Agriculture Policy Outlook for ‘23: Buckle Up: Time to Get Started

By Rick Zimmerman

We are in the midst of the election season for state and federal races. Our elected leaders are very focused on the messaging required for election or reelection, and getting in the weeds on substantive policy issues impacting the agriculture industry may have to wait until after November 4th.  This gives us time however to reflect on the substantive issues impacting our industry, and to get prepared for the next legislative session at state capitols or in Washington D.C.  

On the public policy front, much of what we do is react to the agendas of other special interest groups. Unfortunately, environmentalists, animal rights activists, organized labor interests, anti-science organizations and others don’t always see eye to eye with the agriculture community.  Even though our democratic process allows us to engage and voice our concerns, the challenge for success is greater today than ever before, given the political realities of today’s urbanized society. Therefore, we must be better prepared to not only react to the agenda of others, but to lead forward with our own agenda.  This is a good time of year to set our agenda for 2023.  Here’s a list of issues that will guide our discussions.

Climate Change: This issue permeates the halls of Congress and most state capitols.  The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act authorizes billions of dollars for programs and incentives to reduce fossil fuel use and destroy and sequester carbon.  State laws, including New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), recognize agriculture as a contributing source of carbon to our atmosphere as well as an opportunity to reduce, capture and store carbon.  In fact, according to UC Davis Professor Frank Mitloehner, the dairy industry can be a net carbon sink if the right technologies and practices are employed.  Watch Frank’s 5-minute video: “Rethinking Methane” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOPrF8oyDYw It is our challenge to advocate at the federal and state levels for programs and incentives to maximize animal agriculture’s contributions to reducing carbon.  If done correctly, climate policy can be a win-win for the dairy industry and the environment.

Package Recycling:  This issue is also cropping up in state capitols throughout the country.  The traditional recycling paradigm of municipal waste stream recycling is being challenged by the notion that product manufacturers should be held responsible for determining how to recycle the packaging material used to put their products in the marketplace.  Food, including dairy products, are included within this new recycling approach.  Numerous states are considering this Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme and New York is one of them.  

The current proposals lend much to be desired in context to understanding the realities of dairy foods.  Specifically, federal and state food safety laws and regulations dictate packaging standards, including labeling requirements, that do not synch with the basic EPR concepts.  Much thought and research need to be invested before we march forward on this front.  Therefore, the dairy industry, specifically the dairy foods industry, must continue to engage with policy makers in attempt to instill the right ideas and timeframes. The greater agriculture community must join with dairy food manufacturers to impress lawmakers on the gravity of the situation and help with reasonable solutions. In some way, shape, or form, this new recycling approach is likely to move forward.

 Pollinators and Pesticides: The pesticide – pollinator interface continues to be studied and this potential issue deserves focus.  However, NRDC and other environmental organizations have jumped to the conclusion that the only way to solve the issue of pollinator decline is to ban a class of pesticides from use as seed treatments and have convinced law makers in New York and Vermont to introduce such legislation.  Environmental organizations claim seeds treated with neonicotinoids such as imidacloprid and thiamethoxam are the source of the problem. Regardless of who is on the right side of science, corn and soybean growers face a very serious threat from seed corn maggot, among other pests, should these seed treatments be banned.  

Everyone agrees that pollinators need to thrive in our world.  Therefore, we all should be working on addressing threats to pollinators and their habitat. But the real solutions are the ones that minimize the threat without sacrificing agriculture production. There is a win-win here. All it takes is a willingness to work together to find it.   

Labor: Costs, Availability: The labor issues continue to pose the most significant threat to the agriculture industry. The drive to a $15.00 minimum wage, combined with high payroll taxes including an unemployment insurance rate that was not addressed by federal COVID relief funds, is only the beginning of a series of challenges that threaten the ability of northeast agriculture remaining competitive with other regions, other countries. Combined with the threat of a 40-hour overtime threshold, and a tight labor market, the agriculture community will continue to struggle with finding enough workers and staying competitive with other ag producing regions.  

A subset of this picture includes truck drivers. Farmers, milk haulers, feed manufacturers and others are struggling to find skilled, licensed drivers. Our industry is facing a perilous situation of not being able to get crops harvested, milk delivered, or cows fed. Lowering the minimum CDL age in New York to 18 is a good step in the right direction, but we need more training opportunities and testing sites. Further, milk processing infrastructure needs updating to accommodate a quicker turnaround of milk tankers.

There are many factors impacting labor costs and availability. Keeping New York’s farmworker overtime threshold at 60 hours, reforming the federal agricultural guest worker program (H-2A) and increasing the pool of trained and licensed truck drivers would be a good start.  

Farm Bill: We are at the verge of rewriting the massive set of laws known as the U.S. Farm Bill.  The impact from these laws goes far beyond the farm gate, touching the lives of food consumers, particularly those in need of food assistance. In fact, from a spending standpoint, more Farm Bill funds go to food and feeding programs like Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC) and the supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), than get spent on farm related programs. Nevertheless, the massive Farm Bill stands to significantly impact all farmers across the nation and the question will be: how much bigger does it need to get for the next five years?  

Conservation programs, renewable energy incentives, rural development initiatives, crop insurance, production limit incentives are all part of the farm bill. Field hearings have already begun, and New York is leading the way through Commissioner Ball’s Farm bill Listening Sessions. We all must engage in the process to assure that agriculture’s needs are met.  

2023 promises to be another big policy year for agriculture.  Buckle up, because now is the time to get started. 

AFIA addresses NEAFA at 2022 Annual Meeting

By Chandler Hansen, Special to NEAFA

During the NEAFA Annual Meeting this past June at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, NY, Louise Calderwood, Director of Regulatory Affairs at American Feed Industry Association, presented an AFIA update to attendees. 

Calderwood opened by sharing information on the animal feed trade. “U.S. feed exports total $7.5 billion,” said Calderwood. “$5.5 billion of this total are feed & feed ingredients, and the remaining $2 billion are pet food products. The top three export markets are China, Japan, and Singapore. China in particular has seen a large increase in exports, going up 33% since 2020. Alfalfa/hay and other feed products have been the top commodities getting exported to China.” When asked why China and other nations in Southeast Asia have been growing, Calderwood shared that many nations in the area are developed enough now that having pets is more common, which means there are more feed needs in the region.” 

Port/Export container issues have been an ongoing problem that Calderwood spoke about. “Increased cost of Asian-based imports, increased fees, inability to export, lack of containers, and COVID-19 lockdowns in China have all created problems,” said Calderwood. “Some solutions that AFIA has been advocating for are an Infrastructure package that includes funding for port upgrades and the passage of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act. However, more port infrastructure in general and more collaboration on the intermodal system are still needed.”

FDA and State inspections were the next portion of the address. Calderwood showed statistics of FDA Current Good Manufacturing Practices inspections and FDA Preventive Controls inspections. Both of these showed that the vast majority of inspections deemed that there was “no action indicated,” said Calderwood. “Some observations from CGMP inspections were that feed manufacturers should evaluate the quality of their raw materials and ingredients, and should take precautions to ensure that plant operations don’t contaminate animal food. Issues observed through PC inspections were typically a failure to identify and implement PCs, a lack of a written Food Safety Plan, and a lack of a written hazard analysis or evaluation of each known or foreseeable hazard.”

Calderwood also talked about OSHA and EPA update. “Some of the Department of Labor’s early priorities have been increased budget, more inspections, increased news releases of inspection results, and they are continuing to seek maximum penalties,” said Calderwood. “Some of the items on OSHA’s watchlist have been Powered Industrial Trucks Rule Update, Lockout/Tagout Rule Update, Potential Infectious Disease Standard, Potential Heat Illness Prevention Standard, Potential Emergency Response Preparedness Rule Update, Occupational Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Regulation Update.” 

Some EPA actions that have been affecting the feed industry involve rodenticides, formaldehyde, and chlorpyrifos. Calderwood explained, “Rodenticides are currently undergoing its normal 15-year registration review. AFIA has had conversations with the EPA, USDA, and FDA on this matter. There is a very good chance that bulk forms of these products may become ‘restricted use’ pesticides. In the case of formaldehyde, it is undergoing three risk assessments by the EPA. It is classified as a human carcinogen, and it is used in animal food as an antimicrobial. AFIA is encouraging the EPA to follow the science on this matter. Lastly, the EPA recently ruled on chlorpyrifos and food containing residue of chlorpyrifos would be considered adulterated. The FDA will practice enforcement discretion for products containing the substance.” Calderwood also briefly mentioned PFAS and work being done in various states with that problem. In Maine, there is an observational study for the substance. In Vermont, more focus is on its presence in the soil, while in New York the focus is more on water. 

