By Charlie Elrod, Ph.D., President NEAFA
As we come to the close of a challenging cropping year, we are quickly approaching the elections in November and another legislative year across the Northeast.
Anyone producing crops this year saw fuel costs soar from last year’s average of ~$3.75 per gallon to over $6.25 this year after closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Similarly, and for the same reasons, nitrogen-based fertilizers were approximately 30% more expensive across the cropping season. Despite regionally erratic weather conditions this summer, crop yields seem poised to be on a par with 2025. The changes in input costs will undoubtedly put strains on farm profitability in the Northeast and the nation.
Politically, the elections in November will witness 1971 races for seats in state legislatures across the Northeast. Also on ballots this fall will be 76 seats in the US House of Representatives and 5 US Senate seats in the Northeast. Many of the legislative maps have been gerrymandered to stack the deck in favor of the re-election of incumbents, but with that many races on the line, we are sure to see a lot of new faces in our legislatures. This provides us with some challenges and opportunities in our advocacy efforts.
As we have worked to ramp up our lobbying efforts across the region in recent years, we have gotten to know many key legislative leaders who would meet with us and hopefully take to heart our positions on issues we prioritize. Some of these familiar faces are retiring and some won’t be re-elected. There will be several new committee chairs, as in the NYS Assembly Agriculture Committee with the retirement of Assemblymember Donna Lupardo. We will have our work cut out for us getting acquainted and building relationships with new members and chairs.
We will continue our close coordination with other groups such as the Northeast Dairy Producers Association, Vermont Dairy Producers Alliance, and New York Farm Bureau as we promote funding for extension education, university research, CDL driver training, and other programs. We will continue to advocate for insurance reform which is driving up costs for all our businesses. We are exploring the issue of limited electric grid capacity and the impact this is having on availability of 3-phase grid connections for expanding dairy farms and other ag businesses. Of course, we are also registering our opposition to several legislative initiatives which would restrict the use of important tools, think neonics, or increase costs from additional regulations.
We will be meeting in early November with our partners at Hinman Straub to plan our lobbying efforts for the coming year. If you have an issue which is impacting your or your customers’ business, please get in touch and let us know. Or, if you would like to participate on the Government Relations committee and get involved in our lobbying efforts, please reach out to Eric Reid, Bonnie Bargstedt or myself. I think it is safe to say that our advocacy efforts are the most important function of NEAFA. Making sure we know the issues you face and have your voice represented in our lobbying are vitally important.