By Jenny Mills
The humming of corn silage trucks passing by is in full swing here in Central New York as I write this and there is a definite feeling that fall is here – cooler temperatures, children back in school and shorter daylight.
Reflecting back, the past month has been busy for many of our members and collaborators. I was blessed to work with many at the New York State Fair birthing center. It was rewarding to answer questions about our industry and learn how many people come to visit or tune in online to see a live bovine birth. Additionally, it is inspiring to connect with representatives from many organizations and farms to have a unified voice for agriculture. Our mission to “educate, collaborate and advocate” always comes to life at this exhibit. My hats off to those involved with similar exhibits all over the Northeast – your time and effort does make a difference!
Dairy promotion, along with other forms of agriculture’s bounty, is a year-round effort. We all make a difference – whether it is serving chocolate milk after a football game, supporting our local dairy promotion “fun on the farm” or doing a display about your feed mill at the county fair, promotion matters. A recent article from NMPF (Dairy Defined: Say it Loud, Say it Clear: The Plant-Based Beverage Bust is Here) shares that retail sales volume of plant-based beverages year-over-year has been negative since February and has been flat to declining since mid-2021. Perhaps all the dairy alternatives aren’t making as big of a splash as originally thought. It has been reassuring to hear each of my children’s coaches tout chocolate milk as the preferred recovery beverage (unaided from me!). Promotion matters locally – thank you for all you do to help keep our ag products on top of consumers’ minds!
Looking ahead, while we have a lot to be proud of, there are some major issues that NEAFA continues to lobby on your behalf for, including:
Grow NY Farms – Keep Overtime Threshold at 60 hours: hopefully you received an email and took action to comment on the wage board recommendation report that had major flaws in it. NEAFA continues to work with several ag organizations to not only provide us with talking points, but to educate lawmakers and state stakeholders on the ripple effect that lowering the overtime threshold will have on agribusiness and our communities. More information: facebook.com/GrowNYFarms
Potential Rail Strike –With already tightening supply chain and longer lead times with the rail system, a strike would have been determinantal to all agriculture in the Northeast. The NY Ag Commissioner’s office reached out to NEAFA to gather information on the economic impact of a strike. Some quick napkin math was completed to capture the milk loss value to the economy of the Northeast if there were a rail strike impacting soybean meal supply (milk loss value alone is $9.1M per day!). Fortunately, a strike was averted for at least 30 days. NEAFA continues to monitor this situation and we may be reaching out to you with an Action Request via email.
Farm Bill input - The Farm Bill Listening Tour provided an opportunity to engage with and hear from constituents about the importance of the 2023 Farm Bill to New York State. What we learned during the tour will be provided to Governor Hochul to help develop the State’s Farm Bill priorities for critical funding and policy changes in the areas of agriculture, nutrition, and the environment. We also encourage written comments, all of which can be submitted to FarmBill@agriculture.ny.gov. The deadline to submit written comments is December 19, 2022.
As the leaves start to change, NEAFA continues to evolve to meet the needs of change from our membership. It has been humbling to hear that several members don’t know exactly what NEAFA is doing, or how it “adds value” to members. Our board of directors has taken that feedback very seriously and are working to make sure our value proposition is reflective of what our membership needs. We represent a unique membership, from feed manufacturers to organizations that provide agronomy inputs to educators and suppliers along the entire input side of agribusiness. NEAFA continues to represent our unique group of members in agribusiness and collaborate with groups that represent our dairy producers, grain producers, educators, processors to keep our voices strong in our state governments throughout the Northeast and provide educational opportunities to all facets of agriculture. We need to continue to collect voices throughout agriculture to continue to be heard throughout state governments. Our board is looking for your feedback to ensure we are meeting your needs. YOUR voice and input matters. Please reach out to any member of the board or John Mitchell, our Executive Director with your thoughts.
Lastly, as the seasons change, be on the look out for changes in our calendar. Our annual meeting will be separate from the Golf for Good Works event. The annual meeting will be held February 7-8, 2023 in Albany while the golf tournament will be August 21-22 at Turning Stone. We hope this change will be more friendly to your calendars! Stay tuned for details.
Until next time, stay safe, and best wishes for a successful harvest!