NEAFA LOBBY DAY AND LEGISLATIVE BUDGETS

By Julie Marlette, Hinman Straub

On Wednesday March 15th, NEAFA members gathered virtually for the 2023 lobby day. The initial plan had been to host an in - person event, however, a very severe storm in the Capital Region caused this event to be shifted to virtual. The night before our advocacy event, the legislative or “one house” budgets were released. Members had great conversations about what was in these proposals and how they aligned with NEAFA priorities. On Monday March 20th, Joint Budget Conference Committee meetings commenced, and the houses noted the similarities in their respective proposals. An overview of the status of  some of NEAFA’s priorities is below. 

Farm Labor Specialist

State support has allowed for a professional farm business / human resources cooperative extension specialist to provide timely, valuable information and guidance to farmer employers throughout the state. Recent increases in state investment have allowed the program to expand career growth and services for the Hispanic farm workforce, to improve farm employee housing management, and to improve employee training and workforce availability in New York agriculture. 

NEAFA supported the Executive’s proposed appropriation of $202,000 and requested a restoration of $199,000 to maintain the support for the Spanish speaking farm workforce. Both houses of the legislature included this restoration in their proposals.

NY Farm Viability Institute

The 302 projects that this program has supported have returned nearly seven dollars to the State’s economy for every dollar invested, and farm profitability has been enhanced by approximately $149 million. Projects have included the development of IPM practices in onions, reduced tillage on vegetable farms, biological controls for pest management, and the use of profitable winter forages as cover crops. They are growing to include climate change and green operations.

NEAFA supported the Executive’s proposed appropriation of $1 million and requested an additional appropriation of $1.5 million. The Assembly proposal would include and additional $1 million while the Senate proposal would seek to add the full $1.5 million. 

New York State Occupational Health Clinic Network (OHCN) and New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health (NYCAMH)

The OHCN, through its nine member centers, serves as an essential resource for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of occupational disease and other work-related injuries and illnesses. The nine member centers are facing funding challenges, forcing the OHCN member centers to consider implementing future cuts to some programs and services. 

One of the centers, the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health (NYCAMH) - serves tens of thousands of agricultural workers around the state. NYCAMH offers the critically needed staff and expertise to carry out on-farm safety trainings, respirator fit testing, assisting with retrofitting farm equipment to enhance safety, and support the health of farm workers. 

NYCAMH requires $1 million increase in funding just to maintain current programs and services. Such a funding increase can only be possible if the overall funding for OHCN was increased. 

NEAFA supported the Executive’s continued funding for OHCN – including NYCAMH, and requested an increase in support, with $1 million of that increased dedicated to NYCAMH. The Assembly proposal included no increase. The Senate proposal includes a proposed $10.5 million increase for OHCN.   

Dairy Entrepreneurship and Innovation Hub

The dairy entrepreneurship and innovation hub will help develop the next generation of dairy products and processing. This would drive success for New York’s farmers and strengthen the industry. 

NEAFA requested $500,000 to support the establishment of a dairy entrepreneurship and innovation hub. Unfortunately, this program was not funded in either proposal. 

Climate Adaptive Research Farms: Applied Infrastructure & Demonstration Projects

$5M in capital funding has been provided in recent years to support a series of practices and technologies designed to showcase agro-ecological approaches to managing climate adaptation, sequestering carbon, and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on NYS-owned research farms including Cornell CALS dairy teaching and research farm. 

NEAFA requested an additional $5 million capital investment, which was included in both legislative proposals.

PRO-DAIRY

Pro-Dairy Core Program: Through PRO-DAIRY’s core program, New York’s dairy farmers are better prepared to implement business management, agronomic, environmental, herd health, nutrient management, and forage systems. The core program’s funding, continues the 32-year tradition of essential programming to ensure New York’s dairy farmers remain economically competitive. 

Additional investments in recent years have allowed the program to provide more support to New York’s dairy farms in achieving NY’s ambitious goal of a 15 percent reduction in GHG emissions from agriculture by 2030. Investments in on-farm research in GHG emissions reduction and improving stewardship and collaboration will be critical as the state moves towards a net-zero economy. 

NEAFA requested maintenance of the Executive’s proposed appropriation of $1.213 million and restoration of $250,000 included in the 2023 Enacted Budget. This restoration was included in both legislative proposals.

Dairy Profit Teams: Dairy Profit Teams have assisted over 250 dairy farms with strategic business planning to improve operational efficiencies to support the next generation on the farm. This program continues to serve an important need of the dairy industry.

NEAFA supported the Executive’s proposed appropriation of $370,000 which was included in both legislative proposals.

Dairy Advancement Program: The Dairy Advancement Program (DAP) has provided assistance to over 400 small to mid-sized dairy farms with environmental planning. The cost associated with professional planning is a barrier for many dairies, particularly those with fewer than 300 cows. The DAP helps farms engage the services of business and environmental planning professionals.

NEAFA supported the Executive’s proposed appropriation of $700,000 which was included in both legislative proposals.

NY FarmNet

This network of 46 consultants across the state are in place to respond to farmers’ requests for assistance. Professional financial and mental health consultants help farm families and businesses deal with the financial and emotional issues characteristic of an industry under severe stress. In 2021, FarmNet professionals worked with over 729 farmers on issues ranging from economic and mental health to business and estate planning. 

NEAFA supported the Executive’s proposed $1.4 million appropriation which was included in both legislative proposals.

Agricultural Education and Outreach Programs

These programs, including Future Farmers of America (FFA), Agriculture in the Classroom, and Agricultural educators create a pipeline for the next generation of farmers, agribusinesses, food companies, and industry leaders. Significant private industry support is leveraged with public funds to maximize the success of these programs.

NEAFA supported the Executive’s proposed appropriations totaling $2 million; $1 million for FFA, $500,000 for Agriculture in the Classroom and $500,000 for Agricultural Educators, all of which were included in the legislative proposals.  

Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution Control

This program provides essential funding for assisting New York’s animal agriculture industry facing costly water quality regulations prescribed by DEC and EPA. Farmers are stewards of soil and water resources, yet comprehensive nutrient management plans can require more than what a farm business can reasonably afford. 

NEAFA supported the Executive’s Appropriation of $20 million for this program. Both legislative proposals included a proposed increase of $2 million.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

For over 32 years, this nationally-recognized program has provided the research and education necessary to develop and employ a “toolbox” of options that provide effective pest control in dairy barns, crop fields, orchards, vineyards, greenhouses, farmsteads, golf courses, and gardens. Reducing pest threats, protecting the environment, and protecting New Yorkers are part of the IPM Program’s mission.

NEAFA supported the Executive’s proposed appropriations for IPM; $2 million for agricultural nonpoint and $1 million for community nonpoint. These appropriations were included in both legislative proposals.

Investment Tax Credit for Farmers

The Executive Budget Proposal would make the investment tax credit (ITC) fully refundable for eligible farmers through December 31, 2027 and assist farmers with investments in their agri-enterprises. Additional changes would allow eligible farmers to receive relief that would enable them to continue to update, modernize, and invest in their farming operations.

NEAFA supported the Executive Proposal which was included in both legislative proposals. 

Vice-President's Pen: Investing in the Future of Our Industry

By Charlie Elrod, Ph.D.

Vice-President, NEAFA

President, Natural Biologics, Inc.

As I write this, we are preparing to hold our annual New York lobby day with Assembly members and Senators in Albany.  Advocating on behalf of Northeast agriculture is a cornerstone, and probably the greatest value proposition of NEAFA.  In addition to our usual budgetary requests for programs such as Pro-Dairy, the NY Farm Viability Institute, Integrated Pest Management, etc., we are also advocating for budgetary support for FFA, Ag in the Classroom and training for Agricultural Educators, to help ensure the next generation of motivated and well-trained agriculturalists follow in our footsteps.

As you know, this year we have engaged with Hinman Straub as our lobbyists in Albany.  We are also in discussions with the Vermont Dairy Producers Alliance and Vermont Feed Dealers Association to collaborate on advocacy in VT.  These activities require not only the time and energy of NEAFA volunteers, but also significant financial resources that come from you, our members.  One way to go above and beyond simply being a member of NEAFA is to sign up for our Sustaining Sponsors Program.  Ranging from a $1000 up to $5000 annually, these sponsors have committed to making substantial investments in the activities of NEAFA and the future of agriculture in the Northeast.  

Some of the businesses in NEAFA are only a few years old; others are multi-generational.  Regardless of age of the company, we have all committed ourselves to the hope that a vibrant agricultural industry will be around for many years to come.  Effective advocacy is one way to move the needle in support of a regulatory and business environment conducive to sustainable agriculture in the Northeast.  Thank you to the nineteen companies that currently support NEAFA’s Sustaining Sponsor Program.  My hope is that more of the NEAFA members will step up and make additional investments in the future of Northeast agriculture.  You can sign up for the sustaining sponsor program here.

Lastly, I want to give a shout-out to Debby and Corwin Holtz for their recent investment in undergraduate education in dairy science at Cornell.  Their generous gift will support practical, real-world learning experiences for future generations of dairy science students.  Your support of the NEAFA Sustaining Sponsorship Program will help make sure there is a dairy industry in which those students can enjoy rewarding careers.

NE-DBIC Dairy Grants Available – SHARE WITH YOUR DAIRY FARM CUSTOMERS

The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC), hosted by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, provides support to dairy businesses through projects that promote the development, production, marketing, and distribution of dairy products. The NE-DBIC serves an eleven-state region, which includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.  The NE-DBIC investment and project strategy uplifts innovation and resiliency for regional production of dairy products. Key projects center dairy farms and processors, providing additional support through market research and technical assistance.

