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Legislative Affairs
Priority Issues for 2010
The New York Farm Bureau Board of Directors has established the following state and national Priority Issues for 2010. See NYFB's complete state and national priority issue booklets as PDF files.
Also view NYFB's budget analysis of the Governor's 2010-11 Executive Budget Proposal.
STATE PRIORITIES
Local Farms
Maintain A Strong Agricultural Labor Force To Keep NY Farming
- Monitor implementation of the 2008 Farm Bill to ensure programs beneficial to New York agriculture, including dairy and specialty crops, are put into effect in a timely and efficient manner.
- Support enhanced efforts by the USDA and FDA to assure food safety and to promote consumer confidence in the food supply through science based research and the use of modern technology.
- Support legislation and regulations ensuring that agricultural imports are subject to equivalent inspection, sanitary requirements, pesticide use restrictions, and quality standards as domestic produce.
- Support funding for producer driven applied agriculture research and development programs, as well as critical investment in research at the Cornell University land grant colleges and experiment stations.
- Provide a state estate tax payment deferral for landowners that inherit farmland and keep the land in agricultural production.
- Work for timely distribution and receipt of disaster assistance and implementation of permanent disaster assistance.
- Oppose animal welfare standards outside of sound veterinary science and best management practices.
- Continue to work for more equitable, size-neutral dairy programs including MILC.
- Actively monitor the EPA’s Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations and emerging air emissions regulations to ensure that any developed regulations by the EPA do not negatively impact New York farms.
- Support the concepts of a pricing system that takes into account regional differences in milk pricing in an effort to secure more equitable Class I pricing for dairy farm families in New York.
- Support federal agricultural economic development initiatives on a regional level.
Local Food
SLASH UNNEEDED REGULATIONS; CUT TAXES AND FEES
- Support measures that provide relief from burdensome property taxes and unfunded state mandates.
- Oppose new taxes and fees that increase the cost of operating a farm business in New York State.
- Support the "Farmer Regulatory Relief Act":
1. Amend LLC filing fee to set fee based on net income
2. Establish a refundable Investment Tax Credit
3. Eliminate MTA payroll tax for farms
4. Remove MTA registration fee from farm vehicles
5. Reduce stormwater fees for agriculture
6. Return Agriculture Plate registration fees to prior levels
7. Reduce SPDES permit fees to $50 for farm wineries
8. Eliminate wholesaler reporting requirements for wineries
9. Eliminate 18-A Utility Assessment
LOCAL PEOPLE
INVEST IN UPSTATEINFRASTRUCTURE SO FOOD CAN REACH NEW YORKERS
- Oppose DOT truck travel restrictions in the Finger Lakes and across the state.
- Support immediate investment in repair of critical road and bridge infrastructure to maintain quality access to farm fields and consumers.
- Support a reduced farm or "Green" E-Z Pass toll rate on the New York State Thruway and on bridges within the MTA service region.
- Support investment in broadband access for residents of New York to promote direct marketing and business access to the internet.
- Support for Hunts Point Market revitalization, with a locally grown market component.
NATIONAL PRIORITIES
Agricultural Economic Development and Investment
- Monitor implementation of the 2008 Farm Bill to ensure programs beneficial to New York agriculture, including dairy and specialty crops, are put into effect in a timely and efficient manner.
- Support enhanced efforts by the USDA to assure food safety and to promote consumer confidence in the food supply through science based research and the use of modern technology.
- Support legislation and regulations ensuring that agricultural imports are subject to equivalent inspection, sanitary requirements, pesticide use restrictions, and quality standards as domestic produce.
- Provide an estate tax payment deferral for landowners that inherit farmland and keep the land in agricultural production.
- Provide cost efficient, credit opportunities to assist producers in balancing their operational needs.
- Fight increases in capital gains tax.
STRENGTHENING THE DAIRY INDUSTRY
- Support for national pricing structure reform which provides producers with price stability and adequacy.
- Support the concepts of a pricing system that takes into account regional differences in milk pricing in an effort to secure more equitable Class I pricing for dairy farm families in New York.
- Support for import standard reciprocity, particularly in regards to quality and promotion program assessments.
- Actively monitor the EPA’s Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations and emerging air emissions regulations to ensure that any developed regulations by the EPA do not negatively impact New York farms.
- Adopt California non-fat solid standards in drinking milk.
A Strong Agricultural Labor Force
- Immediate passage of federal legislation and/or regulatory changes to reform the H2a program and/or creation of a guest worker program which provide an effective, efficient, and cost effective means of securing seasonal and year-around workers.
- End abusive practices by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency and U.S. Border Patrol agents towards farm employees by a prohibition on the use of racial profiling.
- Prohibit DHS or ICE from removing possible undocumented workers from farms if such removal would produce immediate crop loss or prevent harvesting, or in the case of dairy farms, jeopardize the health of dairy animals.
Energy and the Environment
- Ensure any air quality and/or climate change legislation and regulations hold agriculture production practices harmless.
- Support legislation and/or regulations that include adequate offset opportunities for carbon trading for New York agriculture.
- Oppose efforts to broaden the definition of navigable waters.
- Ensure timely access to critical farm crop protectants.
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