A portion of Calderwood’s presentation was devoted to the threat of African Swine Fever. AFIA has been working with government agencies and feed industry organizations in devising a response if an outbreak of ASF should occur in the U.S. “In the event of an outbreak, a federal order will input a nationwide 72-hour standstill where no movement of swine or germplasm will be allowed,” said Calderwood. “Infected zones will be identified and depopulation of infected herds will start. After 72-hours, states will take over the response, controlling infected areas and limiting and tracing movement in infected areas. We encourage producers to determine ways to ease the impact of an event like this, and it may involve creative solutions like working with a competitor.” ASF can spread not just through swine to swine transmission, but also through pork products or equipment and clothing, so the importance of biosecurity was greatly stressed to attendees.

Lastly, Calderwood discussed label claims. In September 2020 AFIA made an appeal to the FDA to modify a portion of its CVM Guide. The request asked for the establishment of a policy for products that act in the digestive tract to be regulated as food, and for alignment with the regulation of structure/function and health claims in developed countries. Calderwood explained that any changes that result from the request will be revised by December 2022 and the implementation of the changes will occur in 2023. 

Presidents Pen, August 2022

By Danielle Penney-Stroop NEAFA President

August is quickly ending, and many of the local county fairs are wrapping up. Vermont State Fair just completed its 176th year, NYS Fair is upon us, and The Big E is quickly approaching. What phenomenal opportunities these are to engage with the general public and our local politicians, by showcasing and sharing our stories of agricultural stewardship in our communities.  

For those of you involved with the sponsorship of youth activities, thank you!! It’s critical in engaging our youth, supporting family operations, and it effectively demonstrates how we are one industry with a unified voice. Beyond these immediate reasons, they are also small ways of connecting with consumers, friends, and neighbors who otherwise have limited exposure to agriculture.   

I firmly believe that as we now approach election season, we must highlight our strength in numbers and unified voice. Our industry may be small, yet we are mighty, and all the facets of our industry are critical and needed every day. We must collaborate to achieve our goals collectively and advocacy is more critical than ever.  

In early August, NEAFA was part of a coalition that sent a letter to US Senate Majority Leader Schumer and US Senator Gillibrand, on behalf of the New York agriculture community strongly encouraging the US Senate to pass an agriculture workforce reform bill, (largely focusing on the H2-A guest worker program), during this Congress. Specifically, referencing and addressing the workforce needs for U.S. and New York agriculture, and to assure that domestic agriculture production continues to address our national security needs and curtails rising food costs for every consumer.

We were also informed in early August, that the coalition we are a part of, successfully convinced Massachusetts to back off from enforcing pork housing regulations. The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to rule on the question whether a state law can dictate agricultural practices in another state.  This ruling will impact the same question that is driving the MA law.  Therefore, MA officials agreed to back off until SCOTUS rules.

NEAFA membership had the opportunity to participate and be a part of the Farm Bill Listening tour, which Governor Kathy Hochul kicked off on July 18. She visited Bruno Farm in Suffolk County and held a roundtable session to hear from farmers and industry stakeholders about their successes and concerns.

The Farm Bill Listening Tour provided an opportunity to engage with and hear from constituents about the importance of the 2023 Farm Bill to New York State. What we learned during the tour will be provided to Governor Hochul to help develop the State’s Farm Bill priorities for critical funding and policy changes in the areas of agriculture, nutrition, and the environment.   

We also encourage written comments, all of which can be submitted to FarmBill@agriculture.ny.gov.  The deadline to submit written comments is December 19, 2022.

The NEAFA board and all of our members are encouraged to continue expressing their thoughts and concerns in conjunction with the GROW NY FARMS campaign telling the Governor to stay at the 60 hour threshold. The Labor and Wage board will reconvene on September 6th. Below is a partial toolkit to implement on behalf of your organization and employees:

Talking Points: Download talking points from the Google Drive link below when drafting a Letter or calling the Governor. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BSnwKdRC4MqcelF__ahaQvj-Jbcbvvb-/edit

1.   Encourage your County Legislature to pass a resolution in support of Senate Bill S9509 to Eliminate the Farm Laborers Wage Board 

Reach out to your local legislature to encourage them to consider passing a resolution in favor of Senate Bill S9509 to eliminate the Farm Laborers Wage Board created through the Farm Workers Fair Labor Practices Act. 

Farm overtime should be taken up at the federal level to ensure New York’s family farms can remain competitive on a national scale. Our farms cannot continue absorbing significant increases in costs that cannot be passed on to consumers. There needs to be an even playing field. If there will be farm overtime changes, they must be done at the federal level.

2.   Call Governor Kathy Hochul 

Tell Governor Hochul that any threshold below 60 hours will be detrimental to the viability of New York family farms, your employees, consumers, and the security of our local food supply. Please encourage family members, employees, and any business partners who want to lend their voice to this effort, to call the Governor and ask her to stay at 60.

Option #1: Call the Governor’s Office at 518-474-8390. After hearing the call options, select 3 to hear more options. Then select 1 to leave a voice message. If you’re calling between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., you can select 2 to speak with a representative.

Option #2: You can fax a letter to 518-474-3767, or email a letter to the Governor through New York State’s website: www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form 

3.   Share news articles on social media about the need to #StayAt60

 Visit the Grow NY Farms Facebook page for recent news article examples: www.facebook.com/GrowNYFarms

Tag the Governor in social media posts: @govkathyhochul

Key messages to share with news articles on social media:

• @govkathyhochul must keep the threshold at 60 hours. #StayAt60

• Farmworkers continue to share concerns about losing hours and income, saying they would have to get a second job or look for jobs in other states if the threshold is lowered below 60. #StayAt60

• The very people the policy claims to help, will lose in the end. #StayAt60

• DOL Commissioner Reardon said a Wage Board decision couldn’t be made in 2020 due to the pandemic and supply chain issues. Well here we are 18 months later and there are still supply chain issues, on top of 40-year high inflation. Now is not the time. #StayAt60

• Dairy farmers are price takers as the price for our milk is mandated at the federal level. Farms do not receive payment until a month after the milk leaves the farm. Family farms cannot pass increased costs on. The numbers just don’t add up. #StayAt60

• In addition to competitive wages, many farmworkers are provided housing at no cost to them. As fuel and utility prices rise, farms are burdened with increased costs due to this unique employee benefit. #Stayat60

In September, NEAFA’s board will be meeting at Miner Institute, where we will be reviewing your input regarding our Annual Meeting and Golf for Goodworks Tournament.  Thank you to those who offered feedback regarding the future of the program, we appreciate it. There will also be continued discussions on NEAFA’s multiple coalition fronts; opportunities for educating membership; progression on our strategic plan from last year; and policy priorities for 2023.  Further updates to come in September ….. 

Panel Discussion: Managing Limited Milk Production on Farm

By Charlie Elrod
President, Natural Biologics, Inc. & Director, NEAFA

The 2022 NEAFA Annual Meeting, based around the theme of Strength in Numbers and presenting “A Unified Voice,” was packed with outstanding information, insight, and context to help participants understand a broader swath of the industry we all work in.  One of the many highlights of the annual meeting was the panel discussion, moderated by Professor Mike van Amburgh and drawing on the expertise and experience of dairy producers, nutritionists, and business consultants.  The producers’ experiences and adaptations depended greatly on where they marketed their milk.

Mark Mapstone, a Farm Credit East business consultant, provided great context by describing three of the most common base excess programs.  While Mark provided more detail on the programs in his presentation, he also summarized them as: the Agri-Mark system (BIG Bite); the DFA system (moderate bite); and the Upstate or Land O’Lakes system (little or no bite).  Depending on their milk market, producers could respond very differently in each of these cases.  In almost no situation would producers want to produce milk in excess of their base production level in the Agri-Mark system.  The penalties are just too high and there is no gross margin to be generated from those milk sales.

Under the Upstate/LOL program, there is little disincentive to producing however much milk a producer wants to make.  It was really under the DFA system that required more ingenuity in making more milk and maintaining some level of farm profitability.  The producers on the panel made a number of excellent points.  Trying to reduce milk production nutritionally across the whole herd would rarely lead to a successful outcome.  This could really pull the rug out from under fresh and high cows, and perhaps compromise their production far into the future.  Thoughtful culling and dry-off decisions to reduce overall production was often used as a tactic to stay closer to the base level and avoid penalties.  One dairy marketed milk from their two farms to co-ops under different systems, and even moved cows from one farm to another to shift production into a lower penalty structure.  

One sentiment expressed by some of the producers was whether these programs would lead to enough pressure on farms to really stifle growth and discourage the entry of the next generation of young farmers into the industry.  Sadly, this introduced a tone of pessimism that I haven’t heard in our industry in over 30 years.  Having owned a dairy in the Southeastern U.S. in the early 80’s, operating under a seasonal base program, I understand all too well what a damper such a system puts on the vibrancy and progressive attitudes of everyone in the industry.

