While in
Washington, DC meeting with members of the state’s congressional
delegation, New York Farm Bureau released its national public policy
priorities for the year.
The agenda originated
at the grassroots level and is member approved.
IMMIGRATION REFORM
Immigration
reform remains a top priority for the state’s farmers and their
employees. NYFB has long pushed for a flexible guest-worker visa program
that addresses both seasonal and long-term
needs of New York agriculture.
There is of special concern as the
House of Representatives is looking to move ahead with an enforcement
only action that American Farm Bureau Federation estimates could cost
the country’s farmers as much as $60 billion and
raise food prices by 5 percent to 6 percent. New York Farm Bureau is calling for a
comprehensive approach to immigration reform that also takes
agricultural labor needs into account.
“We need a
stable workforce on our farms that benefits the rural economy and the
local food supply,” said NYFB President Dean Norton during the
conference call with reporters. “It must
be comprehensive. Enforcement-only reforms put the chicken before the
egg so to speak. They all need to go together.”
FOOD SAFETY
The
implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is also a
public policy priority. New York’s farmers already participate in a host
of food safety programs and audits, but
the Food and Drug Administration is instituting new food safety rules.
This past year NYFB
submitted comments to the FDA over its planned rollout of FSMA. NYFB is
pleased many of the concerns were addressed relating to proposed
requirements for animal feed and the commodity
value threshold that would trigger the new regulations on an individual
farm.
However, there are additional changes that NYFB would like to see
before the rules take effect. This includes reworking the unscientific
standards FDA has established for irrigation
water. The organization will continue to work with the FDA and fellow
stakeholders so the final rules address the real risks that exist and
can be successfully implemented on our farms. In the end, both public
health and agriculture will benefit.
CLEAN WATER ACT EXPANSION
New
York Farm Bureau has long been in opposition to proposed changes to the
Clean Water Act that it believe broadens the jurisdiction from
navigable waters to dry land. This month farmers
had a partial victory in their campaign when the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of
Engineers withdrew their interpretive rule as mandated by both Congress
and the President.
Contrary to what the agencies had claimed,
the farm exemptions provided in the Interpretive Rule actually narrowed
“normal farming and ranching” exemptions by imposing burdensome new
requirements for farmers and ranchers.
NYFB
will continue to advocate for the repeal of the full rule through
Congressional action to stop the EPA and the Army Corps from expanding
federal jurisdiction onto New York
farms.
FARM BILL IMPLEMENTATION
NYFB
has been closely monitoring the USDA’s rollout of the 2014 Farm Bill. It is imperative the new programs and expanded crop insurance
follow the intent of the law that
was passed.
Nearly
half of the dairy farms in New York state have signed up for the new
Margin Protection Program. This will offer a safety net should dropping
milk prices fall below a
selected margin, which is the gap between the price of milk and the
cost of feed. Over the past few months, lower milk prices have
underscored the need for effective risk management.
NYFB will work
with lawmakers to insure that it is meeting the needs as
it was intended.
The
organization will also review the development of new and enhanced
programs for specialty crops, including the NAP buy-up crop insurance
program.
TRADE
With
a growing export market for a number of things that farmers produce in
New York, New York Farm Bureau will continue to support the next
generation of trade negotiations that remove
unscientific barriers and high tariffs and provide new opportunities
for our farms.
This
includes renewing the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). It is imperative
that the White House and Congress be on the same page during trade
negotiations. Swift passage in Congress without
additional individual member amendments to already negotiated pacts is
essential to having successful trade policy.
NYFB
also will continue to oppose limitations based on the use of geographic
indicators. New York is a big dairy producing state, but if farms and
cooperatives can’t market cheeses based
on how they are known around the world, like parmesan for instance,
this will put New York products at a serious competitive disadvantage.
LOCAL FOOD AND SCHOOL PROGRAMS
NYFB’s
final top priority will be to support additional funding for school and
local food purchasing programs, food infrastructure initiatives and
food-based entrepreneurship programs.
Funding for these was allocated in the Farm Bill and it serves many
important needs. For one, it connects farmers with those who often have
limited access to healthy food, including children and seniors in
low income communities or urban food deserts.
Not only do these programs put food on the table but they also support
local farms in New York.
This
priority also includes efforts to increase farmer food donations. Last
year, New York’s farmers donated a record amount of food, more than
10 million pounds, to regional food banks
across the state. NYFB would like to see that climb even higher.
Its members support the
Fighting Hunger Incentive Tax Act
that would help offset the costs of harvesting, packaging and
transporting the food to the donation site. Corporations, like big box
stores, receive a similar tax credit for food donations,
and they are not the ones actually growing the food.
“We
want to encourage greater donations and provide an important source of
fresh, local food for low-income New Yorkers who may not have access to
this food otherwise,’ said Elizabeth Wolters,
NYFB’s associate director of national affairs. “It’s a win-win for our
communities and our farms.”
“New
York agriculture is a large part of the state’s economy. Over $5
billion in direct farm receipts and more than 200,000 jobs are created
by agriculture," said farm bureau President Norton. "These issues are important to
us as we strive to move the economy forward. We look forward to working
with our congressional representatives to make sure that happens for us
on the national level.”
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