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Friend ––
Michigan’s farmers are essential to our state, but their crops are under attack from an invasive insect species — a type of fruit fly called the spotted wing drosophila (SWD). The invasive insect is damaging crops and hurting the livelihoods of growers across our state and country, but I’m working hard in the Senate to stop them.
The fly lays its eggs in fruit including cherries and blueberries, making it so they cannot be sold to buyers. These flies cause an estimated $700 million in losses every year. That’s one of the reasons I worked with our growers and Michigan State University on the bipartisan Spotted Wing Abatement Trust (SWAT) Act, which would help mitigate the spread of this pest while cutting costs for growers and protecting their crops from being spoiled to begin with.
I recently visited the Michigan State University Horticulture Teaching and Research Center to meet with local farmers and researchers, and underscore just how important it is that we pass the SWAT Act in the upcoming 2023 Farm Bill—key legislation that sets national agriculture policy.
Click here to watch more.
Farmers play a vital role in our communities and our state’s economy, which is why I’m working hard to help them confront this threat to their livelihoods and businesses.
Thanks for reading,
Gary Peters
United States Senator for Michigan |
