and a crop with an annual production of nearly $25 million dollars, Washington State is the largest Concord grape producer in the nation. And Hastings has a vested interest in his request to U.S.D.A. Many of those over 13,000 acres of Concord grapes are located in Hastings' Congressional District.
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