Mark Mapstone summarized it well when he suggested that under the moderate DFA system, if a producer could more than cover his variable costs in the operation (gross milk price minus over base penalty being enough to cover variable costs and leave a positive gross margin) it contributed positively to the farm’s profitability.  In that situation, producing over base could be a winning proposition for many farms. In years like 2022 where the milk price is very high, making a higher % over base could result in a higher bottom line for farms.

NY Farm Bureau Future on Agriculture Summit

By John Mitchell, NEAFA Executive Director

On July 20th, NY Farm Bureau held a “Future of Agriculture Summit” attended by over 100 leaders from Farm Bureau and other agricultural partners for an invitation-only event. The Future of Agriculture Summit addressed a number of issues critical to agriculture's success in New York.  Rick Zimmerman and I attended this program that consisted of four panels presenting on the topics: 

 1) Workforce Development and Labor 

2) Climate Change (Opportunities and Challenges)

3) Engaging with Non-Farm, Urban Constituencies, and 

4) Agricultural Education and Applied Research.  

Following each panel’s presentation, a discussion was held at each round table and the comments were shared with the entire group.  

Farm Bureau President David Fisher opened the meeting and encouraged the attendees to engage in breakout discussions following each panel’s presentation.  The desired outcome is to provide Farm Bureau and their partners with an action plan so we can all move forward in our efforts to navigate the many challenges ahead.

I came away from the Summit with a greater understanding of what the challenges are for our agricultural enterprises and how NEAFA can be effective in addressing the issues.  We were introduced to individuals who will be important in our work ahead such as Chris White, NYSDOL Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development.  Chris will be invited to the Agricultural Transportation Summit later this year where we hope to find solutions to the driver shortage our members are dealing with.  

The panel on climate change provided an update on the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) which bodes many onerous policies that we will be struggling with in the days ahead, but also for opportunities to be proactive for solutions to the climate issues.  

The 3rd panel provided a sobering look at publicly funded agricultural R&D in the US which has been declining over the past 20 years.  The US was 1st in Ag R&D and is now 3rd behind China, and the European Union. India and Brazil rounded out the top 5, with both of the latter increasing their ag r&d spending in recent years, in comparison to the decline in US funding. The chairs of both the NY Senate and Assembly Ag Committees  discussed engagement with non-farm urban constituencies who are increasing their attention towards agriculture.  We need to provide ways to engage with these urban constituencies to help them understand the realities of production agriculture and the unintended consequences of policies they may be advocating for.  One startling fact was shared, in 2018 the rural areas of NY were represented by 97% of the majority in the NYS Senate.  Today that number is only 3%.  We have much work to do to be sure that the legislature knows agriculture.

The meeting concluded with identifying and prioritizing issues and possible solutions from which Farm Bureau will develop an action plan.  Below you will find the presentations from each of the 4 Panels,along with roundtable discussions that followed each panel.

We appreciate Farm Bureau’s initiative and for inviting NEAFA to join the conversation.  I will provide an update to our membership when an action plan is finalized.

Farm Bureau Summit on Future of Agriculture

July 20, 2022

Panel 1: Access to Skilled Labor and Workforce Development

Richard Stup, Cornell Agricultural Workforce Specialist

Jim Bittner, Executive Director NYS Horticulture Society 

AJ Wormuth, NEDPA Board Member and Owner of Half Full Dairy 

Chris White, Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development, NYSDOL

Panel 2: Addressing Climate Change 

Julie Suarez, Cornell University CALS

Peter Woodbury, Cornell University

Brian Steinmuller, NYS Dept. of Agriculture and Markets

Panel 3: Engaging with Non-Farm, Urban Constituencies

 Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, Chair of Assembly Agriculture   Committee

 Senator Michelle Hinchey. Chair of Senate Agriculture Committee

Panel 4: Investment in Agricultural Education and Applied    Research

Anu Rangarajan, Cornell Small Farms

Tara Berescik, NYAAE

Julie Suarez, Cornell University CALS

Andrew Turner, Cornell University

Use Ctrl+Click to open the document links below.

• Summit Climate Panel Slides

• Cornell Small Farms Slides

• Applied Research Slides from panelist Julie Suarez

• 4-H Youth Development Slides from panelist Andy Turner

• Panel 1 Table Discussion Points - Access to Skilled Labor and Workforce Development

• Panel 2 Table Discussion Points – Addressing Climate Change

• Panel 3 Table Discussion Points – Engaging with Non-Farm, Urban Constituencies

• Panel 4 Table Discussion Points – Enhanced Investment in Agricultural Education and Applied Research

2022 Golf For Good Works Winners Announced

NEAFA would like to congratulate Eric Reid, George MacDonald, and Blake Lutz on their first-place win.

The Golf for Goodworks Tournament returned to the Turning Stone Resort’s Shenendoah Golf Course for 2022. Shenendoah offers 18 holes of PGA-level golf in a spectacular natural setting. The course was built and is maintained to comply with stringent Audubon International standards for environmental protection and preservation. Designed, constructed and maintained to TOUR standards at more than 7,000 yards, the course offers conditions normally reserved for Tour professionals. In 2006, Turning Stone Resort’s Shenendoah Golf Club was host of the PGA National Club Professional Championship.

NEAFA would like to congratulate Eric Reid, George MacDonald, and Blake Lutz on their first-place win (pictured above). Brad Saunders was the closest to the pin at 6’, 10”, and Shane Laurie held the longest drive. The highest score (aka the Most Honest Team) went to Barry Baetz, Jeff Matuszczak, Mike Liddle, and Justin Wright. Second Place went to Corwin Holtz, Cory Giroux, Chris Talcott, and Jesse Holmes, while third place went to Bonnie Bargstedt, Adam Robertson, Shane Laurie, and Matt Robson in a tie broken using the USGA Method. Thank you to all who participated this year.

Proceeds from this event goes to support agricultural outreach and education programs. Previously NEAFA has supported the Northeast Regional Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge, Future Farmers of America Foundation, NYS 4-H Foundation's Junior Dairy Leader Program, the New York State Fair Dairy Cow Birthing Center, LEAD New York, Dairy Judging Teams in New York and New England, New York Farm Bureau’s Food & Farm Experience, Maine 4-H Foundation's Dairy Quiz Bowl, and the Growing Through Showing Program.

Wolf Presents Dairy Industry Update at the NEAFA Annual Meeting

By Chandler Hansen, Special to NEAFA

Dr. Chris Wolf. Dr. Wolf, a professor of Agricultural Management and Policy at Cornell University’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, gave the first presentation at the NEAFA Forum, updating members on the current state of the Northeast Dairy Economy. 

Since no industry exists in a vacuum, Dr. Wolf began his presentation by giving an update on the U.S. economy. “The main story in the U.S. economy right now is inflation,” said Wolf. “Inflation is at the highest level it has been at in 40 years. As of April of 2022, inflation is around 8.3 percent, and farmers, like people in other industries and everyday Americans, have been feeling the effects of that high inflation.” 

Another area that Wolf focused on was unemployment. “As of May of 2022, the unemployment rate is at 3.6%,” said Wolf. “About 390,000 jobs were added in the U.S. in May. Rural areas however are still experiencing problems finding workers for jobs.” 

According to Wolf, there are two factors that will determine crop prices for the U.S. this year: weather and the war in Ukraine. In speaking about the dairy industry, prices are up in general. “Prices for dairy rations have increased, and so have the prices for milk,” said Wolf. “Class III milk price increased to $25.00, Class IV milk is slightly down but around $25.00, and all milk prices are around $27.00 which is up from around $18.50 the same time last year. Right now states in the East are short on cream, which is effecting the availability and price of some dairy products. This is something some of you have maybe seen at the grocery store lately. There have been a few times that I have been at the store and there's no cream so then I'm calling my wife asking if something else will work for the recipe. While cheese prices have been decreasing lately, butter prices have seen a large increase because of this shortage. Consumers are also rediscovering full fat dairy products, which is something that could effect markets for certain dairy products going forward.”

Wolf also looked at how the U.S. milk market compared with those throughout the rest of the world. “Compared to other world milk markets, the U.S. has markedly higher prices than both the European Union and New Zealand milk prices,” said Wolf. “The U.S. remains an important exporter in world dairy markets with monthly export volumes for 2022 remaining nearly identical to 2021 so far.”

In terms of milk production, Dr. Wolf shared that the Northeast is not seeing much change. “Compared to last year, states like Pennsylvania and Vermont are seeing around a one percent decrease in production, while New York has seen no change from the previous year,” said Wolf. “Other areas of the country have seen larger changes. California is seeing an almost two percent decrease and some areas in the Southwest experiencing decreases of ten percent due to drought. These operations seem to be moving to places further east, such as Texas, which has seen an almost six percent increase in production. Overall U.S. production is slightly lower than it was this time last year, but still higher than 2019 and 2020 levels.”

 Looking ahead, Dr. Wolf predicted that milk prices will steadily decrease throughout the second half of the year, but remain higher than last year’s prices.

