NEW YORK FARM BUREAU LEADERS HIGHLIGHT FARM BILL PRIORITIES DURING U.S. HOUSE LISTENING SESSION

NYFB President and Vice President speak about importance of Farm Bill to the state’s farmers and overall food security during special listening session in Binghamton with the chair of the House Agriculture Committee.

New York Farm Bureau leaders and members spoke today in Binghamton about the significance and need for a strong Farm Bill at a special U.S. House Agriculture Committee listening session hosted by U.S. Rep Marc Molinaro, a member of the committee, and its chair, U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson of Pennsylvania. U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy also took part in the event.

The five-year Farm Bill is up for renewal this year and is the most impactful piece of legislation for food and farming in this country. The legislation includes funding for critical safety net programs to protect farmers during times of natural disasters, major crop loss, and low prices to safeguard our country’s food supply. It also funds essential conservation programs to protect the environment and supports needed research programs that improve how farmers grow food and care for livestock. In addition, the nutrition title of the Farm Bill helps to feed millions of low-income Americans in every community in this country.

New York Farm Bureau’s overarching priorities include:

• Increase baseline for farm bill program spending.
• Maintaining a unified farm bill which includes nutrition programs and farm programs together.
• Any changes to current farm legislation be an amendment to the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 or the Agricultural Act of 1949.
• Prioritize risk management tools which include both federal crop insurance and commodity programs as top funding priorities.
• Ensure adequate USDA staffing capacity and technical assistance.

During today’s listening session, NYFB President David Fisher spoke of how the Farm Bill touches the diversity of New York agriculture saying, “New York is truly unique due to the nature of agricultural products that are grown and made including livestock, dairy, specialty crops, row crops, and aquaculture, but also the interactions with urban areas of the state, including one of the largest markets in the world, New York City. The Farm Bill provides a critical safety net to New York farmers as well as provides critical resources to ensure the longevity of the agriculture industry.”

NYFB Vice President Eric Ooms spoke in detail about the need for dairy risk management programs to support the state’s largest commodity as well as other needed dairy reforms adding, “I also want to highlight opportunities for federal milk marketing order reform including addressing the higher of for Class 1 milk pricing, mandatory reporting for cost and yield information and overall greater dairy farmer input on dairy pricing reform to create meaningful change for dairy farmers.”

Click here to read President Fisher’s full comments.

Click here to read Vice President Ooms’ full comments.

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New York Farm Bureau is the State’s largest agricultural lobbying/trade organization. Its members and the public know the organization as “The Voice of New York Agriculture.” New York Farm Bureau’s mission is “Supporting today’s agricultural needs and creating member opportunities for tomorrow through advocacy and education.”