Ryan, a Democrat from the 18th District, stopped by Crist Bros. Orchards in Walden to try out some apples and ask farmers how they’re doing.
Jeff Crist has expanded Crist Bros. Orchards significantly over his tenure — the orchard now produces roughly 500,000 bushels of apples each year. But he’s got his eye on how the president’s tariffs may impact his ability to buy equipment and export apples overseas.
“The world apple market is impacting us. And a lot of our equipment, even a majority of it, comes from other countries," says Crist. "We estimate that between August 1 through the end of the year that tariffs we pay on different pieces of equipment will cost us about $60,000 on our farm.”
It’s not just tariffs: Ryan says he’s heard from Hudson Valley farmers who worry they will lose their Medicaid coverage as a result of new work requirements in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act. Others say their staffing is at risk from federal efforts to ramp up deportations. And Ryan says agricultural scientists and food banks are reeling from funding cuts at the USDA.
“The cuts to federal funding for research and development in ag and farming, to me, are extremely concerning. Because this just makes us less competitive both immediately and in the medium and longterm as a country, and specifically as a region in the Hudson Valley," says Ryan.
Crist says agricultural research by schools like Cornell University has been instrumental in his farm’s success. For starters, Crist Bros. Orchards bought the intellectual property rights to two apple breeds created by Cornell University’s breeding program: the SnapDragon and RubyFrost. He says Cornell scientists visit the farm multiple times a year, and taught them how to prune trees in a way that helps each apple receive better sunlight.
Just in the past couple of years, Crist says the farm has refined how it stores its crops: it now has the technology to store apples in a way that keeps them fresh for up to 12 months, meaning grocers who want Fuji apples year-round can, in fact, buy them from Crist Bros. Orchards.
“The growing and technology science we use literally changes every year to improve what we do, to be able to store apples for 12 months — we were never able to do that before," says Crist. "So, over a period of time, it’s a huge impact to keep us competitive in the world.”
Crist says his orchard ships thousands of pounds of apples to the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York each month — but that number may differ amid cuts to the USDA’s Emergency Food Assistance Program, or TEFAP. Earlier this year, the USDA announced it was cutting roughly $1 billion from two programs, including TEFAP, that source local produce for food banks. Ryan says he’s hopeful that some of that funding has been restored in recent weeks, even if not fully.
The same can’t be said for SNAP, which took a big hit in the “Big, Beautiful” bill. Lucy Joyce, executive director of the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Orange County, says the law also gutted funding for SNAP’s educational grant program, SNAP-Ed. SNAP-Ed funds programs in schools and community organizations that teach low-income residents how to make the most of their food budgets, including making healthier food choices and becoming more physically active.
Joyce says CCE Orange County is one of the lead agencies implementing these programs, holding more than 900 classes across the Hudson Valley last year. But as a result of the cuts, it will end on September 30.
“At this time, it looks like New York state has some funding in their coffers for this program…with that funding, we’re looking to wind it down in a more professional manner, where it won’t be such an abrupt end," says Joyce.
During his visit, Ryan touted his support for bills like the “Dignity Act,” which he says would create a better pathway for citizenship for immigrants, who make up a large share of the nation’s agricultural workforce. He points to the partial return of TEFAP funding as an example of what residents can accomplish when they speak out.
"To be specific and local...sharing these stories is actually really powerful," says Ryan.