NEAFA Recognizes Rick Zimmerman with Distinguished Service Award

By Chandler Hansen, Special to NEAFA

During the 2022 NEAFA Annual Meeting, the Awards Luncheon was held to honor several guests, and to feature the keynote address from event MC, Dave Kuehnel.

To commence the luncheon, NEAFA president Danielle Penney-Stroop recognized the three retiring NEAFA Board members; Jeff Matuszczak of Mercer Milling, Blake Lutz of Lutz Feed Company, Inc., and Secretary Lon Stephens from Co-operatives Feed Dealers, Inc. Each retiring board member also received a plaque for their years of service on the board.

Rick Zimmerman, the immediate past NEAFA Executive Director and a longtime lobbyist for the agricultural industry, was honored with the Distinguished Service Award. Rick formerly served as NEAFA’s Executive Director and has been a longtime agriculture lobbyist. Several colleagues spoke about Rick from their personal and professional relationships with him. “Rick is authentic, principled, and undeterred when he encounters a problem,” said Tom Holden. “You know that he will always get up off the mat after getting knocked down and keep fighting.” Andrew Duggan of Goldstar Feed and a past president of NEAFA, shared that, “Rick has always been committed to advocacy, collaboration, and education on behalf of agriculture.”

Zimmerman was grateful for the award. “I am humbled” to receive this award,” said Zimmerman. “I would like to thank my family, friends, and many colleagues.” Zimmerman was quick to point out that his accomplishments were not completed alone as he said, “It’s not what I’ve done, it’s what we’ve done. During my time at NEAFA, the organization saw the creation of three strategic plans and 10 committees, stayed at the forefront of lobbying and advocacy work for the agricultural industry, and received hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to benefit the agricultural community. These accomplishments are evidence that NEAFA is able to realize its goals through collaboration.” Zimmerman received a plaque thanking him for his years of service to the group.

Lastly, Kuehnel, delivered the keynote address during the Awards Luncheon. Kuehnel ran a successful young animal nutrition business for decades, and is the founder of Rule of Three Solutions, LLC, a consulting agency. The keynote, entitled “Strength in Numbers Starts with the Power of ONE,” is the idea that for a group to accomplish its goals, there must be, “one voice, one action, and one commitment through unity.” The keynote focused on this mindset using examples from Kuehnel’s own life experiences growing up in a multi-racial and multi-ethnic family, living on a farm, and his time as an animal nutritionist. 

2022 NEAFA Annual Meeting a Success

By Chandler Hansen, Special to NEAFA

Members of the agricultural industry from across the Northeast gathered for a time of education, fellowship, and celebration at the 2022 NEAFA Annual Meeting and Forum, held June 23rd at Turning Stone Resort in Verona, NY. The theme of this year’s forum was “Strength in Numbers- A Unified Voice.”

The annual meeting opened with the FFA team from Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School, and Immediate Past President John Clark also gave opening remarks. 

NEAFA President Danielle Penney-Stroop then took to the podium, where she spoke on the alliance’s events and advocacy measures from the past year. One example she mentioned was the NY Dairy Roundtable which took place last November in partnership with NEDPA. Penney-Stroop said, “This successful event along with the commitment and ambition from our board has led to further engagement and series of meetings amongst NEAFA, NYDFA, and NEDPA. It was noted that all 3 groups are looking for opportunities to work together on legislative issues, since many of our respective issues overlap. We decided to share our legislative priority documents and identified areas that we could partner on.” Penney-Stroop also reminded attendees of NEAFA’s mission to support and sustain the agribusiness and feed industry in the Northeast. “…it is in all our best interests to somehow make a greater effort and outreach to the legislature that has little familiarity and exposure to our world – we need to cross party lines, invest in educating downstate legislators, speak the WHY and HOW we do what we do.” said Penney-Stroop. She spurred the group to continue to reach out to those who may want to join as well. 

Via Zoom, Executive Director John Mitchell made remarks on the alliance, along with current challenges facing agriculture. “Farmers have faced some of today’s problems before, such as when inflation was high in the 1970s and 80s,” said Mitchell. After this turbulent time and interest rates and inflation returned to normal there was an incredible surge of Innovation over the next 2 decades. Through investments in technology, animal nutrition, breeding, crop production along with innovative management practices incredible gains have been achieved. Annual milk production per cow went from 12,000lbs to over 20,000 lbs over the next 2 decades. Corn yields went from 85 bu/ acre in the 1970’s to over 170 bu/acre today.

While the times are not exactly the same and the eventual outcome will be different I do believe that out of necessity we will enter another time of innovation. Agriculture will play a crucial role to a new order and better time as food production will always be at the forefront of our economy.

The annual meeting concluded with a legislative update by Rick Zimmerman. Zimmerman provided a recap on some of the specific legislative measures NEAFA advocated for or against during the latest legislative sessions of Northeastern states. The NEAFA News will dive into more depth on Zimmerman’s legislative recap in the August Edition.

For photos from the 2022 Annual Meeting, click here.

The Future of Feed Mill Manufacturing

By Chandler Hansen, Special to NEAFA

Dr. Charles Stark, the Jim and Carol Brown Professor in Feed Technology at Kansas State University, gave the second presentation of the 2022 NEAFA Annual Meeting on the future of feed mill manufacturing. 

Stark overviewed ways in which feed mills can become more efficient and sustainable to meet the challenges facing the feed industry. “Some of the challenges facing the feed industry are climate change, drought, growing global population, the COVID-19 pandemic, and adapting to green energy,” said Stark. “For feed mills to remain economically sustainable they need to respond to issues such as balancing customer expectations and animal performance, implementing automations for tasks vs. keeping human employees, and balancing environmental impact and costs.” Stark also shared an advantage of feed mills saying, “Feed mills are recyclers. We use products other industries don’t necessarily want.”

Stark’s next topic was energy management and conservation in the feed mill, and the importance of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) when operating a feed mill. These can be measured in different ways. Keeping track of KPIs can improve energy management which is good for sustainability and the environment. Some examples he provided of improving energy management were tracking usage of motors and lights. According to Stark, keeping up with technological advances and maintaining equipment are good ways to conserve energy, and therefore improve cost efficiency in the mill.

“Biosecurity is another important facet of feed mill operation,” said Stark. “You want to have biosecurity measures in place to prevent feed contamination. You can improve biosecurity by having policies in place for visitors to your mill. Tracking when visitors are on the premises, and having them wear appropriate protective clothing is one step. Purchasing ingredients from verified suppliers that abide by certain specifications, and implementing employee policies that cover hygiene, in-plant movement, sanitation, etc., is another. Biosecurity will look different for each individual plant, but measures to secure it will be good for the plant and the product.”

Finally, Stark shared insights on how to improve overall feed mill efficiency. “In a feed mill, there can at times be competing goals between different departments,” said Stark. “Nutritionists want to maximize animal performance. Management wants to maximize feed mill performance. Others are most concerned with quality and customer perception of the product’s quality. Getting all departments of a feed mill working together, and working towards similar objectives will improve efficiency.” 

In closing, Stark shared some additional take home points. First, sustainability is an on- going process for feed mills to work on. Second, biosecurity requirements will continue to increase. Third, automation will continue to increase and reduce operating costs. Lastly, business objectives and KPIs must be a part of the business/operations culture.

President’s Pen

By Danielle Penney-Stroop, NEAFA President

For members that missed NEAFA President Danielle Penney-Stroop’s speech at the 2022 Annual Meeting or would like a chance to read it again after the event, please read on below.

So here we are again… back at the Turning Stone Resort, ten months since our last annual meeting. Thank you all for your membership, support, and most of all for attending our events.  We all work very hard to bring our members a valuable and worthwhile experience.  

First, I would also like to extend a special thank you to the backbone of our organization, Sue VanAmburgh, as well as Interim ED John Mitchell, Legislative Director Rick Zimmerman, Past President John Clark, Conventions Committee Chair Mark Anderson, and the Conventions Committee for all the hours you have invested in this year’s annual meeting.  

Last Year, our theme was “Resilience,” and ironically our theme this year is – “Strength in Numbers – A Unified Voice.”  Given the current circumstances over the past couple of days, I know both themes resonate still, and most importantly both are a necessity for our industry.  Strength in numbers- A unified voice. Sit back and think about that for a few moments as I review the past ten months.

NEAFA is a seventeen member board with one Executive Director, John Mitchell; one Legislative Director, Rick Zimmerman; and Sue VanAmburgh our administrative wrangler and go to for everything! Since last August, this is our sixth time meeting as board. We had three guest speakers. Louis Calderwood, of AFIA, Dr Chris Wolf of Cornell University, and Dr Richard Stup of Cornell University.  

