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USDA Buys $20 Million Surplus Grape Juice for Programs

8/27/2026

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Summary

Story summary

USDA will buy $20 million of surplus Concord grape juice for federal nutrition programs.
Senators Charles Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Nick Langworthy urged USDA after Refresco canceled contracts with 126 farmers.
The purchase will provide relief to Western New York and Pennsylvania grape growers left without buyers.
Rep. Nick Langworthy said this is his third federal grape buyback, bringing his facilitated purchases to $85 million.

History

Historical Context

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act introduced federal purchases of surplus crops to stabilize farm incomes, creating a market-stabilization precedent. Modern USDA grape-juice buybacks, backed by Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and Rep. Langworthy, echo that approach as policymakers address today’s agricultural stresses, including the fact that roughly 40 % of global farmland is seriously degraded.

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Story summary

USDA will buy $20 million of surplus Concord grape juice for federal nutrition programs.
Senators Charles Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Nick Langworthy urged USDA after Refresco canceled contracts with 126 farmers.
The purchase will provide relief to Western New York and Pennsylvania grape growers left without buyers.
Rep. Nick Langworthy said this is his third federal grape buyback, bringing his facilitated purchases to $85 million.

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