To date, $38.77 million has been awarded to the NE-DBIC for projects extending through 2026. More than half of all federal funding awarded for the NE-DBIC is granted directly to dairy businesses. Past and current projects have offered health and safety training, marketing strategies, grazing transition support, technical assistance, community networks, and industry training to project recipients and interested region constituents. The NE-DBIC is one of four regional USDA Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives (DBII) in the nation.  For more information on grants specifically, click here.

For more information on the overall program, contact Laura Ginsburg at Dairy Development and Innovation Lead, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets. http://agriculture.vermont.gov, by phone at 802-522-2252, and by email at laura.Ginsburg@vermont.gov.

Hinman Straub Budget Summary

Governor Kathy Hochul delivered her FY 2024 Executive Budget address on Wednesday, February 1, 2023, in the “Red Room” at the State Capitol in Albany. Her budget proposal totals $227 billion, a $5.4 billion increase (2.4%) over FY 2023.  She reiterated her recent pledge not to raise income taxes this year. 

Tax receipts have surged in recent months, resulting in a General Fund surplus of approximately $8.7 billion. More than half of the surplus will be used to accelerate deposits to “rainy day” reserves planned for FY 2024 ($2.4 billion) and FY 2025 ($2.9 billion).

Highlights of the 2024 Executive Budget proposal of historic and particular interest to NEAFA members include the following:

APPROPRIATIONS

PRO-DAIRY 

• Cornell University Core Program $1.213 million: The Executive Budget proposes level funding to the last Executive proposal but does not include the $250,000 legislative add adopted last year. 

• Dairy Profit Team $374,000: The Executive Budget proposal would provide level funding for this program. 

• Dairy Advancement Program $700,000: The Executive Budget proposal would provide level funding for this program.

FARM VIABILITY INSTITUTE

• $1 million: The Executive Budget proposes level funding to the last Executive proposal but does not include the $850,000 legislative add adopted last year. 

NY FarmNet

• Cornell University Core Program $1 million: The Executive Budget proposal would provide level funding for this program.

• Mental Health Initiative $400,000: The Executive Budget proposal would provide level funding for this program.

FARM LABOR SPECIALIST

• Cornell University Farm Labor Specialist $202,000: The Executive Budget proposes level funding to the last Executive proposal but does not include the $199,000 legislative add adopted last year. 

EDUCATION AND OUTREACH

• Future Farmers of America $1 million: The Executive Budget proposal would provide level funding for this program. 

• Agricultural Educators $500,000: The Executive Budget proposal would provide level funding for this program.

• Agriculture in the Classroom $500,000: The Executive Budget proposal would provide level funding for this program.

ENVIROMENTAL PROGRAMS

• Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution Control $20 million: The Executive Budget proposal would provide level funding for this program.

• Integrated Pest Management (IPM) $3 million: The Executive Budget proposal would provide level funding for this program.

• $2 million for Agriculture non-point IPM.

• $1 million for Community non-point IPM. 

• Pesticide Safety Education Program $250,000: The Executive Budget proposal would provide level funding for this program.

POLICY PROPOSALS

Modify the Investment Tax Credit for Farmers

The Executive Budget Proposal would make the investment tax credit (ITC) fully refundable for eligible farmers for five years, through December 31, 2027 and assist farmers with investments in their agri-enterprises. Additional changes would allow eligible farmers to receive relief that would enable them to continue to invest in their farming operations.

Cap and Invest Program & Climate Action Fund

The Executive Budget proposal would implement a “cap-and-invest” program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 40% by 2030 and no less than 85% by 2050.  This bill is part of the effort to meet the goals enacted in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) to provide a framework for the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to establish an “effective and affordable” cap-and-invest program.

Minimum Wage

The Executive Budget proposal would increase the minimum wage automatically each year to keep pace with inflation. After reaching $15 per hour, each region’s minimum wage would increase consistent with the year-over-year Consumer Price Index-W for the Northeast Region. The bill caps annual increases at three percent and provides that the minimum wage will not increase in the event of certain economic conditions, such as increases in the rate of unemployment.

Eliminating Food Scarcity 

The Executive Budget proposal includes a grant program to target food scarcity. The proposal would provide $10 million in grant funding to aid retail food stores in creating new access points for markets, shorten supply chains, and promote equitable food distribution. This new program will work toward the establishment of farm markets, supermarkets, food cooperatives, and other similar retail food stores, along with supporting infrastructure in underserved communities and regions of the state.

Waste Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act 

The Executive Budget proposal would seek to establish an extended producer responsibility program for packaging and paper products. The proposal would define the products and entities covered, establish minimum convenience standards, recycling rates, recovery rates, post-consumer recycled content rates, source reduction rates, and create a funding mechanism.

Farm to School Flexibility

The Executive Budget Proposal seeks to allow greater flexibility for local governments, including school district procurement by eliminating the restriction that limits purchasing from associations of more than ten producers or growers. The proposal would also remove the limits on the amounts of eggs, livestock, fish, dairy products (excluding milk), juice, grains, and species of fresh fruit and vegetables that could be purchased directly from New York State producers or growers, or associations of New York State producers or growers. It also removes the limits on the direct purchases of milk from licensed milk producers, regardless of the number of employees the processors employ. If adopted, this proposal would allow for purchase of food products, grown, produced or harvested in New York without a competitive process, so long as the amount is less than or equal to $250,000 and the purchases are reported.

Farm Fresh, Locally Grown Food

The Executive Budget proposal would appropriate $10 million to support an increase for reimbursement for school lunches from $0.06 per meal to $0.25 per meal for any school districts that purchases at least 30% of its food from New York farmers and growers. 

NEDPA - Dairy/Transportation Summit Recap

NEDPA joined forces with the Northeast Agribusiness & Feed Alliance (NEAFA) to host the Dairy & Transportation Summit February 7 in Albany, NY. This summit was a follow up to the November 2021 Dairy Roundtable NEDPA hosted to identify the challenges and opportunities impacting the long term viability of the dairy industry in New York State. Milk hauling surfaced as critical issue, specifically driver shortages, maintenance costs, and plant delays, all of which have intensified since COVID.

NEAFA is a logical partner to further explore the transportation challenges for two primary reasons. First of all, NEAFA members are businesses that depend heavily on dairy farm customers for their survival. Secondly, transportation is also a critical issue for businesses sourcing and delivering feed, commodities and supplies to dairy farms. Panelists were invited to explore this perspective as well, citing many of the same challenges milk haulers face.

Dairy Farmer Perspective

Moderated by Tom Overton PRO-DAIRY, a panel of dairy farmers and Upstate-Niagara Cooperative Economist and Policy Analyst Jodi Smith- Krzysiak launched the summit to provide an overview of challenges and concerns ahead. Jodi Smith- Krzysiak began with an update on milk marketing. After the banner year of 2022, 2023 will fall short due to lower milk prices, higher input costs and inflation. She pointed out that inflation will cut from the consumer side as well. The price of dairy products are up approximately 15 percent from last year and these increases along with cost of other food is impacting what consumers are buying. The dairy industry’s reliance on export sales is another concern. Currently, one day’s national milk production per week needs to find a home overseas. The need for a better system for crisis management relief is imminent, especially in the face of more frequent extreme weather events. She also identified New York’s lofty net zero goals as a concern for both farmers and processors, beginning with limiting access to natural gas and also the prospect of packaging recycling responsibility.

NEDPA producer members Keith Kimball, Kendra Lamb, Stuart Ziehm and AJ Wormuth shared personal perspective on the challenges they see ahead for their dairies. The cost and availability of labor (including the state’s increasing minimum wage and overtime regulation), inflationary increase in input costs, growth limitations, and uncertainty of the impact of initiatives to meet CLCPA goals. All of these challenges with the reality of being price-takers and the inability to add cows.

“The model broke,” stated AJ Wormuth, “We used to be able to get bigger to cover increasing costs. Then base restrictions and quotas limited growth, forcing consolidation to gain market share. What is the new model? We have more costs, more regulation, no ability to price our product and we can’t grow our way out of it.”

Transportation Challenges

“Challenges in milk transportation are not new,” began Farm Credit East’s Chris Laughton introducing a white paper he prepared on Challenges in Northeast Milk Transportation. He quoted a 1943 report identifying “a lack of drivers

and related personnel, low volume routes, and insufficient compensation for transporters as major challenges 80 years ago as well.

“The average age driver in the American fleet is 57, as compared to 42 in other sectors,” began Michael Howlett, moderator of a panel to address driver availability, training and licensing. His Howlett Farms operation includes a fleet of trucks for grain and commodity transportation. “Our drivers want three things: predictable work, predictable pay and predictable home time.”

“First of all, as a society, we need to respect and value blue collar careers,” began Chris Laughton identifying a solution path. “We need to identify and remove barriers to entry to those careers and we need to effectively market ourselves. We need to spend as much effort marketing to potential employees as we do marketing our products to consumers.”

Attracting/introducing young people to truck driving as a vocation at an early age was one solution identified by several on the panel. Robert Faley, Vermont Agency of Transportation, shared they’ve started an internship program for 16-year-olds. Kendra Hems, president of the Trucking Association of New York suggested the need to communicate the opportunity as a respected career to parents and students at a young age. There were suggestions to reach out to charter schools and be part of career exploration events. Commissioner Ball highlighted Ag Career Days at State Fair as an opportunity to plant seeds for future drivers. Chris White, NY DOL Deputy Commissioner of Workforce Development, suggested contacting your local BOCES to offer a program and talk to community colleges, which are hungry to be relevant in communities. New York has made it possible for 18-year-olds to begin CDL training, but additional training is required, insurance costs may be restrictive and they would not be qualified to drive in other states. 

