By Bonnie Bargstedt
This is a long, cold and harsh winter. We get through it with the knowledge that Spring will eventually arrive and offer us the opportunity to plant, nurture and harvest another year of crops.
That same nurturing opportunity presents itself every February as the Governor and our State Legislature deliberate their budget and regulatory priorities not only for Agriculture, but for the entire population. It is an immense task with many considerations.
It is a priority for NEAFA to meet with as many legislators as possible to address the multitude of regulatory and budget concerns. We have taken advantage of those opportunities by teaming with the NYS Council of Agriculture (CAO), NY Farm Bureau and Northeast Dairy Producers Association (NEDPA).
At the February 4th CAO Lobby Day Charlie Elrod and I paired separately with other Agricultural leaders and maximized the day to meet with 17 Senators and Assemblymembers. There were an additional 27 meetings that were covered by leadership of other organizations including NY Farm Bureau, NEDPA, NY Farm Viability Institute, NY Horticultural Society, NYS Turfgrass Association, Empire Sheep Producers Assoc., NY Wine & Grape Foundation, NYS Vegetable Growers Assoc., NY Flower Industries, NY Horse Council and Upstate Niagara. You can read more in Charlie’s update in this newsletter.
One week later on February 11th, NEAFA held our annual Lobby Day. There were 7 NEAFA members and 2 NEDPA attendees along with 3 NEAFA representatives from Hinman Straub, and we visited with 26 legislative offices. Our lobbyists at Hinman Straub ensured we visited a mix of upstate and downstate representatives, key committee members and chairs, as well as knowledgeable staff. That week in between events allowed legislators to work on their budget requests to fill the gaps in the Executive Budget that we pointed out on the 4th. It also allowed us to get their feedback and meet with those who were not joining forces to approve those requests.
If you would like to reach out to your representative via phone, email or in their district offices, here are some of our priorities. Sue VanAmburgh has talking points on these programs and she can forward those to you so you can have meaningful discussions. Time is of the essence as the budgetary process is winding down. I would encourage you to select a few that you are interested in to talk over with your representative.
Budgetary request highlights include but are not limited to:
· Cornell Pro Dairy: $2.463M request; $1,338M in Exec budget; additional request $1,125M
· Cornell CALS Operational Funds for Satellite Farms: new funds of $5M
· Cornell CALS Equipment & Infrastructure Repairs for satellite farms: $2.5M in Exec budget of $5M total request
· Dairy Profit Teams / Dairy Advancement Program: $1,074M in Exec budget – incr. $150K
· Cornell Ruminant Center (CURC): $500K request; $375K in Exec budget; incr $125K
· Center for Excellence for Food & Ag: Increase to $1.25M = Restore $354,545
· Cornell Pro Livestock: restore $250K
· Farm Net: $1.4M in Executive budget; restore additional $100K
· Cornell Ag Workforce & NYCAMH: restore $75K
· NYS Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory including Johne’s, Quality Milk, NYS Cattle Health Assurance, Avian Disease: $8,970,000 request - $8,270,000 included in Exec budget - $700K for restoration of previous funding.
· Dairy Farm Modernization Grant, Farm & Food Growth Fund: $15M in Exec Budget of $24M request.
· NY Farm Viability Institute: $5M request - $1M in Executive budget.
· Wins to appreciate in the Executive Budget:
· Ag in the Classroom: $500,000
· Corn & Soybean Growers: $125,000
· Cornell Ag IPM: $4,250,000
· Cornell Farm Labor Specialist: $702,000
· Cornell University 4H: $250,000
Policy positions that we discussed impact our members across the region. Again, Sue has our policy position paper that she can share with details upon your request.
Litigation Reform: Reducing unnecessary litigation and imposing market-based interest rates on court judgements.
Insurance Reform: Address the rising cost of insurance. Premium increase explanations, Property insurance premium reductions, Extend the Profit Law for auto insurance.
Tax Reform: Extend the Refundability of the ITC for Farmers, Standardize the Definition of Farmer for certain ITC, Transfer of authority to administer Marketing Orders.
If you have never been to the NY State Capitol, I would encourage you to visit. Your representatives want to hear from you as their constituent, not only those of us who serve our organization. The buildings themselves are a marvel. Their beauty is appreciated as you make your way through the majestic halls and staircases. I would encourage you to make time to take the young people in your life to tour and meet with your representatives. Having the next generation learn how government works is important. It is our responsibility to instill an appreciation of how government works and the impact of our involvement in the process. We need to develop the next generation of leaders who have a passion for agriculture and are willing to make time to defend our way of life in order to feed the world.
Thank you to Sean Dieumegard, Blake Lutz, Jenny Mills, Carie Telgen, Eric Reid, Dan Demeree and Keith Kimball for your dedication to making this day a success. Deep gratitude to our own Sue VanAmburgh and Julie Marlette, Carla Downie and Brianna Wagner at Hinman Straub for their coordination of appointments and participation in legislative discussions.