Dairy prices, flooding and the cost of running a family farm were just a few of the topics Pine Island farmers talked over in a private session with U.S Rep. Nan Hayworth on her visit to the Black Dirt region on Thursday, March 24.
The closed-door session with about 30 farmers lasted more than two hours. Hayworth said she kept it media-free so farmers could speak openly about their concerns and to get comfortable with their new representative.
Hayworth opened the meeting to the press and answered a few questions on farming, then was quickly diverted to other topics.
Farmers preferred to stay on topic. While a few left and decidedly remained noncommittal, others, including Warwick town supervisor and farmer Michael Sweeton, were glad they had the exchange with Hayworth privately.
“We”™re just getting to know her, and she”™s getting to know her district. We don”™t know what kind of representation we are going to see from her, but we”™re optimistic. She wanted to understand what our concerns were, and I think she ”˜got it.”™”
Hayworth said she wanted to understand the challenges facing farmers in her district. Dairy farmer Bill Johnson, owner of Fort Hill Farm in Goshen with 300 in his herd, said he remembered a time when there were 1,800 farms. Now there are 40 left in Orange County.
“For many families, their children or grandchildren just don”™t see the point of continuing because it is getting harder and harder to earn a living,” Johnson said. “We were frank with the congresswoman and got her to respond to some hard questions ”“ and she did listen.”
Johnson said he doesn”™t know how much longer his own family will be in the business. “Right now, my son runs our dairy operation, but my grandchildren have other ideas about what they want to do with their life. My son will most likely be the last generation of my family to farm here.”
Tunis Sweetman Jr., owner of Sweetman”™s Dairy Farm in Pine Island, agreed.
“I think 2009 was the worst year we”™ve had when it came to milk pricing. Most small farmers sell their raw milk to bigger producers. Some, like Dr. Sam Simon and Hudson Valley Fresh, have created a niche market, but for the most part, it is not sustainable for dairy farmers to try it. We can”™t compete with huge dairy operations where the price of milk is set. So we need some measures to be put into place to protect small family farms so we can survive and keep going.”
Like Johnson, Sweetman also farms several hundred acres of crops and hay to feed his cows. Those cows that are no longer milkers end up in the meat department of your supermarket. “We”™d like to see a slaughterhouse close enough to get to so we can sell our cows for a better price,” Johnson said. “The one in Liberty isn”™t built yet and others are four to five hours away and you have to wait weeks to get on the schedule. It can be impossible to wait and you end up selling your stock for much less than you would if you had a slaughtering facility close by.”
For Pine Island farmers, concerns about the flooding of the Wallkill River have been an ongoing issue, one that is soon to be addressed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They have been out marking trees along the Wallkill”™s banks that form a dam and push the Wallkill to flood stage. Those are to be harvested this spring, something farmers were happy to hear.
Hayworth, who lives in Westchester, said farming is going on in her home county, although not on the level it is in the rest of her district.
“Family farms are a big part of the Hudson Valley,” she said. “They are improvising and finding markets in New York City and in the local farm markets, but their needs are much different than the larger conglomerates. Changes to the immigration laws that affect seasonal workers need to be tweaked so they can hire laborers; their needs are vastly different and need to be addressed separately. You can”™t lump all farms into one category and expect to have good results.”
Hayworth said she hopes to work with U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on agricultural issues, co-sponsoring legislation that will help New York”™s family farms. Sweeton said he hoped Hayworth would champion farmers”™ causes, particularly with the 2012 farm bill coming up.
“She just got into office and we are hoping she is going to be an effective leader.”
Pine Island”™s Chamber of Commerce was also on hand, presenting Hayworth with a photo montage of the area and giving her a bit of history about how the chamber got started.
“Gov. Rockefeller had plans for the Black Dirt region fifty years ago,” Cheetah DeParma said. “He wanted to pave it over and make it an airport … that”™s how the Pine Island Chamber got started. We successfully fought off Rockefeller, otherwise, we wouldn”™t be standing here today.”
“Hayworth said she hopes to work with U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on agricultural issues, co-sponsoring legislation that will help New York’s family farms. Sweeton said he hoped Hayworth would champion farmers’ causes, particularly with the 2012 farm bill coming up.”
I have no idea what the above means and I’m guessing no one else does either.
HOW exactly does my congresswoman plan of “championing” farmers causes.
WHAT exactly are these “causes.”
WHAT legislation does she plan on “working with” uber progressive Kirsten Gillibrand on?
HOW exactly does my congresswoman plan on “helping” farmers?
I mean, folks, this is rhetoric – same old, same old.
I mean, think about it; is Hayworth’s above quoted statement any different from ANY statement on farming you’d get by ANY politician anywhere in the nation – of either party?
Question: Why didn’t the reporter who wrote this story get to the bottom of the rhetoric; why didn’t the editor see the holes in the story that I do?