A team of Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance representatives will converge on the State Capitol in Albany on February 4th to advocate for agricultural budget priorities and lobby against pesticide ban bills. This annual activity is part of a greater advocacy effort, undertaken by numerous agricultural organizations, to deliver a consistent message that New York’s family farms are part of the agricultural economic engine driving the upstate economy. The legislature has a responsibility to help nurture and sustain this sector of our economy if we are to continue to produce our food in close proximity to the millions of consumers throughout the Northeast.
The State Budget is annually debated and includes funding for key programs such as PRO-DAIRY, Integrated Pest Management and agricultural environmental management. These programs play a critical role towards keeping New York dairy farmers economically competitive with other regions of the country and the world. Legislative bans on pesticide products, like those introduced in the NYS Legislature, threaten the agriculture industry’s ability to stave off pests without substantially increasing production costs. As stated in the preceding article, the anti-pesticide lobby is having a field day scaring consumers and policy makers due to the general ignorance of peer reviewed science on the topic, and the role that sound science must play in our society. New York is a perfect breeding ground for policies that build off fear rather than sound science.
NEAFA members may join their peers Tuesday morning, February 4th, for a few hours of legislative meetings. All the relevant details, including meeting appointments, transportation, necessary materials and an issues briefing will be taken care of by NEAFA for attendees. All you have to do is show up at the Albany Marriott at 9:00 am, Tuesday February 4th, and be prepared to join our team! Reservations to be part of the legislative meetings can be made while registering for the NEAFA Annual Meeting. Details can be found on the Alliance’s website by clicking here.