NEAFA has ten committees that are comprised of approximately seventy-five people that typically gather a minimum of once a quarter, volunteering their time and effort to complete a multitude of initiatives directed from the board and our membership

This past year we amended our Mission Statement – 

“The mission of the Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance is to support and grow a sustainable agribusiness industry in the Northeast.”

We also updated our Value statements, incorporating - 

1. Integrity / Trust

2. Sustainability

3. Cooperation

4. Educating / Learning

5. Leadership

6. Credibility

7. Diversity and Inclusion

Last year as I stood in this same spot, I promised you, our members, that we would continue to focus on our pillars of Advocacy, Collaboration, and Education. 

During our strategic meeting last July, the board determined that stronger collaboration was necessary for our consolidating dairy industry.   Through the NEDPA lead initiative we participated in the first ever New York Dairy Roundtable, in Johnstown NY, in early November.   This event had approximately eighty participants and attendees, and focused on the NY Dairy Outlook, a Producer panel on the Opportunities and Challenges of Farming In NYS,  a Milk Haulers Panel from their perspective on opportunities and bottlenecks, the Processors and Marketing of Dairy Products Panel with their challenges and opportunities, and finally, the Dairy Circle and how our industries and communities rely on one another.    

This successful event, along with the commitment and ambition from our board, has led to further engagement and a series of meetings amongst NEAFA, NYDFA, and NEDPA. It was noted that all three groups are looking for opportunities to work together on legislative issues, since many of our respective issues overlap. We decided to share our legislative priority documents and identified areas that we could partner on.

Rick Zimmerman will expand on these initiatives more, but they also bear repeating and are significant. 

In Vermont: To foster our working relationship with Vermont lawmakers, Margaret Laggis organized zoom conversations with House and Senate Agriculture Committee members and NEAFA leaders. Our leaders briefed lawmakers on the pressing issues of our industry, including supply chain/ transportation issues, neonics and seed treatments, and labor availability.

In Massachusetts: NEAFA collaborated with the Massachusetts Farm Bureau and the National Pork Producers Association. The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources hosted a regulatory hearing, based on the 2016 law, (which was passed by a ballot initiative), mandating housing requirements for veal, hogs, poultry. The regulations are supposed to implement the law that will eliminate certain farm animal confinement practices.  Further, the law stipulates that any pork, veal, or poultry product sold into MA must follow similar practices. It was our goal to bring common sense and reasonableness to this conversation.  

In Maine: NEAFA, AFIA, and the Pet Food Institute collaborated on the Maine budget debate and a proposal to increase feed registration fees. The proposal would increase the annual fee for each bagged feed product sold in Maine by $20.00 (currently at $80.00), and use the revenue from this action to fund an animal welfare program. The revenue raised from the increased pet food fees would fund a spay neuter program. Aside from that issue, NEAFA launched an action request, to our members selling into Maine, to send letters to the Governor.  In addition, I signed a letter to the Governor encouraging her to veto this bill as an unnecessary tax on farmers at a time they can least afford it.

In early Feb, NEAFA engaged with 10 of New York’s State Senators and assemblymembers, as well as NYS Deputy Secretary of Food and Agriculture, where we reviewed our 2022 Legislative Priorities. Largely the budget passed with the focus on agricultural programs that NEAFA supported and endorsed.   

To highlight a few of our other NEAFA accomplishments - 

• We were an integral member of the Grow NY Farms Coalition, fighting the overtime threshold from the Wage and Labor Board.

• NEAFA, NYDFA, and NEDPA sent a letter to Mayor Adams about his proposed vegan agenda in NYC institutions highlighting the need for choice.

• NEAFA, along with NEDPA, supported the Happy the Elephant Case (more to come from Rick Zimmerman).

• Due to a strong collaborative effort from the agriculture and ornamental horticulture communities, we successfully stopped the Hoylman bill from passing the Senate. Against the odds, we created a political incentive for the Senate leadership to hold the bill. This bill would have banned the use of neonics as seed treatments on corn, soybean and wheat (don’t think much wheat seed is being treated these days) which would have cause havoc in raising a viable crop.

• NEAFA is exploring the possibility of a NYS agricultural economic development/impact study with Cornell, and working on it with Todd Schmidt.

• NEAFA is a Member of the CAO - twenty-nine agricultural organizations/members in NYS where we met dozen of times this past year. We ratified initiatives for all of the ag community throughout the state

I just spent last few minutes reviewing/rambling about the many issues and  initiatives the Board and I have spent time addressing for you, our members, as well as our producers, and honestly the general consumer (that they have no idea about, the least informed of all). We need active participation and membership at all levels in all our agricultural organizations. I hope that I have properly demonstrated the collective need of collaborating with our industry partners to achieve our goals and to remain an agricultural powerhouse in the Northeast.      

Additional food for thought, NEDPA leadership is in agreement that collectively our organizations aren’t stepping outside of agricultural safe zone during our lobbying efforts and largely that we are preaching to the choir. Don’t get me wrong, it’s something that we most certainly need to do. However, it is in all of our best interests to somehow make a greater effort to have outreach to legislative members that has little familiarity and exposure to our world. We need to cross party lines, invest in educating downstate legislators, and speak the WHY and HOW we do what we do. I participated this year in Assemblyman Chris Tagues Upstate Farm Tour Series. It was so powerful, and we need more than just what Chris is doing. What can you do to highlight and showcase your agricultural business and what you do? How can NEAFA support you in your initiatives? Let us collectively help you.

The Transportation committee has identified an industry need, and we are taking the reigns on that as an opportunity for education and collaboration with Ag and Markets, NEDPA, and NYDFA with a transportation summit or forum this fall. Stay tuned for details… this will address all facets of supply chain and commodities via freight, Rail, and Ocean. More details to come. 

It has been an interesting and whirlwind first year as President of your organization. I would like to thank everyone for the feedback and support throughout. This is just the beginning… we have more work ahead at not only being resilient, but delivering our unified voice through Strength in Numbers. Thank YOU!

Popular Producer Panel Returns to NEAFA Annual Meeting Agenda

Sometimes the milk markets seem like the wild, wild west, with ever-changing programs, fees and price volatility, not to mention highly variable input costs.  Because our dairy farmer customers are operating in this incredibly dynamic environment, the NEAFA Conventions Committee has assembled an outstanding panel of producers and advisers to help us gain additional insight and understanding.  The theme of the discussion will be “Managing production under volatile NE base programs”.  This year’s panel includes dairy producers shipping to different cooperatives as well as a nutrition consultant and business consultant.  The panelists will be:

• Greg Porter of Porterdale Farms

• Scott Lackey of Sugarbranch Farms

• Sarah Head of Holtz Nelson Consulting, and

• Mark Mapstone of Farm Credit East

What should prove to be a lively discussion will be moderated by Dr. Mike van Amburgh from the Animal Science Department at Cornell University.  Be sure to register for and attend the annual meeting to take advantage of learning more about this timely topic.

2022 Golf for Good Works Tournament June 24th

The Golf for Good Works Tournament will be returning June 24th to the Turning Stone Resort’s Shenendoah Golf Course for 2022.  Shenendoah offers 18 holes of PGA-level golf in a spectacular natural setting.  The course was built and is maintained to comply with stringent Audubon International standards for environmental protection and preservation.  Designed, constructed and maintained to TOUR standards at more than 7,000 yards, the course offers conditions normally reserved for Tour professionals.  In 2006, Turning Stone Resort’s Shenendoah Golf Club was host of the PGA National Club Professional Championship.

In 2021, 128 golfers participated in this tournament.  “After more than a year of turmoil and uncertainty, it was wonderful to see the support of the agribusiness community that came together for the 2021 Golf For Good Works Tournament,” said NEAFA Conventions Committee Chair Mark Anderson.

Proceeds from this event go toward supporting agricultural outreach and education programs.  Previously, NEAFA has supported the Northeast Regional Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge, Future Farmers of America Foundation, NYS 4-H Foundation's Junior Dairy Leader Program, the New York State Fair Dairy Cow Birthing Center, LEAD New York, Dairy Judging Teams in New York and New England, New York Farm Bureau’s Food & Farm Experience, Maine 4-H Foundation's Dairy Quiz Bowl, and the Growing Through Showing Program.

Registration is now open!  Single golfers are welcome and will be assigned to teams.  There are also several sponsorship opportunities that you will not want to miss.  

Please visit our website for more information at: https://www.northeastalliance.com/upcoming-events

Rick Zimmerman Named NEAFA’s Distinguished Service Award Winner

By the NEAFA Board

When Rick Zimmerman informed the board last summer of his intentions to “slow down some” and retire his duties as the Executive Director of NEAFA, it gave the board members and long-time staff time to reflect on the many gifts that Rick has given Northeast agriculture over the past forty-plus years.  At our upcoming Annual Meeting, we will celebrate all that Rick has done for Northeast agriculture (and continues to do!) as well as shaping the Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance into the organization it is today.  We are proud to announce that Rick Zimmerman will be the recipient of NEAFA’s Distinguished Service Award, to be presented at the Annual Meeting Thursday, June 23, 2022.

