Agricultural producers from across New York travel to Washington each year to participate in the annual New York Farm Day. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is hosting the 15th annual event this evening on Capitol Hill.
Kirsten Gillibrand is the first New York Senator to sit on the Agriculture Committee in nearly four decades. She is hosting the 15th annual Farm Day, which highlights agricultural products from nearly 50 farmers and producers across the state. “Many of my colleagues aren’t aware that New York is one of the major farm states in the nation. Farm Day gives New York's agricultural community a great opportunity to showcase some of the best made-in-New-York food and beverages from around the state. But Farm Day isn't just about letting people taste New York’s agricultural products, although that's an important part of the event. Farm Day is also a chance for New York's agricultural community to have their voices heard about the issues that affect them and their farms.”
Gillibrand spent the summer meeting with the ag community across New York to hear their concerns and ideas. She says even though the next Farm Bill is not due for passage for three years, what goes into it must be considered now. “We spoke about the work we need to do to help our dairies deal with the low milk prices. This is a crisis. We also spoke about the need to make crop insurance work better for New York farmers. And we need a whole farm revenue insurance program that works for our diversified operations too. This is especially important now that a drought has affected so many producers and farmers around New York. And we also spoke about the urgent need to address the shortage of farm labor across the state.”
Gillibrand says the annual Farm Day is a means to implement policy. “One of the things that has been really challenging for our farms over the past decade is that we used to not be able to get crop insurance for fruits and vegetables and that's a new development that we've been able to develop over the last few years. We've also been able to have a venue to talk about some of the crises for small dairies. We still push on these issues that affect small farms in our state. But we have made progress and we've gotten good stuff in the Farm Bill, things that really help New York producers. So I think it's a great way to show New York’s dominance.”
Farm Day in Washington is not just a display of New York produce. Meetings were scheduled with members of the administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Credit and Cornell Cooperative to discuss federal programs. Producers can also provide input during a meeting of Senator Gillibrand’s agricultural advisory committee.
New York Farm Bureau Spokesman Steve Ammerman says the Farm Day showcase of products is a great lure to discuss ag issues with lawmakers. “Most people when they think of New York they think of New York City. And even lawmakers from New York City may not always understand the issues that our farmers deal with upstate and on Long Island. So that's why it's even more important to have days like this where we can have that open conversation, have that dialogue. Dairy is key in New York. We’re the third largest milk producer in the country. You know our apples, we’re the second leading apple producer in the country. So we have so many great things to hang our hats on. And I think more and more people are starting to realize, just with the local food movement, we need to pay more attention to our agricultural community.”
Among New York’s products featured during Farm Day are wine, cheese, apples and maple syrup.
