By Rick Zimmerman
Traditionally this time of year has provided a good opportunity to travel to state capitals and catch up with our respective agriculture commissioners as they plan for the new year and the next state legislative session. However, COVID-19 prevented the road trip, and, like every other meeting, Zoom became the go-to platform. The good news is that we could conveniently schedule meetings with commissioners and members scattered around the country without putting any miles on the car! Even though face to face meetings are always superior, the virtual platform proved to be effective.
Common themes were threaded through our conversations with Richard Ball of New York, Shawn Jasper of New Hampshire, Amanda Beal of Maine, Anson Tebbetts of Vermont, John Lebeaux of Massachusetts, and Bryan Hurlburt of Connecticut. Legislative bans on pesticides, including glyphosate and neonicotinoids, the pollinator-neonic interface, pesticide and feed manufacturing fees, animal welfare threats and transportation infrastructure were on our agenda. All the meetings were well attended by members of NEAFA’s Board of Directors and Governmental Relations Committee.
Developing and maintaining working relationships with our agriculture commissioners is essential for NEAFA as we strive to ensure that the interests and issues of our members are represented and addressed. The Zoom meetings provided us with the opportunity to fortify relationships and include members who would not otherwise be able to make the trip from Albany to Augusta.
Our conversations affirmed our concerns that state legislatures, throughout the Northeast, will be seriously considering legislation to ban glyphosate and neonicotinoids. The anti-pesticide lobby is pointing to recent pollinator studies as justification for banning neonics, rather than talking about Integrated Pest Management and best management practices as the solution to managing the problem.
The animal rights lobby continues to push state legislators for laws restricting animal husbandry practices. Massachusetts for example, is in the process of determining how it will implement cage restrictions for poultry, veal, and hogs as the result of a state ballot proposal that passed in 2016. HSUS continues to pressure the Department of Agriculture to administer the new standards on the most restrictive basis. We must continue to provide guidance and support to Commissioner Lebeaux to resist such outrageous expectations and keep animal agriculture a viable industry in Massachusetts.
State budgets will be pressured to make cuts in programs essential to a viable animal agriculture industry due to COVID-19 costs and an overall economic decline. Food safety, integrated pest management, and water quality assistance are programs essential to the agriculture industry. Agriculture departments in New York and New England are likely to face budget cuts that could hamper these programs and we must remain vigilant in our advocacy work to ensure that the agriculture industry’s priorities are recognized and addressed.
Overall, our efforts to fortify our working relationships and provide guidance and support were successful. This Zoom platform will likely remain the go to format for future commissioner meetings.