So let’s reflect on those gifts that Rick has shared with all of us!

The gift of passion for agriculture:

For the past 36 years Rick has been engaged in various roles addressing challenges and issues impacting the agricultural industry.  

Andy Dugan, Past President, NEAFA and General Manager, Gold Star Feed and Grain reminisced that “Rick has the highest integrity coupled with a tremendous passion for agriculture.”

As Director of Governmental Relations for New York Farm Bureau for over 13 years, Rick helped ramp up the organization’s lobbying effort to be the effective public policy program that it is today.  Rick led the organization to an impressive record of successful legislative achievements including farm property tax reform, workers compensation reform, and protecting farmers from oppressive anti-agricultural proposals.

Clifford Crouch, Former Member of NYS Assembly stated, “Rick is the consummate lobbyist who never missed a step and stated his position clearly.”

The gift of vision for future of agriculture:

While serving as Deputy Commissioner for Economic Development at the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets for more than seven years, Rick successfully developed and implemented programs and services that enhanced the growth and development of New York’s agriculture industry. Programs such as Grow New York, Pride of New York, Agriculture Environmental Management, and Food and Agriculture Industry Development Grants were developed and expanded under his leadership.

Several members of the NEAFA board can remember Rick taking NEAFA’s Executive Director role in 2007.  With Rick’s guidance, NEAFA has gone through some remarkable evolution the past 15 years, including:

• Update of strategic intent to include education, collaboration, and advocacy as the three key pillars of NEAFA

• New look and feel to NEAFA logo and website

• Partnership and collaboration with other key organizations in the Northeast, including Pro-Dairy and Northeast Dairy Producers Association.

• Increased board and member involvement on committees to execute programs and policy, including communications, government relations, transportation, membership, and conventions

• Worked with board to initiate Good Works event at our annual Golf Tournament, raising over $150,000 for use with youth agricultural education events.

• Led NEAFA Annual Meeting planning and execution efforts, often pairing the meeting with lobbying efforts in Albany, NY

John Clark, Immediate Past President of NEAFA commented, “Rick is a true professional in all respects.  While his lobby efforts are widely known, he should be lauded for his leadership in the growth of NEAFA and specifically the Committee system.  Rick facilitated and allowed the Committees to work autonomously and bring their work back to the board.  This created a very effective system that advanced the organization as a whole.  Rick also worked incredibly hard on the Annual Meeting.  The support for the Annual Meeting under Rick’s leadership grew exponentially.  He dedicated countless hours to making sure all the details of the Annual Meeting were in place.  Under his leadership, the Annual Meetings came off seamlessly.  Much of his work was behind the scenes to make this happen. His service is noted and appreciated.”

Julie Suarez with Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences remarked, “Rick has been a forceful and diligent advocate for agricultural business interests in the NYS Capitol throughout many phases of his storied career – from his time at New York Farm Bureau, the Department of Agriculture and Markets, and his private lobbying firm.  He helped build NEAFA to a well-established trade association with educational and communications based programs, as well as an effective public policy voice, and his accomplishments will have a long-lasting impact.”  

The gift of collaboration with many agricultural organizations:

Rick started his career as manager of his family dairy farm, and staying true to those roots, has done an outstanding job of working with several agricultural organizations to collaborate – whether for lobbying for resources for programs or organizing educational events in partnership with several groups working together with NEAFA, Rick has been the catalyst that saw opportunities with pooling resources among several groups.

Pat Hooker, former New York Commissioner of Agriculture reflected, “Rick may have left his family farm for Albany forty years ago, but he brought his work ethic, dedication and passion for the industry with him.”

In addition to the Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance, Rick’s client list includes:  

• Biotechnology Innovation Organization

• Crop Life America

• Farm Credit East

• New York Alliance for Environmental Concerns

• NYS Vegetable Growers Association

• Syngenta Crop Protection

He has been instrumental in many legislative battles involving the NY Farm Bill and multiple aspects of the agriculture industry, working with many of the groups above to successfully lobby and educate stakeholders.

“NEAFA will surely miss Rick’s leadership and communication ability. His knowledge, commitment, and ability to engage the board and membership is unparalleled” commented Rick Grant, past President NEAFA and President, Miner Institute.

Danielle Penney-Stroop, current President of NEAFA said, “I could not have asked for a better mentor, supporter, and friend from day 1 on the NEAFA board, and during my time with LEAD Class 17.  I consider myself truly blessed to have collaborated with an unparalleled Agricultural advocate that epitomizes hard work and integrity.  I am forever grateful for his encouragement, support and guidance. Congratulations Rick!”

On behalf of the NEAFA board, we are so proud to award this year’s Distinguished Service Award to our retiring Executive Director, largest advocate and friend, Rick Zimmerman.  Thank you for your passion, vision and continued collaboration with agriculture in the Northeast!

Annual Meeting Takes Place June 22-24

The Conventions Committee has been hard at work setting the stage for NEAFA’s 2022 Annual Meeting that I believe will prove to be a great event and one you won’t want to miss. Make sure June 22-24 is on your calendars to attend at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, NY.

The Annual Meeting kicks off on Wednesday night with the Opening Night Reception starting at 5:30 pm. The reception is a great way to network and connect with friends and colleagues in a relaxing setting. The Resort has several restaurants for you to arrange on your own, and new this year, there will be a signup board at the reception if you want to join an ad hoc group to dine with.

Thursday morning program will start with the traditional opening ceremony with a local FFA chapter leading the way. President Danielle Penny-Stroop and Executive Director John Mitchell will then update you on the state of NEAFA and ask for your votes electing 4 members to the NEAFA Board of Directors.

Following the formal Annual Meeting, the Annual Forum begins with David Kuehnel serving as our MC. Dave is from Rule of Three Solutions LLC, a consulting group that focuses on improving performance of people, animals and organizations. Next up is our good friend Professor Chris Wolf of Cornell’s Dyson School who will give an update on the Northeast Dairy Economy followed by Charles Stark, Kansas State’s Professor in Feed Technology, who will present an informative look at The Feed Mill of the Future. Wrapping up the morning program, AFIA’s President and CEO Constance Cullman will join us and provide an update on AFIA and challenges for the animal feed industry. Cullman is a great speaker and has a positive message that will be welcome with today’s challenges. "Our industry does a tremendous job providing essential goods and services to U.S. and international customers, despite labor and logistical problems, shortages of ingredients, and outdated regulatory processes,” said Cullman. “Despite these ongoing pressures, both state and federal lawmakers and regulators continue to move forward with bills that support unrelated agendas at the expense of our industry. It is critical that NEAFA and AFIA continue to work together to make our members’ voices heard so that we can protect our ability to operate in these rapidly changing times.”

Our awards luncheon will be a special event this year as our past Executive Director Rick Zimmerman has been selected to receive the NEAFA Distinguished Service Award. For 15 years Rick has guided the Alliance to become the effective and valuable organization that it is. Presenting the award to Rick is also recognition of his many contributions for the betterment of all New York agriculture. Following awards, our Keynote Speaker David Kuehnel will present his talk entitled Strength in Numbers starts with the Power of ONE and share his insights that have helped him develop his consulting group.

The afternoon session is devoted to our traditional panel format. This year’s panel will be discussing Managing Limited Milk Production on Farm. Mike Van Amburgh, Ph.D. will serve as Moderator and panelists include Sarah Head, Nutritionist from Holtz-Nelson; Greg Porter of Porterdale Farms; Scott Lakey of Sugarbranch Farms and Mark Mapstone, Agribusiness Financial Consultant from Farm Credit.

After the panel, we will break until 5:00 pm when the President’s Golf for Good Works Reception will provide light hors d’oeuvres, a few comments from NEAFA’s leaders and an opportunity to network. For dinner, you can make arrangements at one of the Resorts restaurants or sign up at the reception to join a group for dinner. If you plan to make a reservation, we encourage you to do that before your get there.

Friday is all about fun with the Golf for Good Works Tournament teeing off bright and early at 7:30 a.m. A continental breakfast starts at 6:00 a.m. If you aren’t signed up with a foursome, it’s no problem. Single golfers are welcome and we will set you up with a group. The event is a scramble so you don’t have to be a good golfer as it’s a team event. This format provides maximum fun and a few laughs. That said, there is an Awards Luncheon for the winners that wraps up the day.

I hope you will join us for an informative and relaxing time at the Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance Annual Meeting and/or Golf for Good Works Tournament.

Best Regards,

John

Vermont Legislative Update

By Margaret Laggis, special to NEAFA

As Vermont enters the final few weeks of the session, the end game is getting interesting.  Bills that are still being worked on include a bill that will allow for airport expansion (H.610 and S.278) without having to go through Vermont’s onerous Act 250 law about prime agricultural soils. The point being that areas immediately adjacent to airports are probably not that ideal for farming. There is a farm immediately adjacent to the Burlington Airport that is a working dairy, but it is not an easy task to keep animals there. It is unclear whether this language will make it out of the Senate Ag committee on its own or perhaps be attached to another bill.

