Bonamici, Chavez-DeRemer, Schrier, Newhouse Lead Bipartisan Call to Support Pacific NW Maple Growers
WASHINGTON DC [10/18/23] – Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR), Kim Schrier (D-WA), and Dan Newhouse (R-WA) led 10 Senators and Representatives in a bipartisan call for federal support for Pacific NW maple syrup producers.
The lawmakers urged the Department of Agriculture to maintain a level playing field in its Acer Access and Development (Acer) Program. The Acer program supports research, innovation, and resilience in the maple syrup industry, but it appears to favor the east coast Sugar Maple producers who already dominate the market. Maple syrup in the Pacific NW is produced from native Big Leaf Maples. Because of the difference in species, the Pacific NW producers are at risk of being excluded from the Acer program.
“The Acer Program has been fundamental to the success of the burgeoning maple syrup industry in the Pacific Northwest,” the Representatives and Senators wrote. “Our constituents are entering this industry with the vital support of the Acer Program. Unfortunately, the Acer Program Request for Applications (RFA) published on March 1, 2023, includes language that may exclude maple growers in the Pacific Northwest from accessing resources available from Acer’s research and development partnerships with universities.”
The Representatives and Senators noted that prioritizing research and development activities to the established industry could exclude growers and syrup producers from many parts of the country and prevent them from accessing technical assistance and support under Acer. Relying on one species of maple tree could also make the industry vulnerable to blight, invasive species, and parasites.
“… Limiting opportunities to the parts of the country with established and widespread maple syrup producing trees runs contrary to the Acer Program’s goal of innovation,” they wrote.
“Removing preference language for any particular species or region within the Acer Program will reestablish parity and continue Acer’s legacy of helping new growers expand the maple syrup industry.”
In addition to Bonamici, Chavez-DeRemer, Schrier, and Newhouse, the letter is signed by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Val Hoyle (D-OR), Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Marie Glusenkamp Perez (D-WA), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Andrea Salinas (D-OR), and Marilyn Strickland (D-WA).
The full text of the letter can be read here and below.
The Honorable Tom Vilsack Secretary
U.S. Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Ave. S.W. Washington, D.C. 20250
Dear Secretary Vilsack,
As Members of Congress from the Pacific Northwest, we write to urge you to maintain a level playing field within the Acer Access and Development (Acer) Program. The Acer Program can play a pivotal role in fostering innovation and resilience in the maple syrup industry nationally, and projects enhancing the use of various species of maple trees are critical to long-term sustainability of maple-based products in the United States.
The Acer Program has been fundamental to the success of the burgeoning maple syrup industry in the Pacific Northwest. Growers throughout our region are producing maple syrup from native big leaf maples or Acer macrophyllum. Our constituents are entering this industry with the vital support of the Acer Program.
Unfortunately, the Acer Program Request for Applications (RFA) published on March 1, 2023, includes language that may exclude maple growers in the Pacific Northwest from accessing resources available from Acer’s research and development partnerships with universities. In the Purpose section of the RFA, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) indicates that the agency “may prioritize funding for applications that support the promotion of research and education, natural resource responsibility, and market development and promotion, and that are from regions with sufficient distribution of Acer saccharum to support a commercially viable maple syrup industry”.1 We urge you to remove this language and instead focus on implementing the Acer program with a level playing field for all species of maple trees.
Sugar maple trees, or Acer saccharum, are already the predominant tree in use by most maple syrup producers in the United States.2 But these trees are not native to the Pacific Northwest; here we have big leaf maple trees. Prioritizing research and development activities to the established industry could exclude growers and syrup producers from many parts of the country and prevent them from accessing technical assistance and support under Acer. For example, red maple trees or Acer rubrum are native to several regions of the United States that also lack sugar maples but are, like big leaf maples, potentially usable for maple syrup production. Further, relying solely on a single species of maple tree could make the domestic maple syrup industry vulnerable to widespread blight, invasive species, or parasites. Additionally, limiting opportunities to the parts of the country with established and widespread maple syrup producing trees runs contrary to the Acer Program’s goal of innovation.
Removing preference language for any particular species or region within the Acer Program will reestablish parity and continue Acer’s legacy of helping new growers expand the maple syrup industry. We appreciate your commitment to support all producers and your attention to this matter.
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