Agriculture
is New York's largest industry, and New York's family farms have long
been the backbone of its rural communities. That's why Chuck has remained
so committed to providing New York farmers with the support they deserve.
Some of his recent efforts include:
- Dairy: As part of this year's Farm Bill, Chuck successfully
pushed for the inclusion of a national dairy plan with new
and unprecedented benefits to New York's farmers, including
a dairy price support program comparable to the now-defunct Northeast
Dairy Compact. The final bill will send $76 million annually to
New York dairy farmers over the life of the program. Chuck has
also launched a "Vendi-Milk"
initiative to promote milk vending machines in schools throughout
New York and the country. By simultaneously opening up a new market
for dairy farmers and providing schoolchildren with a nutritious
alternative to soda, Chuck hopes the machines could be just what
the doctor ordered to clean up the dietary disarray in schools
and help fix the crisis facing New York's dairy farms.
- Farm Bill: Chuck and his Northeastern colleagues worked
hard to secure measures in the federal Farm
Bill that would benefit New York farmers. In addition to dairy,
the Farm Bill will provide a $16.6 million stimulus to New York's
apple farmers to help recoup losses suffered as a result of low
apple prices in 2000. The Farm Bill will also send a $10 million
grant to the State of New York to support onion
producers in Orange County who suffered crop losses between
1996 and 2000.
- Assistance For Apple Growers: In addition to payments
included for New York apple farmers in the federal Farm Bill,
Chuck played a key role in securing $75 million in direct payments
for apple farmers in the FY02 Agriculture Appropriations bill
for the Apple
Market Loss Assistance program. Chuck also wrote to Secretary
of Agriculture Veneman urging her to expedite the release of 2001
Apple Market Loss Assistance funds by using preexisting production
data. By convincing the USDA to use preexisting data rather than
compiling new data, Chuck helped make much needed funding available
to apple growers months earlier than would have otherwise been
possible. In October 2001, Chuck also urged the US Customs Service
to solicit input from New York apple growers in its anti-dumping
investigation into international producers of apple products,
especially China.
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| Chuck
discusses Congressional disaster relief efforts with New
York specialty crop growers in Washington. |
- $2.3 million for New York State Agriculture and Markets:
Chuck played a role in securing $2.3 million for the New York
Agriculture and Markets program to help market specialty crops,
such as Hudson Valley vegetables in the FY02 Agriculture Appropriations
bill.
- Promoting New York Produce: Chuck urged the Cornell Cooperative
Extension to include a New York City school in a pilot project
geared toward encouraging schools around the state to use more
New York-grown products, an effort that would directly benefit
Hudson Valley farmers. Chuck will continue to push for the inclusion
of NYC schools in 2002.
For a complete index of press releases on agriculture, please
click here.
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