The Senate is also working on H.466, a bill that is trying to set up a system to permit surface water withdrawals that come out of a stream and end up in another water basin. This bill will directly impact vegetable and berry farmers all over Vermont, and they are quite concerned. It doesn’t affect dairy farmers as they generally use well water and not surface water. The bill at first only requires reporting of withdrawals of more than 5000 gal/day, which is a low threshold, and then moves to a permitting program without any requirement for science to show any harm.

The Senate Natural Resources committee is interested in looking at the exemptions that agriculture has from permitting through Act 250. S.234 will study these exemptions. These exemptions are incredibly important to the industry as Act 250 is an onerous, neighbor-driven permit process. At the same time, there is another bill that would expand the exemption to include on-farm accessory businesses, H.744. This bill came out of the House Agriculture Committee, but is being held in House Natural Resources Committee. H.626 is the bill that began as a ban of neonicotinoids. This is now languishing in the Senate Agriculture Committee, as they heard from the Agency of Agriculture and many others that neonics are not present in Vermont’s environment, so there is no evidence that they are impacting pollinators at all. It is unclear what the committee will do with the bill at this time. The Agriculture Innovation Board will take up treated seeds as an issue this year as part of their work and will report back to the legislature before January.

S.282 is a bill that deals with the unplanned outcome from Vermont banning organic matter from ending up in landfills. Due to this ban, this food had to find another outlet. The solution is to de-pack the food from grocery stores and restaurants, turn it into a slurry and then either put it through a digestor or land apply it. The problem is that this slurry contains micro plastics and possibly PFAS. The EPA and FDA have not determined if there are safe levels of either of these products in food or soils. This causes a problem for Vermont farmers, who are being asked to solve a problem for legislators that passed this law without understanding what the solution would be. The bill requires a study while placing a ban on any new de-packing facilities.

The Agency of Agriculture has submitted new pesticide rules to the Interagency Committee on Rules (ICAR) which is the first step for new rules being developed by Agencies. There will be time for public comment. From the first reading of the rules, the Agency is simply bringing Vermont into compliance with current EPA standards for pesticide use and handling.

Vermont is working on several workforce development bills that would use some of the Covid dollars that the State has received. Both bills are being held up due to discussions with the Governor’s office. Both bills look at making a bigger investment in technical education and internships as ways of getting more high school kids interested in the trades. There are also a couple of housing bills that will put money into the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board to improve on-farm housing and possibly to assist manufacturers in providing worker housing in an effort to attract some employees to those manufacturers who are struggling to hire enough workers to run their plants.

It’s a Wrap! NYS Budget Continues to Support Important Agricultural Programs

By Rick Zimmerman

The last votes were taken on the 2022-23 NYS Budget during the early hours of April 8th.  This $220 billion spending plan is an extremely complex set of documents, running thousands of pages, and covering everything from roads to schools to bail reform to Buffalo Bills stadium to tax credits and much more.  Agriculture’s portion of the budget pales in proportion to most all other aspects, but the funded programs undertake essential functions and services.  Agricultural advocates, including leaders from the Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance, worked collaboratively to assure the ag budget priorities were addressed.  In this light, it was a good budget year.

An annual activity of the NYS budget adoption process is the requirement for agricultural leaders to garner legislative support for restoring funds to the many essential agricultural programs ranging from apple marketing programs to soil and water conservation districts.  Governor Hochul’s Executive Budget, introduced last January, was a good starting point for budget negotiations and Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball and Deputy Secretary for Agriculture and Food, Kevin King, deserve much credit for assuring that the Executive Budget included funding for the essential ag programs.  But this annual process allows legislative leaders, most notably the Senate and Assembly Agriculture Committee Chairs, to weigh in on their respective ag program priorities.  We are fortunate to have two Agriculture Committee Chairs that work well together and share our passion for a strong agriculture industry.  We owe many thanks to Assemblymember Donna Lupardo and Senator Michelle Hinchey for their leadership in bringing home a state budget that includes sufficient funds for agriculture’s priorities.

NEAFA’s budget priorities focused primarily on the needs of New York’s dairy industry.  Therefore, essential programs, such as the NYS Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Cornell, the Quality Milk Production Program, PRO-DAIRY, and the Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Program, ranked high on the NEAFA budget priority list. In addition, NEAFA joined with NEDPA leaders in advocating for additional PRO-DAIRY funds ($250,000) to support a climate leadership position within the program to lead the dairy industry forward in taking advantage of carbon reduction opportunities that are potentially beneficial for the dairy industry and will help the state meet its carbon reduction goals.

In addition to dairy centric programs, NEAFA successfully supported additional funds for the Agricultural Workforce Development Program, based at Cornell University, to help our Hispanic workforce, an increasingly prominent source of employees on New York dairy farms.  Further NEAFA recognized the value of the Farm Viability Institute and New York FarmNet.  Both programs had funding restored to last year’s levels.  

There are three tax credits for NY farmers in the State Budget worthy of mention.  First, the Investment Tax Credit was increased to 20% for farmers reinvesting in their farming operations.  Second, the Farm Workforce Retention Tax Credit was doubled to $1200 per worker and extended to 2026.  Third, a new refundable tax credit, to offset the overtime wages to be paid to farmworkers if the overtime threshold is lowered below 60 hours per week, was also established.  

At the time of this writing, Governor Hochul has not announced if she will accept the recommendation of the Farm Labor Wage Board to lower the overtime threshold to 40 hours per week over the course of 10 years.  But the overtime tax credit could be an incentive for the Governor to take such action, despite the strong recommendation by the farm community to keep 60 at 60.   

Industry Freight Update: Trucking, Ocean, and Rail

As prices continue to climb across numerous sectors in the economy, transportation of goods to market continues to be a concern for the agricultural community. NEAFA reached out to industry experts to give our members an insight into what transportation topics are of importance in the Trucking, Ocean Freight, and Rail industries. We would like to thank TANY, NEAFA Board member and president of Global Agri-Trade Barry Baetz, and Joe Painting from VT Rail for taking the time to update our members on what is going on in their industries.

Trucking Update with TANY from Rick Zimmerman, NEAFA
Kendra Hems, President of the Trucking Association of New York (TANY) talked about the Association’s priorities for addressing the driver shortage challenge faced throughout the manufacturing and service sectors, including the agribusiness community.  Driver licensing and training are at the forefront of the TANY focus, beginning with the new opportunity to train and license young adults, 18 years of age and older.  New York is the last state in the Union to lower the minimum age from 21 to 18, and TANY is gearing up to inform prospective new drivers about the lucrative opportunities as a professional truck driver.  TANY is also promoting the notion of expanding the “learners permit” timeframe from 6 to 12 months in length.  State legislation to address this issue is anticipated this year.  

One important new opportunity, likely to be a game changer in the certification/ licensing world, is the establishment of a third-party skills testing program.  In addition to the long-standing state run CDL testing program, a pilot initiative for a private sector party, certified to implement a CDL testing program, is currently under regulatory consideration.  This initiative could significantly alleviate the backlog of license testing applications at the State DMV office.  Stay tuned for details of an informal public hearing to receive input on this pilot program.  

In addition to addressing the minimum age of commercial drivers and licensing of new drivers, TANY is also focused on providing more training opportunities for new drivers.  The new federal entry level driver training program has authorized private sector companies to provide basic training to new drivers.  In addition, apprenticeship programs are being promoted by TANY as another avenue to attract new young drivers into the industry.  The economic and quality of life opportunities currently offered today as a commercial truck driver is good news to be broadcasted to all prospective drivers, particularly those who are at a point in their life when career decisions are likely to be made.  

The Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance looks forward to collaborating with Hems and TANY to address our industry sector’s truck driver needs.

Ocean Freight Update from Barry Baetz, NEAFA Board of Directors
As many of us are painfully aware, the new normal for sea freight is overall elevated container freight pricing, whether inbound or outbound from the US. Global container availability has improved over the past 6 months however, as sea freight carriers have been able to move empty containers around the globe.

Annual sea freight contracts have just been renewed, with significant increases in year over year base container movement contracts. The number of vessels in use is also increasing, as carriers simply can’t keep up with overall volume and pressure.

Unfortunately, US port congestion has not improved, and continues to be a major supply chain issue. Truck driver shortages are severely impacting the drayage of containers in and out of ports around the US. 

Ports on the East Coast are doing their best to keep vessels moving, with much shorter anchorage days versus the West Coast. LA/LB Ports have seen vessels simply pushed further out to sea to anchor while waiting for their port slot due to California emissions rules that have been implemented. Congestion on the West Coast could worsen, as LA/LB Longshoreman are posed to strike in July for wage contract renewal and will cause projected significant work stoppages if history repeats itself.