Hems and White both identified grant and funding sources to help cover CDL training costs. Simulator training is also an option and NYS DOL is launching these training opportunities in corrections facilities.

As a marketing suggestion, White suggested asking an employee or driver who has been with you a number of years,

“Hey, why are you here? Why do you do this?” Then use his/her answers as your talking points to recruit prospects. He also warns not to take current employees for granted -- ask what you could do better.

Hems pointed out that culture is important. Drivers want to know who they work for and what they stand for. Agriculture has a great message,” she pointed out.

Raw Milk Hauling Bottlenecks/Solutions

In an industry that operates 24/7 producing a perishable product, with no possibility to shut down production at the source (the farms), any disruption from farm to processing plant delays can cause a bottle necks. A panel discussing these challenges and possible solutions was moderated by Tonya Van Slyke. Panelists Eric Ericksen, who shut down his Greene Trucking milk hauling business last spring, Keith Kimball, who hauls his own milk, Barney McConnell, DFA Senior Director of Transportation, and Mike Davis, Upstate-Niagara Coop General Manager, Membership & Bulk Sales Division identified the following challenges:

■ Delays/ reduced hours/ slow turnaround time at plants – causing long waits, disruption of routes, driver frustration and resignations. Solution: investment in infrastructure/storage, unloading efficiencies, expanded hours

■ Pick up efficiency at farms. Solution: more storage, high-speed pumps, better/faster cooling capacity, improved accessibility of tank

■ State road closures due to weather events. Solution: provide exemption options for milk trucks/processing plant workers

■ Varying weight restrictions on roads and bridges/ different highway weight restrictions state to state. Solution: investment in NYS roads and bridges/ work with other states to update regulations

Panelist Laura Ginsburg, who leads the federally-funded Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center, hosted by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, encouraged producers and processors to contact The Center for grant funding available for many of the capital project solutions identified to improve supply chain logistics, both on farm and at processing plants. (email: laura.ginsburg@vermont.gov/ phone 802-522-2252)

Panelist Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture Jennifer Trodden stressed Ag and Markets commitment to the dairy industry. She explained that the Dairy Think Tank has challenged the Department to focus on workforce development and processing expansion. The Department is taking an interagency approach to meeting the goals of these priority areas.

Feed Commodity Bottlenecks

Andy Dugan of Gold Star Feed & Grain moderated a panel to discuss the bottlenecks existing in feed transportation. Panelists Blake Lutz, Lutz Feed, Kevin Kouri, Phoenix Feed & Nutrition, Greg McCulloch, Feed Ingredient Trading Co. echoed the challenges voiced in previous panels, adding a 25% increase in the cost of new trucks and maintenance to the list. Consolidation of farms has stretched delivery distances. In some cases, smaller customers have been dropped to improve efficiencies.

Panelist Jim Walsh of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP addressed New York’s proposed aggressive transition to EV trucks. The industry is lobbying to slow it down, as there are currently no EV heavy trucks on the market that can travel the distances required. There is currently not one EV truck recharging unit in New York State. The weight and mileage limitations of current battery technology would require 30 to 50 percent more trucks to meet current demands.

“Overall the mandate the state has taken on sets a very high bar. It is up to us to make the point of how it will impact the average consumer,” Walsh explained. “We have raised all the technical obstacles, but those have fallen on deaf ears.”

President's Pen: February 2023

Jenny Mills

February 2023

As we look forward to spring, this chilly February day is a good time to reflect on the activity within Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance this past month and anticipate several events coming in the next several weeks.  As members and partners of NEAFA, I hope to see and connect with you soon!

A little reflection…….

First, you probably noticed that this isn’t Danielle’s face!  At the February board meeting, our new executive team was installed.  As the incoming President, I have been blessed with mentorship from Danielle Penney-Stroop these past two years, and thankful for the leadership she has demonstrated as we worked our strategic plan to action, including many changes to our core pillars of advocacy, collaboration, and education to ensure our success within an ever-changing agricultural landscape.  As Danielle transitions into the role of immediate Past President, I am thankful she is still a phone call or text away!  We are also excited to welcome Dr Charlie Elrod as our new Vice President.  Charlie’s contributions as a board member and Chair of our Communications Committee, combined with his forward-thinking outlook on all aspects of agriculture will help our Executive Committee as we tackle our next two years together!  I am also thankful to Corwin Holtz, our Secretary and Barry Baetz, our Treasurer, who have been huge advocates for our feed industry members, suppliers and dairy producers alike.   A huge thank you to John Clark, who retires from the Executive Committee and board.  John has put in countless hours this past decade plus to make NEAFA a better organization.  Lastly, thank you to three retiring board members, including Mark Anderson (thank you Mark for the many years as Conventions Chair), Michael Howlett, and Greg McCullouch.  Thank you for all the time spent volunteering for NEAFA.

I am excited to help welcome four new NEAFA board members: Bonnie Bargstedt, Jen Conard, Jeff Matuszczak, and Jason Zimmerman.  These four members represent different segments of our membership and their perspective, experience and leadership will be welcome in the next three plus years!

The theme for our annual meeting this year was “Tackling Today’s Disruptions.”  In addition to our meeting, a transportation summit was held the day prior as a collaboration with Northeast Dairy Producers Association (NEDPA) and several other dairy allied groups, with the goal of presenting the challenges and potential solutions of transporting milk and all the inputs up and down the supply chain to our collective members, government officials and allied industry.  Many collaborators worked countless hours to bring the transportation summit to life – thank you to Tonya Van Slyke, Alyssa Kealy and the NEDPA board of directors, as well as Danielle Stroop, Kevin Kouri, Blake Lutz, Mike Thresher, Sue VanAmburgh, John Mitchell and Rick Zimmerman. We are looking forward to continuing to collaborate with NEDPA and state government representatives to make real reform in the upcoming months within the halls of various Northeastern states and our federal government.  This will be one of our upcoming Lobby Day themes.  Stay tuned for a full report from both our Annual Meeting and the Transportation Summit.

Looking forward………

As Danielle recently highlighted, we are excited to work with Hinman Straub and Associates for our legislative and advocacy efforts.  They have contributed an article in this newsletter to introduce their team and we are planning the NEAFA Lobby Day in NY for March 15.  I hope you can attend this important advocacy event to show support for funding needs for programs critical to our industry.  Please register at this link if you are interested in attending Lobby Day: Click Here  

Agricultural advocacy goes beyond New York borders.  Several board members attended the Vermont Dairy Producers meeting on February 21 and explored options to grow advocacy efforts in Vermont, meeting with several industry groups, including the Vermont Feed Dealers and the Vermont Dairy Producers Association.  Stay tuned as we develop plans in Vermont as well as other New England states.  Your ideas and voice matters – please reach out with thoughts!

In addition to advocacy, plans are in full swing for our upcoming Herd Health and Nutrition Conference in Syracuse, to be held April 3-4.  An action packed agenda with great speakers is being planned – check out cals.cornell.edu/pro-dairy to learn more!

While our agricultural landscape continues to change, and some days we feel the brunt of “Tackling Today’s Disruptions,” I am excited about the future of our industry in the Northeast.  I am excited to collaborate with several allied groups and state government representatives around transportation reform.  I am excited to see NEAFA’s efforts grow with our Good Works program and assist youth interested in agriculture from all over the Northeast with educational opportunities and scholarships.  Most of all, I am excited to visit with our members (You!) and work with our board to collaborate, advocate and educate on behalf of NEAFA.  I look forward to connecting with you soon!

Your voice matters!

Jenny   

Share the Love of NEAFA!

By Charlie Elrod, Ph.D, President & CEO Natural Biologics, Inc., Board of Directors, Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance

Once a month, this newsletter lands in your inbox, and about 45% of you click through to read an article.  That’s an amazing open rate for a newsletter!  I recently analyzed the click-rate by the type of article and it will be no surprise to you that nearly 80% of the people who open the newsletter click through to read the President’s Pen article (Nice job, Danielle!). Getting over 50% click throughs are member profiles and NEAFA announcements.  About a third of readers will go on to read an article on our lobbying efforts and recognition of other members’ achievements. We really have a very high level of engagement with the NEAFA News.

I recently started sharing the NEAFA News with the rest of my team, most of whom live and work outside the Northeast. Their feedback was very positive, and they asked that I keep sharing it. Why don’t you try sharing the newsletter with your team, or other colleagues who may not be members of NEAFA?  We all benefit from having wider exposure of the topics that we deal with and tackle every day, and it could very well help drive some people to enjoy the benefits of becoming a member! Try it out and see what kind of feedback you get from your friends, colleagues, and co-workers.

I’ll also make an appeal here for anyone interested in working with the communications committee to please get in touch with me directly (celrod@naturalbiologics.com ).  We would really benefit from the insight into your specific corner of the agricultural community. You could help drive the direction that the newsletter takes each month.  NEAFA is the voice for agribusiness throughout the northeast, and the more that you interact with us, the better we can serve as an organization.

NEAFA Member Profile: Global Agri-Trade

By Eric Jenks, Special to NEAFA

This month’s NEAFA Member Profile is Global Agri-Trade (GAT), a member of NEAFA since 2014, and a leading importer of palm oil in the United States since their formation in 2004. “I joined GAT in 2014 because I had been a customer of theirs,” said Barry Baetz, Director of Sales at GAT and NEAFA Executive Board Treasurer. “I was one of their earliest customers, and I left my prior job to join GAT because of my knowledge and confidence in the product from my experiences with it at Shur-Gain, and I was interested in supporting the sales and growth of their market.” Baetz has a long history with agriculture. “I’m from Canada originally, and I received my animal science degree in Ontario at the University of Guelph. After graduation I became involved in the agriculture industry, focusing on the dairy side of things. I was with Shur-Gain for 20 years, working on dairy nutrition and general management.”

