by Carol Thompson

New York State Senator Cathy Young, the top ranking Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, met with farmers from Oswego and Jefferson counties last week in an effort to win support for her bipartisan plan to use $60 million in federal stimulus funds to aid the struggling farm industry.

Her Sept. 24 appearance at North Harbor Dairy in Sackets Harbor drew farmers from both counties to hear about her proposal.

Noting that farming is a major industry in the state, she said that farmers are “suffering terribly.”

Area farms have been closing down operations since the milk prices have been so low. “That’s catastrophic for upstate New York,” Senator Young said, adding that the $2.3 billion industry for is a significant source of revenue and jobs. “They are desperate. Everyday we hear of farms going out of business.”

Senator Young said her proposal would offer both a short-term and long-term solution.

The short-term solution would be to use $60 million of the stimulus funding for emergency relief to farmers. “This is a real positive action,” she said, noting that the state received $25 billion in stimulus funding with the vast majority going toward social programs.

“The lion’s share went to New York City,” she said.

The longer-term solution would be to reform milk pricing. “Albany has ignored the dairy situation. We need Albany to step up to the plate because we need solutions to the dairy crisis,” she said.

When asked if Senator Darrel Aubertine, who represents Oswego, St. Lawrence, and Jefferson counties, would support the proposed bill, Senator Young said it is a bipartisan bill so she is hoping it will receive the support from both sides of the aisle. The bill does already have the support of a Democrat senator from New York City, she noted.

“I’m hopeful that they will come on board and support this,” she said.

In a news release, Senator Aubertine thanked Senator Young for taking the time to visit the region.

“I’m pleased Sen. Young has taken the time to meet with farmers in northern New York because it’s important to recognize we are on the same side—the side of our farmers,” he said. “In our roles representing farmers as members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, it’s important we hear from farmers not only in our own districts, but all across the state.

“These informal stops and public meetings give farmers a seat at the table in determining our legislative agenda and policies moving forward,” he added. “We need to bring their message not only to state government, but deliver it to our federal representatives as well to bring about real change for all farmers.”

According to Sen. Young, farmers are receptive to the proposal. “They’re really waiting for something positive to happen,” she stated. “They’ve been down for so long.”

She added that she has never seen so many farmers downhearted and discouraged in her life. “I grew up on a dairy farm,” she noted.

Oswego County has not been exempt from what has become a national trend this year—family farms, some that have been in families for generations, going out of business.

The price paid to dairy farmers per hundred weight (about 12 gallons) has fallen from nearly $20 a year ago to less than $11 in June, according to dairy industry news reports. The break-even point is $20.

Consumers have not seen reductions in retail prices leading some farmers allege that the middle men are making greater profits.

Senator Young urged her colleagues to pay more attention to the dairy crisis and work toward saving one of the state’s vital industries.