FORT PIERCE - Strawberries, oranges, tomatoes, nursery plants and other specialty crops grown in Florida would gain a bigger share of federal dollars than ever before under the proposed 2007 Farm Bill.

The close to $5 billion proposed for a portion of the bill would enhance specialty crop production by requiring the purchase of more fruit and vegetables for school meals and setting up an expansion of export markets.

It's a start, growers say, but much more needs to be done.

On Wednesday, several dozen agricultural leaders from the sugar, vegetable, citrus, strawberry, dairy, cattle and nursery industries met with U.S. Reps. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow, and Tim Mahoney, D-Palm Beach Gardens, at the University of Florida's Indian River Research and Education Center in Fort Pierce and outlined some of their most pressing issues.

At the top of the list: Free but fair trade with foreign countries, increased vigilance to stop invasive pests and diseases, and opportunities in alternative-energy crops.

The current farm bill expires in September, and Congress will attempt to write a new one by then. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns unveiled his proposal for the bill Jan. 31.

Florida ranks fourth in the United States in cash receipts from crops and other farm products. But growers have long maintained that when it comes to the nation's farm bill, states that produce lots of fruit and vegetables, such as California and Florida, have been shoved aside.

"We should be further up the list," said Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson, who attended the meeting.

Traditionally, so-called commodity or program crops, such as wheat, soybeans, cotton and rice, have received the bulk of the farm bill benefits, often in the form of direct subsidies. Even the disaster payment programs are designed more for other parts of the country than for Florida, the agriculture leaders said.

Mahoney, who serves on the House Agriculture Committee, said he finds himself surrounded by congressmen from the commodity states. "We ask for very little in comparison to what we contribute," he said.

Robert Coker, senior vice president at U.S. Sugar Corp. in Clewiston, said the increased influx of foreign sugar into the U.S. market is one of his industry's biggest concerns.

"Anytime you negotiate a trade agreement and provide more access to our marketplace and we don't have access to theirs, it creates a continued imbalance," Coker said.

Okeechobee cattle rancher and citrus grower Sonny Williamson agreed.

"We need to address the unfairness in international trade or we won't be able to produce here," he said.

As for alternative energy, the farm bill as proposed includes $1.6 billion in new money for renewable-energy research, development and production, targeted for cellulosic ethanol. Jimmy Cheek, UF's senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources, said UF is a leader in cellulosic ethanol research, which it has been conducting for 30 years, but more funding is needed. Producing crops for ethanol production would give growers another option, farmers said, expressing their dislike of the corn industry's ethanol-production subsidies.

Putnam predicted the farm bill will pit groups against one another.

"The most important thing is for everybody to stick together as long as you possibly can," he said.