GAT is based out of  Rancho Dominguez, California, but has offices and warehouses throughout the United States. “When the organization started in 2004, their primary port was in Los Angeles, which is the largest in the country,” said Baetz. “Since then, the group has grown substantially, and we have warehouse locations throughout the states and on both coasts. We have a location in Alexander, NY that I work out of. GAT’s focus is palm oil, its basic importation and its derivatives. There are two main divisions; human consumption, and the animal feed division. The food division is devoted to shortenings, baking products derived from palm oil, things like that. I’m part of the animal feed division.”

Baetz had prior experience with NEAFA before joining GAT, and he thought that the organization was a perfect fit for the business. “I’ve been on the NEAFA board of directors for 5 years, and I’m currently the treasurer on the executive board. NEAFA is great for so many different reasons. First, they are an organization that is proactive, and tries to enhance and improve the agricultural industry in the northeast. NEAFA’s focus is primarily on dairy, but we do have an overall interest in all agriculture. We’re a do-er type of organization vs an organization that has a lot of meetings, but doesn’t get much done in terms of legislation or out in the field. Our organization is very engaged in leadership, lobbying, advocacy, and education. The membership has always been interactive, and there’s a great social aspect to it as well with the annual meeting and the Golf for Good Works tournament.”

Speaking of the annual meeting, Baetz is looking forward to both the annual meeting and the Dairy/Transportation Summit the day before it begins. “The annual meeting this year is tremendous,” said Baetz. “It’s really great that NEAFA is working with NEDPA to come together and collaborate on this dairy/transportation summit the day prior to the annual meeting. It’s good that we can participate and bring value to such an important topic like transportation. It impacts all parts of agriculture and its community, and the whole country quite frankly. We’re excited to interact with the high level attendees that will be there. The NEAFA Annual Meeting has always been viewed as a value added benefit for our members because of the excellent speakers and the social component. It’s wonderful to have a chance to meet all of our fellow members and the industry leaders that attend. It’s an event that needs to be part of everyone’s schedule in agriculture in my opinion.”

Transportation is a large issue for GAT. “It has the potential to stop our business if import ships aren’t moving,” said Baetz. “Exorbitant costs are being charged to all parts of agriculture. Shipping and transportation is the backbone of business. All of our product comes in via containers. GAT is the number one importer of palm oil and products used in animal feed in the nation. When things in our world get slowed up, it has an impact on the industry nationwide. The costs that are being incurred from shipping drove up the palm oil market throughout the pandemic, and to this day it is keeping costs elevated. Trucking comes into play once our product gets to a sea port in the country. It needs to be transported to a warehouse and then trucked to customers. Trucking and the impacts that they’ve had from the pandemic has been a double whammy of costs being incurred by us, and sad to say by the end user as well. It is a direct impact on profitability on dairy in the nation. But palm oil is a product that is a staple for dairy nutrition formulation and diet. It’s a nutrient that is needed for dairy milk production. It has been a very tumultuous time, and things still aren’t back to normal. That’s why the upcoming Dairy/Transportation Summit is so important and comes into play. I’m looking forward to seeing our members at the upcoming meetings, and hearing their thoughts and experiences.”

Tackling Today’s Disruptions - NEAFA Annual Meeting and Dairy/Transportation Summit 2/7-8 in Albany!

You are Invited! – We Need YOUR Voice at our Transportation Summit and Annual Meeting that is quickly approaching.  The Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance is proud to partner with NEDPA to host the first dairy/transportation summit on Tuesday February 7, 2023.  The summit kicks off at noon and will cover topics that impact the feed industry, suppliers, dairy producers, and processors, including:

• Supply Chain Challenges

• Truck Driver Availability, Licensing and Training

• Bottlenecks in Raw Milk Procurement

• Transporting Feed Commodities – Bottlenecks

These topics will include several panels of individuals who are working to solve these disruptors as well as shape messaging for regulators.  We hope you will consider attending and share your experiences at the summit!

Tuesday evening will feature a reception where we hope you will continue the conversation, as we continue to solution through the transportation disruptors and opportunities we have to make our ag industries remain competitive in the Northeast!

Wednesday’s agenda shifts into the Annual Meeting for NEAFA.  Breakfast with vendors kicks off at 7:30am, please join us!  The Annual Meeting will start at 8:15 am with opening ceremonies from our NY State FFA officers and the morning will be hosted by MC John Clark focused on the following topics:

• Economic Update: Chris Wolf, Ph.D. – Professor of Ag Management & Policy, Cornell University

• Producer Panel: Social Media Moderator: Eileen Jensen – NY Animal Agriculture Coalition 

• AFIA Update: Constance Cullman, President & CEO - AFIA 

We will break into our Awards Luncheon to recognize Distinguished Service Awards, retiring board members and introduce Hinman Straub – NEAFA’s New Lobbying Team to the audience.

Our Keynote speaker is one not to miss at the Awards Luncheon!  “China’s Future and the Impact on American Agriculture” will be presented by Todd Thurman – Consultant, SwineTex Consulting Services, LLC.  Todd is very well known in the swine industry, a native of Texas and brings messages that will help us understand the global agriculture market landscape.

We hope to see YOU in a few short weeks at our Dairy/Transportation Summit and NEAFA Annual Meeting as we continue to work as an agricultural industry to tackle today’s disruptions!  Registration, hotel and sponsorship opportunities can be found at: 2023 NEAFA Annual Meeting — NEAFA— Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance (northeastalliance.com)

January 2023 President's Pen

By Danielle Penney-Stroop NEAFA President

Greetings and Happy New Year Everyone! January is typically a time for reflection and setting goals.  It’s energizing, a period of new beginnings filled with a sense of purpose and hope. How do you reflect? Is it focusing on segments of professional or personal aspects, or is it looking at all the facets of your life? Reflection requires focus and being honest with yourself, while recognizing the achievements and failures of the prior year. What did we learn and how do we set new achievable and measurable goals for future success? Herein lies some of my reflections…

The timing to reflect is perfect, as this will be my last President’s Pen article since my tenure heading up this wonderful group is coming to a close. On February 8th, at our annual meeting, current Vice President Jenny Mills will transition to the presidency of NEAFA. I am most excited to see Jenny take the reins and continue to work on transitioning our organization to a sustainable, viable voice for our members, as well as making a brighter future for agriculture in the northeast as a whole.   

Two years ago I transitioned to President under the guidance of John Clark and Rick Zimmerman, and a couple words encapsulate that time period; uncertainty and angst.  

We were still in the midst of the Covid pandemic, and there was a charged political climate with legislative issues coming hard and fast. Immigration policies, labor and wage board negotiations, neonic ban, truck weights, even Happy the Elephant. On top of that, we were working on how and when would we conduct our Annual Meeting and Golf for Good Works Tournament, and how/when would we review our strategic plan. And that was just the first few months of my tenure as president. Initially, I likened it to drinking from a fire hose.  

The first major order of business was having Dr. Larry Van De Valk, of Cornell University, facilitate our strategic meeting with the newly appointed board of directors.   In July of 2021, the board spent a day and half engaging and deep diving into our organization and the value we provide for our members. It was necessary to reflect on our previous strategic plan from 6 years earlier. Our analysis revealed that we needed to revise our strategies due to industry consolidations, the political climate, and change in our leadership within NEAFA, while continuing to meet the needs of our membership.   The decisions from this retreat would become NEAFA’s leading principle, determining our goals and direction for the remainder of my presidency.

At the end of August 2021, we conducted our delayed annual meeting, in combination with the Golf for Good Works Tournament. Even with Covid mitigation protocols in place, this turned out to be a celebratory and successful meeting and golfing event. In that year, we recognized the valuable modern tools available for communicating with one another from afar, but nothing beat seeing one another in person, and having face to face meetings and collaboration efforts.   

Much to my chagrin, it was announced shortly after that Rick Zimmerman would be retiring at the end of 2021 as our Executive Director, and would focus solely on lobbying for 2022. The Executive Team was charged with determining how we would fill the void of Executive Director, while moving the needle forward with our strategic plan. Graciously in December 2021, former NEAFA President John Mitchell stepped out of retirement and accepted the role of Interim Executive Director. 

This past year, John focused on the growth of our membership, and analyzed areas of opportunity. He assisted with our ten very active committees, helped with the planning of our annual meeting and upcoming transport summit, and provided feedback to the board on strategic alliance plans. We thank John for all that he accomplished this past year.   

Legislatively, there was never a shortage of policies, priorities, and actionable items for NEAFA to address all year long. We were key participants in the Happy the Elephant case, addressing truck weights and a myriad of transportation issues throughout New York and New England, and recognizing the loss of farms (conventional and organic) throughout New York and New England. NEAFA also participated on the ruling of origin of livestock, the judicious use of pesticides and antibiotics in constructive manners regarding the viability of our soil and livestock, and climate change initiatives. We also had another successful lobby day session with Rick Zimmerman leading the charge, with ten of our board members present and involved with thirteen legislators.   

Rick Zimmerman kept the board abreast of numerous issues facing our industry, and was key in the involvement of the GROW NY Coalition and Campaign, focused on the overtime threshold. While the OT threshold seems to have passed and is largely out of our hands now, the coalition has committed to remain intact and continue our work regarding labor unions and minimum wage fight.

