New York Farm Bureau Members Meet with Legislators in Albany

Farmers from across the state spent two days in Albany this week visiting with lawmakers on March 6-7 to highlight New York Farm Bureau’s public policy priorities for the year. 

They kicked things off with the popular Taste of New York Reception at the Empire State Plaza for state lawmakers, commissioners and staff. Nearly 90 county Farm Bureaus and agricultural organizations hosted tables featuring local farm products for people to sample. 

New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, Comptroller Tom DiNapoli and Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan were among the many dignitaries who attended the event.

 New York Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul, Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, and Long Island Farm Bureau President Karl Novak are enjoying the New York Farm Bureau Taste of New York Reception in Albany on March 6.

Following the evening reception, more than 250 members participated in the annual lobby day on March 7 where they met with both their local senators and assembly members. The county Farm Bureaus also visited with their “adopted” lawmakers who represent the New York City area. 

In addition, NYFB’s executive committee met personally with legislative leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Flanagan and the Chairs of the Agriculture Committees, Senator Patty Ritchie and Assemblyman Bill Magee.


“We had record participation for our Taste of New York reception and Lobby Day this year. The high turnout is a testament to our organization’s strong grassroots support, and it demonstrates the value our members place in meeting to face-to-face with their elected officials,” said David Fisher, New York Farm Bureau president.


The state priorities for the organization include securing a refundable investment tax credit for farmers. With 2015 farm income down nearly 20 percent to $5.3 billion across the state, according to the latest figures from the National Agriculture Statistics Service, it is important that tools be in place to help farmers weather the downturn. 

This initiative would incentivize farm investment to meet the needs of global competition.


In addition, farmers pushed to double the minimum wage tax credit from $30 million to $60 million. The first step of the minimum wage hike climbed at the beginning of the year on its way to $15 for farms on Long Island and $12.50 for Upstate farmers.  

New York Farm Bureau led the way in opposition to the hike last year, resulting in a $250 tax credit per employee for this first year of the increase. That will cover only a small fraction of what it will cost family farms to implement the wage hike.


State funding for critical farm programs is another top priority for Farm Bureau. The governor included a number of things in his budget plan which would help agriculture in the state. 

This includes funding for the Environmental Protection Fund, which will assist farms with water quality, conservation and farmland protection programs, as well as necessary investments into animal health programs. 

Farm Bureau also asked lawmakers to restore funding for promotion and research programs that also benefit agriculture. New York Farm Bureau also supports the governor’s proposed $2 billion clean water infrastructure program that includes $70 million for nutrient management and conservation programs to reduce farm runoff.


The Farm to Food Bank Bill is another top priority for farm bureau members who have seen the governor veto the popular legislation the past two years. Members asked their lawmakers to include the tax credit that encourages greater fresh food donations to regional food banks and local food pantries to be included in their one-house budget bills.


These priorities are based on member-approved public policies that originate every year at the county Farm Bureau level and are passed by the full delegate body at New York Farm Bureau’s State Annual Meeting in December.


In addition to advocating for priorities with lawmakers, members also participated in a special panel discussion with the commissioners from the Departments of Agriculture and Markets, Environmental Conservation and Labor. Members asked the public officials questions about a number of issues facing the state’s family farms.


“Our organization is grateful for the time our members spent off their farms to advocate on these important issues in Albany," said Fisher. 

"In addition, New York Farm Bureau appreciates the time lawmakers and staff spent meeting with their constituents. The relationships we have built on both sides of the aisle serve our members well as legislators make policy decisions in Albany that impact every farmer in this state,” he said.

New York Farm Bureau Disappointed New State Budget Includes Wage Hike

The state Legislature has come to an agreement on a new state budget that includes a minimum wage increase.

Here is a statement from New York Farm Bureau:

Norton

“As New York State leaders reach an agreement on an increase in the minimum wage, New York Farm Bureau is disappointed in the outcome and remains steadfastly opposed to the wage hike, regardless of the inclusion of any programs in the final state budget that are designed to assist agriculture," said New York Farm Bureau President Dean Norton.

"Farms, especially those on Long Island, will face extremely serious economic challenges as they will be forced to pay the dramatically higher wage rates mandated by this agreement. In turn, their business costs will skyrocket as their products become less competitive, and fresh locally-grown food products will be more expensive and less available," he said.

"The governor and legislature are playing politics with family farmers and their livelihoods and, as a result, our businesses and rural communities will pay the price,” Norton said.

State Budget Includes $35 M for Protecting Farmland

The recently passed New York state budget for 2015-16 includes
$35 million for protecting working farmland. 

“We greatly appreciate the leadership of Gov. Cuomo and the state Legislature for making the biggest investment in the state’s history in protecting working farms”, said David Haight, New York State Director for  American Farmland Trust. “This record level of funding places New York among the top five states in the nation in annual state farmland protection funding.” 

The state budget includes $15 million in funding for New York’s Farmland Protection Program from the Environmental Protection Fund and $20 million in a special allocation for the permanent protection of farmland in the Hudson Valley.  

Our goal is to keep New York a national leader in state funding for protecting farmland,” Haight said.

New York state has lost nearly half a million acres of farmland to real estate development since the 1980s, threatening the state’s important agricultural economy and food security.

In 2016, New York will celebrate the 20^th anniversary of its agricultural conservation easement grant program, launched in 1996 by then-Gov. Mario Cuomo. Since its inception, the program has granted $134,476,261 to permanently protect 56,331 acres on 226 farms.