NEAFA met with State Legislators during the annual Lobby Day at the beginning of February.
By Rick Zimmerman
NEAFA kicked off the month of February with a series of Zoom legislative meetings with New York legislators. The timing of these meetings provided the NEAFA leadership with the opportunity to make the case for our legislative priorities, at a time when legislators are “all ears” because they have a state budget to pull together before April 1st. Even though New York legislative offices remained closed due to COVID restrictions, the virtual meeting format proved to be an effective means to converse with lawmakers and advance our agenda.
NEAFA’s legislative and budget priorities were brought to members of the Assembly and Senate Agriculture Committees by a half dozen NEAFA leaders, including President Danielle Penny-Stroop, Secretary Lon Stephens, board members Charlie Elrod, Corwin Holtz, Michael Howlett, and Executive Director John Mitchell. PRO-DAIRY, NY Farm Viability Institute, IPM, and NY FarmNet were all on the top of NEAFA’s list for legislative support.
Each year, the NY Governor submits an Executive Budget for the legislature to review, amend, and eventually approve a negotiated final budget agreement. This year’s $216 billion spending proposal included funds for many of agriculture’s top priority programs. Inevitably the legislature will amend the Governor’s proposed budget with additional funds for their priorities, including several agricultural programs.
The Governor’s Executive Budget includes a proposed refundable tax credit to offset the overtime wages paid to farmworkers if the overtime threshold is lowered from 60 hours per week. The Farm Labor Wage Board, with a two to one vote, recommended to lower the overtime threshold to 40 hours per week over a period of ten years. Governor Hochul must now choose to accept or reject the recommendation. It is apparent that the legislature’s acceptance of the proposed overtime tax credit will impact the Governor’s decision. In the meantime, the Grow NY Farms Coalition continues to impress upon the Governor the importance of keeping the overtime threshold at 60 hours, and is carefully evaluating how an overtime tax credit could work should the 60-hour threshold be rejected.
For over thirty years, Cornell’s PRO-DAIRY Program has made a significant contribution to the success and viability of New York’s dairy industry. NEAFA remains a strong partner with PRO-DAIRY, co-hosting the Herd Health and Nutrition Conference. NEAFA members also actively co-sponsor many of PRO-DAIRY’s excellent programs. This year, NEAFA is advocating for additional state funds to help guide the dairy industry forward in the new world of carbon reduction. As the dairy industry strives towards a net zero carbon world, dairy farmers must have the latest tools and technologies to help maximize their opportunities. This new PRO-DAIRY position can significantly help meet this challenge.
NEAFA’s partnership with NY FarmNet goes back many years, and we have been privileged to have a representative on the FarmNet Advisory Board for the past 15 years. Our advocacy for the program has helped assure strong support from the Governor and state legislative leaders. This year, the Governor provided $1 million core funding in her Executive Budget. We are advocating for the legislature to add an additional $600,000 to bolster the mental health services that are very much needed throughout the agricultural community. Last August, NY FarmNet’s Kate Downs presented a seminar at the NEAFA Annual Meeting focused on the mental health challenges facing farmers, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. She will be making a similar presentation during NEAFA’s March 7th New England Dairy Nutrition Conference via Zoom.
The NY Farm Viability Institute has a stellar record of returning seven dollars to New York’s economy for every one dollar of state investment! Focused on increasing profitability on New York’s farms, the NYFVI remains successful because of the hundreds of hours invested by farmer review teams that thoughtfully determine what projects receive funding. This year, the NYFVI is asking for $3.5 million in state funding. This would be to cover a large share of the overwhelming demand for research funds; NEAFA strongly supports this request.
Click here for a complete list of NEAFA’s 2022 NYS budget priorities.