At our annual meeting two years ago, I stated that “Our role of lobbying and involvement in political policies has never been more immediate and critical, especially as the rural vs urban population gap increases. We have an incredibly large freshman legislative class that needs information, guidance, and relationships with us, not just their non-agricultural constituents. We need a seat and voice at the table every time.” This grows more true and vital with every passing year, and our recognition of the value and importance of effective lobbying and advocacy led us to the hiring of Hinman Straub.    

We are confident that Hinman Straub Associates will help NEAFA build off the advocacy platform that Rick Zimmerman developed and grew for us over the past 15 years. The board and our members will continue to reach out to educate our downstate and new elected officials. We’re excited for the resources that Hinman Straub Associates has for effective lobbying on our behalf.  

Collaboration with our industry partners remains critical in all of our efforts to effectively communicate legislative issues, identify processing and transportation bottlenecks throughout our region, and preserving our industry as we consolidate. I am excited that the time invested with industry partners for the past two years will continue to grow and benefit our membership long term. We will continue our involvement and investment in the Grow NY Coalition, as well as partnerships with Northeast Dairy Producers Association, VT Dairy Producers Association, Dairy Food Association, and VT Feed Dealers.  

I thank you all for your constant support as well as patience as we transitioned through our leadership and management as an organization these past couple years. I greatly appreciate the staff of resources I had through this process; Sue VanAmburgh, Rick Zimmerman, John Clark, John Mitchell, Jenny Mills, Barry Baetz, Lon Stephens, and Corwin Holtz, as well as my incredible board of directors, both past and present.    

To our incoming President, Jenny, the advice I offer is to find and maintain your balance personally and professionally. Utilize your team’s gifts and strengths… lean on them the next 2 years. Don’t be afraid to delegate or ask for help… It takes a village applies here as well.  And finally, I believe you are the ideal next leader, as we continue this next phase of our leadership transition and growth for NEAFA.

Register Now for the NEAFA Annual Meeting

Join the 2023 NEAFA Annual Meeting, taking place February 7th and 8th in Albany, NY

Charlie Elrod, Ph.D., President & CEO, Natural Biologics, Inc. and NEAFA Board Member

Plan now to attend the 2023 NEAFA Annual Meeting, to be held in Albany NY on February 7 and 8.  This marks a return to Albany since our last meeting there in 2020 and a unique collaboration with the Northeast Dairy Producers Association (NEDPA).  The theme of this year’s meeting is “Tackling Today’s Disruptions” and will address several strategies to make all of our businesses more resilient in the future.  

The afternoon of the 7th will be a joint meeting with NEDPA members, kicking off with a discussion of today’s dairy economy followed by some of the challenges and opportunities faced by dairy producers.  Such topics as labor challenges, policy and legislative initiatives and broader macroeconomic trends will be explored.  Also in collaboration with NEDPA, we will then move into a Transportation Summit and drill down into this critical aspect of our industry.  Driver availability, training and licensing will be followed by discussions of the bottlenecks present in our industry whether we’re hauling milk, commodities or finished feed.  With insight from leaders of farms, processors, government and feedmills, we’ll discuss the challenges and potential solutions to preventing our industry being derailed by transportation issues.

On Wednesday, in addition to our usual business meeting and election of officers, we’ll hear again from Dr. Chris Wolf on the economic issues we are all facing in our lives and businesses.  The ever-popular producer panel will be facilitated by Eileen Jensen of the NY Animal Agriculture Alliance discussing various ways that dairy producers engage with social media to proactively portray their operations.  This is an increasingly important role that we can all play to offset many of the misleading and negative stereotypes of the dairy industry as antibiotic- and animal-abusing, water- and air-polluting factory farms. 

Lastly, we’ll wrap up with the Annual Awards Lunch in which we’ll recognize the tremendous contributions of the awardee of our Distinguished Service Award and our retiring board members.  Todd Thurman will be our keynote speaker and share with us his perspective on China’s Future and the Impact on American Agriculture. For more information, click here. Registration is also open, and you can sign up now by clicking here.  We look forward to seeing you in Albany!

NEAFA Member Highlight: Kreher Family Farms

Kreher Family Farms location. Photo provided

By Eric Jenks, Special to NEAFA

Kreher Family Farms, which sells a wide variety of products including eggs, grain, composted manure, fertilizer, produce, and flowers, is based out of Clarence, NY, and is entering its 99th year of business in 2023. Started by Henry and Wilhelmina Kreher in 1924, the farm is currently in the middle of transitioning between the third and fourth generations. “We have nine family member owners in the business right now,” said Brian Kreher. “Two are retiring at the end of this year, and two have already retired as well. Making a transition like this is a complicated process, and we are fortunate to have the right people helping us through it. It will be quite some time that the 3rd generation is involved along side the 4th generation. My youngest uncle for example is closer in age to my generation than he is to his oldest sibling.”

Having a business with such a long history to it also means that Kreher Family Farms has had the chance to diversify the portfolio of products it can offer. “Each of the family owners has their own responsibilities on the farm,” said Kreher. “My brother Mike focuses on growing crops, and I focus on eggs for example. We’ve got egg farms in Clarence, Basom, and Wolcott, which means that we can supply anything from conventional white eggs to pasture raised organic.  We’re the Eggland’s Best franchise for upstate NY. We also have a conventional grain operation based out of our Wolcott farm, and we have organic crop farms for our animal feed needs throughout Western NY - Brockport, Clarence, Basom, for example. We also recently partnered with W. D. Henry and Son’s in Eden, NY for their vegetable, flower, and greenhouse operation, so that we can offer those products as well.

While Kreher, took time away from the family business, the plan was always in place if he wanted to return. “Farming has been in my dna since I was a kid,” said Kreher. “The bus dropped me off at the farm after school, and I worked here on the weekends. I’ve been caring for chickens since I was old enough to do so. The farm has always been something that I’ve thought of as home. Part of the succession planning for the family business meant that I had to get off the farm for a while and do my own thing,” said Kreher. I graduated with my Bachelor’s from Cornell in 2004, where I majored in food industry management. After that, I was very fortunate to work for Daymon Worldwide for a decade, before returning to the farm in 2015. That year was the perfect opportunity for me. I felt like I needed to change, and the farm was at spot in its business cycle where there was a spot for me. It has been a tremendous experience working with, for, and for the benefit of the family. That feeling isn’t something that I got working elsewhere, as great as those businesses are. I have to thank Daymon Worldwide though for the experience that they gave me. That job gave me the opportunity to work with a variety of different super market chains; Winn Dixie, Safeway, and Wegman’s primarily. It gave me the experience to know what they’re looking for in their suppliers, which is huge for the farm, to know what they need. My cousin Natalie has a similar background. The egg industry is very different from some other agricultural businesses. We don’t sell to a co-operative or a consortium; we deal directly with supermarket chains to get our products out to consumers.”

For Kreher, the largest industry concern currently is continued vigilance with bio-security. “We’ve always been forward thinking with bio security and protecting our hens from avian diseases,” said Kreher. “The entire industry is very concerned about avian influenza. The shortage of eggs that the outbreak has put on the country is hard on everyone involved. We would all prefer the price of eggs to be where it is because consumers are eating more eggs, and not because we’re dealing with a challenge in the industry. While feed prices have gone up dramatically, price increases are really due to the worldwide shortage of eggs. It’s also made things more complicated with getting the next generation involved. It’s not like when I was a kid, because of safety and bio-security measures. They all enjoy their time on the farm though, and we get them out and involved as much as possible.”

Looking towards the future, Kreher is working towards converting more of their production to cage free, to better match consumer’s needs. “Our organic farms and pasture eggs are already cage free obviously, but within the next year the plan is to convert a significant portion of our conventional production to cage free as well,” said Kreher. “That is exciting for our family and we’re looking forward to that conversion as that expansion occurs. The good thing about it is our family already has experience with cage free. There are animal welfare changes in how you manage the birds, which is not going to be difficult for our business to do, since we’ve done it for 10 years with our organic farm.”

Kreher also values NEAFA’s impact on agriculture. “The efforts that NEAFA has put in to working on behalf of the ag community is very much appreciated by our family. The educational aspects of NEAFA has directly enriched our family’s business through the newsletter and their outreach. We’re proud to be long time members of such a great organization.”

For more information on Kreher Family Farms, https://www.krehereggs.com/ 

December 2022 President's Pen

Congratulations to Sue VanAmburgh for her new role as the Executive Administrator for NEAFA!

By Danielle Penney-Stroop, NEAFA President

Happy Holidays Everyone! Wishing you, your families, and your employees a safe, healthy, and blessed holiday season!   

As 2022 closes, I would like to take this opportunity to thank John Mitchell for coming out of retirement and serving as our Interim Executive Director this past year. We appreciate the time, service, and effort John put forth supporting the Alliance, recruiting new members, and assisting with our meetings and summits. He provided us with regular insight on the evolution of the membership and industry. Thank you John!   

A huge thank you to Rick Zimmerman, who will officially be retiring December 31. Rick has served for over 15 years as NEAFA’s lobbyist and lead advocate, in addition to his role of Executive Director. We cannot thank Rick enough for all his years of service and dedication to NEAFA, collaborative partners, and the entire agricultural industry.  His years of service have been invaluable and critical for many of our legislative successes in New York and New England agriculture. We wish Rick all the best as he pursues this next exciting chapter with his ever-growing family.  

The NEAFA board would like to express our sincere gratitude to the backbone of our organization - Sue VanAmburgh. We would not have made it through this transitional year without the support, determination, and endurance from Sue. Sue’s official title was Executive Assistant, although she has lovingly been referred to as our Chaos Coordinator. We are excited to announce that this upcoming year Sue will transition to the role of Executive Administrator for NEAFA.    