Rail Update from Joe Painting, VT Rail System
Labor Shortage
The shortage of labor in the transportation industry is still the case.  The issues plaguing us have not abated at all.  Since not much has changed on that front I will offer this link to the recent article covering that issue alone.  I will say, again, that this factor is pervasive and affects other items on this list, specifically the Class One service issues.

Fuel Costs
Just to use an example, last May the VTR per mile fuel surcharge was .29 per mile.  This May it will be .78 per mile.  Just as a frame of reference, that  means a flatcar of lumber from St Johnsbury, VT to Oregon last year had about a $1000 fuel surcharge.  Next month that same trip will have about a $2800 fuel surcharge.  No rail road is immune, this scourge is industry wide.  While all roads use a different formula for figuring their fuel charges, this is not really a revenue generating endeavor.  We are just passing this cost through to the end user.  

Fuel costs affect us all.  Higher fuel costs impact everything; groceries, dry goods, all services, all facets of the Cost of Living.  Everything gets moved somehow before the end user takes delivery. The recent fuel cost spike has seen demand for regional rail enjoying an uptick.  Hauls between 300-500 miles used to be all truck traffic all the time because the economics worked.  As trucks have become less available and substantially more costly, shippers are looking at rail options.  What never worked in a rail car before is suddenly a competitive alternative.  Capacity equivalents are usually about 4 trucks to one rail car.  That per ton freight cost for rail v truck is looking good for (relatively) short rail moves, even moves involving 3, 4 and even 5 different carriers to go just 350 miles are in publication and working now.  It is a substantial amount of work to put these moves and rates in play, but the class one, two, and three roads in the Northeast are working together to make these more cost effective moves work for their customers.  

Reciprocal Switching 
On our last call we spoke of this being a positive for short lines, as it encourages competition and would thus keep the prices low.  This is still a valid way to look at this, however, there are those who feel the infrastructure needed to make this work would be very costly, and this additional cost would ultimately be passed on to the end user.  This is a valid argument as well.  These issues would best be examined on a case by case basis to ascertain the specific and pertinent individual pros and cons.  I would hesitate to offer a blanket statement that would cover every potential incident.  There is a 5 mile limit on this, and this is threatening to some short lines who have large ‘bread and butter’ customers whose facilities may fall in that zone.

CSX takeover of PAS
This will change the landscape substantially, and will have an impact on the Northeast without doubt.  For the moment, the status quo will be maintained, and all roads will be working to keep traffic moving smoothly while things slowly change.  At the Vermont Rail System, we worked with the STB and Vermont Agency of Transportation during this process to protect our lanes and our interests. We want to be able to effectively serve our customers and preserve strategic assets we had in place.

Car Availability 
Car supply is very tight right now.  Imagine having product to move, customers waiting for it, but no cars to move it in.  This is a reality for some.  This has driven the costs of rail car lease rates up.  Per month lease rates that were near $300 a month are now over $700 and the terms they are looking for are not 2 or 3 year deals, but 5, or even 10 year terms.  New build costs are very high right now as well.  Is this just regular old inflation as it applies to rail cars too?  There may be some truth to that.  There is more to it than that, but the car market can be volatile, and dramatic and sudden spikes and drops in rates and term lengths are to be expected.  We are feeling the pinch now with high costs and car limited availability.  

Class One service issues
I will point to congested yards and excessive dwell times for examples of Class One service issues.  This problem is not unique to just one carrier, they are all wrestling with this and other issues.  This can be directly traced back to a labor shortage.  We continue to work with the Class Ones to keep the pipelines running smoothly.  We work at this with them on an operational level every day, at managerial levels every day, and have escalated these issues where we can.  They know the problem exists, and are addressing it, but there is no quick fix.  

For more information you may wish to check out the following:
The Surface Transportation Board yesterday unveiled details for next week's two-day hearing on “urgent issues” related to freight-rail service.

To be held April 26-27 in-person and streamed live on the STB's YouTube channel, the hearing will address recent rail service problems and recovery efforts involving BNSF Railway Co., CSX, Norfolk Southern Railway and Union Pacific Railroad.

DFA Colab Accelerator Program

By Sean Moise, DFA

A nutrient management solution for agricultural wastewater, in vitro fertilization (IVF) technology for the farm and a new caffeinated, high protein chocolate milk beverage for adults are just a few of the startup companies selected to participate in the 2022 DFA CoLAB Accelerator program.

“It’s always exciting to welcome a new class of startups into our CoLAB Accelerator program as these companies bring fresh thinking and ideas to benefit our farm family-owners and help further grow and invigorate the dairy case,” says Doug Dresslaer, director of cultural innovation at DFA. “This year, we’re particularly excited to take a hybrid approach with the program by bringing back more collaborative, in-person sessions while also meeting virtually.”

A Dairy-Centric Program Focusing on Business Growth and Mentoring
The DFA CoLAB Accelerator is a 90-day collaborative program focused on dairy product and processing innovations and new technologies for dairy farms. Startups will gain a thorough understanding of the dairy industry and will have the opportunity to work with top executives from DFA, as well as dairy industry leaders both on and off the farm. 

Throughout the program, participants will receive advice and participate in educational sessions on a variety of topics important for startup growth, including finance, business development, distribution and supply chain, product development, brand building, sales and marketing, packaging and pricing. Unique to the DFA CoLAB Accelerator are sessions of mentorship from DFA members and in-depth discussions on how new technologies could be implemented on a farm. 

Introducing the 2022 DFA CoLAB Accelerator Class 

Ag Tech

• Cattle Scan (Guelph, Canada) – Real-time monitoring technology that measures the biometrics of individual cattle, starting with temperature. Data can be accessed on a cloud-based platform and allows farmers to improve the overall health of their herds

• The Hago Energetics Company (Camarillo, Calif.) – Aims to helps farms, either cattle or dairy, convert waste, like manure, into fuel cell grade hydrogen using a patented carbon negative approach that does not involve hydrolysis. This hydrogen is expected to sell at a lower cost and have a lower carbon footprint than current methods

• Lemna (Gilbert, Ariz.) – Provides a comprehensive nutrient management solution for agricultural wastewater through the use of duckweed (aquatic plants) in a controlled growth system. The duckweed also has the potential to provide farmers with a new revenue stream

• ReproHealth Technologies (Indianapolis, Ind.) – An innovative, patent-pending device that brings IVF technology to the farm. Founders believe the device could potentially double cattle embryo production and reduce reproduction costs

Dairy Food Products and Dairy Processing Technology

• Smack’d (Lehi, Utah) – Aims to develop a delicious adult chocolate milk beverage that is high in protein, low in sugar and caffeinated

• Lyras (Aalborg, Denmark) – Developed a UV-light cold pasteurization technology that uses 90% less energy and 60% less water compared to traditional pasteurization

Since launching six years ago, the DFA CoLAB Accelerator has worked with 32 companies and has continued to work with the majority of these companies in some capacity. To date, 94% of the alumni companies are still in business today.

Join the 2022 NEAFA Membership Drive Contest and win up to $500.

The Membership Drive Contest kicked off April 4th by your Board of Directors meeting to start a fun and friendly competition within the NEAFA’s membership. The Board is putting up $1,000 in prize money that will reward those who identify and recruit the most new members. The contest will run from April 1 to August 1, 2022. The Membership Drive Contest is open to all members and will be communicated through our website, emails, word of mouth and Alliance functions.

How it Works:

• 3 points awarded for each new company or individual joining

• 2 points awarded for each new member from an existing member company or new affiliate member.

• 1 Point for each referral

Cash Prizes given to the top 4 persons earning the most points:

• $ 500 award for 1st Place;

• $ 250 for 2nd Place;

• $ 100 3rd Place;

• $ 50 4th Place

Word of mouth is our best way to develop membership and you, our current NEAFA members, are the best people to recruit new members. Potential members can be anyone involved in Northeast Agriculture such as Feed Manufacturers and Dealers, Ag Retail Stores, Allied Supplier Companies, University and Extension Faculty, Bankers, Nutritionists, Transportation Companies, Veterinarians, Trucking companies, Agronomy concerns, Consultants, to name a few. Use your imagination in thinking who you know that might benefit from being a part of our organization.

To get started:

1. Make a list of businesses and individuals,

2. Contact them to share your experience with NEAFA and the value the Alliance brings to you and your organization.

3. Send the prospect’s information to the Executive Director who will follow-up and encouraging them to complete the application either.

4. Membership application is available on our website’s menu under “Join”.

I hope you will take action and join the contest. Please don’t hesitate to contact me or any Board Member with any questions or suggestions. Feel free to share a poster on this by clicking here.

John Mitchell
Executive Director
Jmitchell50@gmail.com
315-725-2843