New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to keep open 250 offices nationwide that help farmers. Ten of those offices are in New York state.
Gillibrand said farmers depend on the County Farm Service Agency offices to navigate the USDA's system and sign up for programs. She said this is especially true now because of changes to dairy and specialty crop programs under the 2014 Farm Bill.
Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said it's not right for farmers to drive four hour round trips to their local USDA office.
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