I would like to commend and thank the NEAFA Executive team and entire Board of Directors for their input and discussions regarding the evolving and dynamic future of our organization. We have been faced with declining membership, mostly due to industry consolidation, budgetary shortfalls, leadership challenges and changes (just to name a few). The decisions have not always been clear or easily navigated, but I commend the board for taking the time to weigh all our options and make the decisions that we are confident are in our members’ best interests moving forward. We continue to recognize that advocacy and lobbying are the largest value proposition to our membership, and will continue to be our key pillar of NEAFA.

The NEAFA board of Directors met Monday December 5th, for our virtual board meeting.  During this meeting the board voted on several organizational initiatives for the 2023 calendar year and we are very excited to announce the following:

• For our legislative and advocacy efforts, we have hired Hinman Straub Associates to represent us.   The month of November the executive team exacted our due diligence as we interviewed 4 various legislative and advocacy firms and presented the proposals and feedback to the Board of Directors. Ultimately the board unanimously selected Hinman Straub, capitalizing on the synergistic relationship with Corning Place Communications (CPP). We will have an increased efficiency on our communications and messaging from both Hinman and CPP, that will elevate our advocacy efforts for our membership.    We have an exciting and unique opportunity ahead of us this next year, with the input and leadership of the entire executive team. We are most excited for this collaborative team effort and capitalizing on their expertise! Hinman Straub will be present and introduce themselves to all of you at our annual meeting in February and we are tentatively planning for our lobby day in March. I encourage everyone to come out and attend.    

• The board of directors also voted that for the 2023 year, we will be operating without an Executive Director. In an effort to be fiscally responsible to our membership, and cover the increased costs of our legislative and advocacy work – the NEAFA Executive team & board of directors have committed their time and effort to cover the various roles assumed by an Executive Director. With the assistance of Sue VanAmburgh and the executive team, I have the utmost confidence that we will continue to Advocate, Collaborate and Educate and bring each of our members the continued value of a healthy, viable, evolving organization. 

• In regards to our advocacy and lobbying efforts in VT, and the New England states we have started conversations with the VT Dairy Producers Association on collaborative legislative fronts and potential partnerships to maximize the efforts and representation of all our members. More details to come at our annual meeting in February.   

In closing, I would like to bring everyone’s attention to this year’s annual meeting, being held February 7-8th in Albany NY, at the Marriott Hotel on Wolf Road. In an effort to get back on our normal schedule for our meeting and networking opportunities – we are happy to announce a collaborative meeting effort with the Northeast Dairy Producer’s Association, New York Dairy Foods Association and other dairy allied partners on Tuesday, February 7 (the day before our annual meeting.) 

We invite our membership to this transportation summit as we discuss the Supply Chain and Processing issues we face in the dairy industry with focus on the transportation sector. We will have industry panels highlighting our challenges and solutions / recommendations for tackling our disruptions with government and state agencies presenting as well. This is an amazing opportunity for networking and being a part of collaborative history as we reduce the bottlenecks in our industry and lay the ground work for viable dairy and agriculture sector in NY and New England.    

Happy Holidays and we hope to see you at our upcoming Transportation Summit and Annual Meeting February 7-8, 2023 in Albany!

Rail Contract Can Kicked Down the Road… Again

By Charlie Elrod, Ph.D.. President & CEO, Natural Biologics, Inc. Member of the Board of Directors, Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance

Once again, the country waits in anticipation as the ongoing negotiations between rail worker unions and the railroads eke their way to a finale.  Whether the discussions will result in a contract or a strike is still up in the air.  Earlier this week two of the larger unions, of the twelve covered in the negotiations, voted; one to approve the contract, the other to reject it.  Three other smaller unions have also voted to reject the contract and are back at the negotiating table.  We have all heard before how a rail strike would disrupt many aspects of our lives, especially here at the onset of winter and the holiday season.  Jenny Mills recently calculated that a rail strike which reduced feed availability for dairy cattle in the Northeast could lead to about $9M in lost milk revenue per day.

While the Presidential Emergency Board framework, agreed to back in September, gave railworkers a 25% pay increase and improved flexibility in time off, there are many who believe that the quality of life issues at the core of these negotiations have not been adequately addressed.  At the moment, the strike deadline is set for December 8th, though should a strike appear imminent, the railroads could lock workers out at midnight on October 5th.  Even if most of the twelve unions approved the contract but a strike was called by any of them, it is likely that all union railworkers would join the strike in solidarity.

For the NEAFA members and our communities, the impacts would be substantial and felt very quickly.  NEAFA member Bruce Habberfield, Special Projects Manager of the Fingerlakes Railway, suggested that one day of a strike would lead to a week of delays, with the delays increasing rapidly the longer the strike goes on.  While not a union shop, the Fingerlakes Railway and others within our region, would not have work-stoppages, but depend on rail cars coming in off the main lines.  At this point, they are trying to accumulate cars to help mitigate those delays for their customers who ship forty-nine different commodities through the Fingerlakes Railway. He suggests that other NEAFA members, reliant on rail transport, try to stock up in the next couple of weeks to ease some of the pressure should a rail strike ensue.  The bright spot in this situation is that Congress and the President are poised to sign an emergency bill, under authority of the Railway Labor Act of 1926, to impose a contract on the railways to avoid a strike and keep the railways in operation.

Election Results Amplify Ag Industry’s Challenges

By Rick Zimmerman

New York voters have spoken, and Kathy Hochul was elected Governor of New York for the next four years.  Even though the gubernatorial contest proved to be closer than expected, the state’s metro regions demonstrated support for Hochul, elected to the position for the first time.  In the meantime, NY voters had to figure out the new Senate and Assembly election districts to determine who their state representatives would be.  When the votes were finalized, the State Senate Democratic majority declined by one seat, from 42 to 41, and the Assembly Democratic majority declined by six seats, from 107 to 101.  Nevertheless, Democrats in both houses will maintain their super majority status and can override a Governor’s veto.  These facts reflect the challenges agriculture faces in the effort to effectuate public policy.  

Since 2018, when Democrats became the State Senate majority party, the ag lobby has been all hands-on deck defending bedrock programs and policies that create an environment essential for New York farmers to remain competitive with other agricultural regions in the U.S. and throughout the world.  Fundamental policies that authorize or protect our ability to employ and support a skilled workforce, to utilize the latest technologies, to maintain and nurture our prime agricultural soils, and to limit our ability to maximize the production and use of low carbon biofuels, are examples of challenges significantly influenced by an imbalance in an urban / rural political power dynamic.  

The farmworker overtime saga is the best example of what we are facing.  New York farmers undertook a good faith effort in 2019 to find a compromise to the long-standing debate over collective bargaining and mandatory overtime.  Given the new political dynamic of a Democratic majority in the Senate, we knew our best option was to find a compromise that could appropriately address the issues.  The 60-hour overtime threshold was a huge concession by New York farmers and would have been the win-win for both sides.  But the urban dominated legislative leadership undermined the effort at the last minute of negotiations.  The Labor union supported legislative leaders ignored the good faith compromise by New York farmers and forced a 40-hour mandatory overtime standard. The Farm Laborers Wage Board “process” proved to be a convenient way to get the job done.

Climate change policies are another example of the imbalance.  Rather than recognizing and celebrating the significant contributions New York agriculture offers to address climate change, the ag lobby is fighting against proposals that would restrict low carbon biofuels, such as biodiesel, renewable diesel and renewable natural gas, from being part of the climate change solution.  Other states, such as California, are demonstrating the critical role low carbon biofuels play in their climate action solutions.  Unfortunately, legislative leaders are unduly influenced by extreme environmental groups that have abandoned reasonable solutions for their ultimate goal: 100% electricity generated from renewable sources.  It is clear to most climate science experts that carbon reduction goals cannot be reasonably obtained through 100% electricity and that agriculture brings many assets to address climate change.  We must continue to push agriculture to the forefront with practical solutions to address our carbon reduction goals.  

Pesticide policies represent another example of the rural / urban political imbalance.  Banning pesticide use via legislative fiat has become politically popular despite the fact New York enjoys some of the toughest pesticide use regulations in the country and the program is managed by well trained professionals at DEC.  These facts go by the wayside when majority legislators, representing urban districts, are convinced that their political future hangs in the balance over legislation banning agricultural pesticides.  This scenario provides little room for reasoning and common sense to generate a rational solution.

Before 2018, the agriculture community could count on rural legislative leaders to assert balance to state policy proposals that threatened serious economic or social harm on New York’s agriculture community.  If push came to shove, we knew that reasoned perspectives would prevail because rural legislative leaders understood and respected the agriculture community’s perspectives and could effectively intervene.  This is not our reality anymore, and we must alter our tactics and approaches to the issues that promise to make it more difficult to farm in New York.   

Here are some thoughts about successfully operating in the current political reality:

1. Build and strengthen our urban legislative connections.  Obviously, this is not a new recommendation.  But we need to take the effort to a new level that cements the connection of upstate food sources to downstate prosperity.  The COVID 19 pandemic demonstrated the fragility of our food system and New York farmers stepped up in major ways to supply the food banks during this emergency.   We must build off this good will, through ongoing relationship development efforts with downstate law makers, to strengthen the connection between feeding people nutritious, locally sourced food and the survival of NY’s family farms.  Nurturing and maintaining a local food supply must be a high priority for all New York lawmakers.  

2. Curate and elect rural legislative leaders that understand and will fight for the issues of critical importance to NY’s farm community.  The cultivation of state lawmakers has not been at the top of our “to do” list, but we must be more intentional about this effort if we expect to see policies that support and nurture the agriculture industry.  

