Bill Clinton: “That is correct. We depend on farmers for the food on our tables but rarely do we contemplate the vital part farmers and…”

“That is correct. We depend on farmers for the food on our tables but rarely do we contemplate the vital part farmers and growers play in our local and State economies. On April 3, 2003, Mother Nature dealt our New York cherry growers an unbearable hardship. Seventy-five percent of our cherry orchards and 20 percent of our peach orchards were destroyed by an atypically severe ice storm. Today, I strongly believe that we as a country have an obligation to specialty crop producers. New York State growers have historically been self-sufficient, asking for little and receiving next to nothing in comparison to large staple crop producers. Ineligible for the crop insurance that many other farmers benefit from, fruit growers' need for direct assistance from the Federal Government is all the more imperative during times of natural disaster.”