3. Establish and support an active agricultural PAC.  A PAC or political action committee is the legal instrument that would allow the agriculture community and its supporters to generate funds that could be contributed to local, state and national candidates willing to step up for New York’s agriculture community.  Supporting political campaigns through a PAC sends a message to candidates that the ag community is serious about electing lawmakers who will actively support the industry.  PACs don’t require a boat load of funds to be effective.  Moreover, the act of establishing a PAC’s presence, and actively fundraising for the purpose of advancing New York’s agriculture industry sends a strong message that agriculture is present and engaged in the political process.

4. Continue to break down silos and build coalitions between the production, processing, marketing and retail sectors of the food and agriculture system.  We all must be pulling together on the policy front to best serve New York and its 19 million consumers.

5. Continue to position the agriculture lobby as problem solvers for the challenges plaguing our state.  The agriculture industry maintains a strong presence in our State’s capital, but times have changed, and new approaches are required to be effective in this advocacy business.  By nature, farmers are problem solvers and, with a qualified team of professional and volunteer advocates, can be renown for the best public policy solutions.  Together we can impress our urban based legislative leaders with policies that will assure a local food supply for their urban constituents. 

President's Pen

By Danielle Penney-Stroop, NEAFA President

Here’s hoping everyone had a safe, healthy, Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you to all of you – whether you drive trucks, operate feed mills, manage logistics, purchase ingredients, provide consulting, sell equipment, farm supplies, fertilizer, or are in academia/extension. Each and every one of you play a vital role in the agricultural supply chain and feeding the 8 billion occupants of this world.   

As 2022 winds down, the agricultural sector has been faced with continued supply chain shortages and bottlenecks, inflation and interest rates, severe weather, trade, and legislative policies and issues that have not exactly been in our favor.      

The board continues to be busy since our last board meeting in September. To give you some updates on the legislative front, here is where we have been involved:

• We were one of the nearly 200 agri-chain stakeholders providing letters calling on Congress to honor the federal pesticide registration authority by taking action to limit states and local municipalities from requiring modifications to pesticide product labels inconsistent to pesticide labels approved by the EPA under their authority of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). We also collaborated with VT Feed Dealers on this initiative.

• NEAFA drafted comments for submission to the FDA concerning policy change for review of non-drug feed ingredients. These comments are intended to encourage the FDA to modify their policies and shift non-drug feed ingredients from being reviewed as a drug to being reviewed and authorized for use as a feed ingredient. This shift, as promoted by AFIA, NGFA, feed ingredient manufacturers, and animal scientists, is necessary to provide quicker access to industry desired products that address animal wellbeing, environmental, and other issues.

• We joined AFIA in providing letters of support for agriculture trade nominees Alexis Taylor (USDA Under Secretary for Trade) and Doug McKalip (USTR Chief Agricultural Negotiator). They have both had their nomination voted out of committee, but multiple Senators have placed holds on their confirmations for unrelated matters and that is stopping a vote by the full Senate for confirmation. Farmers for Free Trade is coordinating a food and agriculture coalition letter advocating for the removal of these holds, and calling for a vote on their respective Senate confirmations before the end of the year. Farmers for Free Trade invites you to join industry groups and businesses in calling on Senators Schumer and McConnell to bring Doug McKalip and Alexis Taylor’s nominations to the floor for a vote.

• We continue to join national, regional, and state food and ag associations urging swift action to avert a rail strike or lockout that would lead to shutdowns or slowdowns of rail-dependent facilities. These shutdowns would result in devastating consequences to our national and global food security. With two unions having voted to not ratify the rail labor agreement and a December 4th deadline for when a strike/lockout could occur, we went on record with what we’d like from Congress.

• We collaborated and supported the Truck and Engine Manufacturing Association on their letter to the NY DEC. NY DEC is seriously considering proposing regulations that would adopt the California low NOx regulations for trucks. This proposed action could impose unobtainable engine emissions performance levels as current technology is unable to meet these proposed regulatory demands.

• We continue to put pressure on Governor’s office regarding the overtime threshold ruling and keeping 60 hours at 60!

The elections are now over, and we have a stronger picture of House and Senate seats and their positions. Thankfully in New York State, we still have some strong democratic support for agriculture. All facets of agricultural have their work cut out for them. We (NEAFA and our ag partners – NEDPA, VTDPA, Corn and SB, VT Feed Dealers) collectively have a lot of work ahead of us to ensure we have a progressive and viable industry ahead. In Vermont, there are 51 new legislative seats after this midterm. That is a lot of new faces to educate. NEAFA is having conversations with VT Feed Dealers and VT Dairy Producers Association on ways to collaborate and have a unified voice at the table.

The NEAFA board recognizes that advocacy, lobbying, and legislative policy / priorities are our key value propositions for you, our members. Rick Zimmerman has announced his retirement plans and started the transition for his clients. While we are saddened by the news, we wish him the absolute best and hope for an adventurous next phase enjoying grandchildren, family, friends, and travel. We are eternally grateful and committed to continuing the critical and necessary work that Rick started for our organization 15+ years ago. The board has been meeting with various lobbying organizations this past month and are committed to finding the right representation in Albany and VT for our membership. Our next board meeting is Dec 5th and I look forward to reviewing our options and giving the board the opportunity on selecting the right fit for our membership to represent us. In December’s newsletter, we will announce our new partners and plan for our leadership for 2023 and beyond.   

In closing, the NEAFA board is having continued talks with NEDPA on ways we can collaborate. One of our collaborative initiatives is that the very successful Dairy Round Summit from Nov 2021, hosted and planned by NEDPA, will once again take place.   Our annual meeting is being held February 7-8th, in Albany NY, at the Marriott. This year’s meeting will be very unique in that Feb 7th is the Dairy and Transportation Summit, engaging our industry legislators and leaders for conversations highlighting many of the issues facing our supply chains, with potential solutions and areas of opportunity or focus. Thank you to NEDPA and our partners for this opportunity. We will have a reception the evening of the 7th to engage with our politicians and industry leaders, and on the 8th will be our annual meeting with engaging panels and speakers.   

NEAFA / NEDPA Co-Host Summit on Dairy Industry/Transportation February 7th, 2023

The Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance and the Northeast Dairy Producers Association are proud to announce a collaborative effort to bring focus to issues challenging the dairy industry.

Beginning at Noon on February 7th NEDPA will hold a Dairy Summit to discuss the dairy economy, labor challenges and policy changes in the current political landscape.  The program will feature key industry speakers and include panel discussions to explore opportunities to address the challenges ahead.

The second portion of the summit will feature transportation related topics impacting dairy farmers and the agribusiness community. NEAFA and NEDPA will focus on issues relating to driver availability, training, and licensing as well as dairy industry specific milk hauling challenges.  Present will be a panel of milk haulers, feed companies, commodity trucking companies, and trucking associations from New York and Vermont.  State legislators from New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont will be invited along with officials from the departments of Agriculture, Transportation, Labor, and Economic Development.   

The Dairy Industry/ Transportation Summit will be held February 7th at  the Albany Marriot Hotel in conjunction with NEAFA’s Annual Meeting beginning the evening of February 7th.  The joint meeting will start at Noon and a box lunch will be provided for those in attendance. 

 The intended outcome of the Summit is to find viable solutions to the challenges we  face in the dairy and feed industries.  You are encouraged to attend this important meeting and information on the NEDPA/NEAFA Dairy/Transportation Summit will be forthcoming in the weeks ahead.  Registration information for NEAFA’s Annual Meeting, beginning 5:30 pm February 7th with the Opening Reception, will be available very soon

NEAFA Member Highlight: Howlett Farms

By Eric Jenks, Special to NEAFA

Howlett Farms, currently in its fifth generation, is a cornerstone agribusiness for western New York. “We’ve been farming and in agriculture since 1880,” said Michael Howlett, Vice President of Howlett Farms and chair of the agronomy committee at NEAFA. “We’ve touched almost every part of the agriculture; cows way back when, potatoes, vegetables, row crops, and we’ve continued to vertically integrate throughout the ag sector to get closer to both producers and end-users. We raise and combine our own crops. Growing from there, we saw the need for more drying and storage capacity for our regions grain producers. We built a storage facility in Avon about 20 years ago. It started by serving mostly dairy farmers and handling their excess grain corn, where we would buy it from them or store for them for later in the year when they would be changing their rations. That kind of shaped our modus operandi to focus on dairy farms and that industry.

That initial facility led to Howlett Farms establishing others to better serve their customers and process more ingredients. “Today, we have nine facilities that we receive grain out of the field for drying and storing,” said Howlett. “We also have three feed mills that we operate, to process those ingredients. We also handle a variety of other commodities that  either go through our mills or direct to farms. The feed business grew out of the need to get closer to the end user. We take the raw product, grind or steam flake it, and then add it to their commodity mixes that we make.”

For Howlett, this is a lifelong passion. “I grew up on the family farm always wanting to be a farmer, we were raising vegetables at the time,” said Howlett. “I always wanted to work and be on the farm. At eighteen, we realized that I wasn’t a great operator, I wasn’t equipped to be out in the field all day. I went out to college at The University of Illinois, studied agricultural economics. When I was getting ready to graduate, my dad and I discussed I needed to bring something back to the operation, I couldn’t just come back to the operation. We decided to change the operation a bit, and I was going to go off on my own for a bit and bring something back to the farm to benefit it. I started out working in Chicago trading on the futures market, learning risk management and how to offset risk. I brought that skillset back to the family farm. Since then, we have evolved into a commodity brokerage firm, working with producers and farmers to source their needs or give them access to a broader and better marketplace. We not only trade the ingredients, but we also  have a fleet of 30 trucks hauling bulk commodities and feed ingredients to ensure timely delivery of ingredients or feed as is needed on today’s large scale dairy operations. We are also on rail, and bring in and ship commodities out from there as needed.”

Howlett Farms joined NEAFA in 2019, and joined NEAFA’s Board of Directors in 2020. “We’re relatively new to the feed part of agriculture,” said Howlett. “We’ve been working with grain for 20 years, but we’re new to the feed processing. We joined NEAFA when we started making feed at our own facility. The level of engagement that the board and its members have throughout the industry is wonderful. They’re not focused on just one segment; they’re fighting for dairy, cash crops, feed manufacturing, hauler and freight transportation, you name it. NEAFA puts the picture all together. They know that it's not multiple segments that operate independently, we’re all in this together. If one part doesn’t work, then it affects us all. That’s the most refreshing thing about NEAFA to me - their scope and their impact. The board is active, engaged, and full of intelligent and dedicated individuals that come together as a group to make agriculture in the northeast better for everyone.

Like many others recently, Howlett Farms has been affected by the railroad staffing issues. “There’s not much we can do about it,” said Howlett. “We have cars on order that should be moving. It’s been frustrating because CSX isn’t going to listen to just one farmer in Avon, NY. It’s a challenge to be heard and explain the urgency of what we need done and the pace that it needs to be done. We do our best to leverage our network ties to get things moving. We try and elevate the problem so that we can have some of the bigger players call and make an impact. When you’re dealing with a company of that size, it can be easily  ignored. Because of that, we’ve been moving on truck more and multiple times to accommodate our customers. Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot of immediate resolution until someone bigger objects. 

As many others in agribusiness can attest, issues with rail can be compounded by driver shortages in trucking. “The dairy industry in the northeast is very reliant on truck freight,” said Howlett. “When you look at the livestock industry in the Midwest for example, they’re usually very closely located to feed mills and production houses. In the northeast though, being mostly smaller family farms, it’s much more of fragmented customer base with farther to go to processing centers. The incremental cost has doubled in the last two years. It’s tough maintaining a strong and dedicated fleet of drivers. No matter what part of agriculture you’re in, you have to be passionate about it. If the driver doesn’t want to come into work or is sick, each driver needs to know that responsibility and have passion to pick up the extra work. We’ve been lucky to build a team that has that passion and serves our customers and keeps them on time. It’s challenging when you see sign-on bonuses from personal freight. It’s a battle to keep them in our trucks instead of going with another freight company. We understand the hard work it takes to do that trucking job, and we work extremely hard to recognize them for that effort.”

For Howlett, dedication is key to their business growth. “Our organization drives on passion,” said Howlett. “I was brought up on a farm, and I love being on the farm, and have wanted to be in agriculture ever since I could walk. You must have that passion and commitment to support the farm and the community around us. I realized very early on in my career that if the ag community doesn’t succeed around us, then there’s no place for us in this market. Their success drives our success. Increasing the viability and profitability of the ag market in the northeast is our goal. I look at my children as my horizon, and I want to know that I’ve set up the organization to be successful for the next 50 years so that they can grow and continue to run a successful business as well. I know that our neighbors up the road, and all over the northeast for that matter, are what drives our success and enables us to do what we’re doing. We look at what each engagement needs to maximize their success, which guarantees our success.”

NEAFA Member Highlight: Morrison’s Custom Feeds

By Eric Jenks, Special to NEAFA

This month, NEAFA sat down with NEAFA Board Member Mike Thresher from Morrison’s Custom Feeds to talk about the history of this wonderful Vermont company.  Founded in 1983 by Leslie Morrison and  based in Barnet, VT, Morrison’s serves Northern New England and eastern parts of New York. “We do bulk and direct feeds for the dairy, poultry, and swine industries,” said Thresher, a Dairy Feed Specialist, as well as the Director of Sales, and Director of Nutrition and Certification for Morrison’s Custom Feeds. “Certified organic feeds is the majority of our business, and we’re also certified with non-gmos, and of course do standard feeds as well. I handle all of the registrations for feed tag compliance in the states that we’re registered in.”

Morrison’s also has a retail store in St. Johnsbury, VT. “It’s a full farm supply store,” said Thresher. “From pet food to agricultural feeds. We feed them large and small, and we added a clothing line this past year. We’re also members of the Co-operative Feed Dealers, so if we don’t have it, they can special order it for us.

A long time member of NEAFA, Thresher joined the board in 2020. “NEAFA is a wonderful partnership to be in for us,” said Thresher. “It’s all about being able to bring better representation of New England Agriculture to the public and government agencies. That’s been lacking in the past. It’s a great and powerful lobbying force if we need to get something emphasized locally or nationally, and that’s truly great to have.”

Thresher joined Morrison’s in late 2000, with a background in dairy on his grandfather’s farm. “As a dairy feed specialist, it’s my job to help educate farmers that it’s more than just feed,” said Thresher. “It’s about overall farm consulting. You need to educate on forage and forage quality, and how to improve forage quality. That improvement makes my life easier from a nutrition stand point, and their life more profitable. It means that they have less reliance on purchased feed. That forage can either be for storage or fresh grazing. I work mainly with organic farms; I’ve been involved with grazing for over 3 decades.”

Morrison’s got involved with the organic market in 1999 at the request of a local poultry farm. “Being a custom farm, it was an easy fit to bring in,” said Thresher. “When I joined in 2000, I had grazing experience and really enjoyed it and became passionate about the organic side of things. It grew rapidly and I chased it. There was a 3 county area we were currently servicing, and that’s where we were going to stay. But then I’d hear about a farm in the next county over, and I’d stay late and go over and help them get started becoming an organic farm, and then we’d have them as a customer. Soon we were covering the whole state, and after that started to spread into other states as well. I said to Les, I never asked if you wanted to get this big, and Les said with a laugh that ‘well I would have asked you to stop if I wanted to.’ We handle about 45,000-50,000 tons per year, mostly by truck. We’re also setup on rail, which is handy with our proximity to Canada. We’re very fortunate to have a great staff working in the mill and driving our trucks. They’re dedicated employees that we thank daily.”

While agriculture has faced challenges over the past several decades, those challenges have also brought about positive change for the northeast. “Overall in the industry, I’d say that there’s been an improvement in forage quality management and animal husbandry,” said Thresher. “The challenges that the dairy industry has faced in the past 2 decades have lead to better management practices in our area. We work with a huge amount of farms, the average herd size is around 60 to 70 cows. Looking to the future, we want to encourage and keep the younger generation involved. We’re also committed to keeping our customers resilient and profitable to any changes that may come down the line. We encompass organic, non gmo and full conventional, and work with our farms on the needs that each of those lines encompass.”

For more on Morrison’s Custom Feeds, you can visit their website, https://morrisonsfeeds.com/ 

Cornell Nutrition Conference Summary

The following is a summary of the Cornell Nutrition Conference posted by first-time attendee, Ashley Sweeting.  Ash is VP North America of ProAgni, an Australian biotech startup and finalist in this year’s GrowNY innovation competition. (CCE)

Methane emissions are a huge issue, and they are not going away. Many people across the industry are looking for effective tools to address livestock methane. Most people want to take steps to reduce methane but very few want to pay for it themselves. 

On the positive side, the methane issue is creating unusual bedfellows. Collaborative partnerships are emerging between what many people would have thought of as traditional rivals. Environmentalists are teaming up with farmers, big food, scientists, government, and multinational corporations to search for creative solutions to livestock methane mitigation. 

On the less positive sides, what many people had hoped would be effective solutions are not living up to expectations. Issues remain around food safety, animal welfare, availability, long term efficacy, and impact on farm productivity. 

There is no escape. The methane issue is just as relevant for the North American, European, Australian, and New Zealand farmers as it is for the 1.25 million farmers in India with 1 -5 cows and elsewhere across the developing world. 

The microbiome and how it can be managed to produce more desirable outcomes and fewer undesirable outcomes is a rapidly growing area of interest, research, investment, and product development. Genomic science has unlocked a window into improving our understanding of the microbiome. As Todd Callaway of UGA said, “Thirty years ago the rumen microbiome was a black box. Now it’s just a very, very dark box.“ 

Across livestock production, soils, and human health we are constantly being surprised about just how much our microbiomes impact everything we do. We are intricately interconnected and ultimately reliant on the microbiome for survival. 

Personally, I am super excited about the potential of a better understanding of the rumen microbiome to revolutionize the way we manage livestock productivity and sustainability across the developed and the developing worlds.   

The microbiome is the source of livestock methane. At the end of the day the methane issue is all about hydrogen. I see efforts to better understand how hydrogen is metabolised in the rumen, and the competition between methane producing microbes and other hydrogen utilizing microbes, as key to identifying increasingly effective and practically applicable solutions to livestock sustainability. 

It was wonderful to hear the presentations from all the Cornell Graduate Students. Thank you all for the great work you are doing to advance our understanding of dairy production and its impact on our society and environment. 

From my perspective, for new innovations to be successful they need to be focused on fostering symbiosis. By this I mean they need to be focused on addressing multiple issues simultaneously. Unfortunately, I think that solutions that only address one issue are no longer sufficient to meet our current food production and sustainability challenges. Be that addressing heat stress, methane production, nitrogen cycling, early lactation metabolic disease, food safety, or human nutrition. 

A special thanks to Joe McFadden, Mike Van Amburgh, Ananda Fontoura, Tom Overton, and Derek Simmonds from Cornell University for a great conference.    

To hear more about the great work Joe McFadden is doing to develop solutions to livestock methane emissions at Cornell list to his conversation with me here:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/2043813/11368072