Gillibrand: Farm Bill Is Best Yet for New York

Press Release

Gillibrand: Farm Bill Is Best Yet for New York

Today, local Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand, a Member of the House Agriculture Committee, announced that the new Farm Bill will be the best yet for New York farmers. Later today, the House is expected to pass the measure with bi-partisan support.

"When I came to Congress last year, one of my top goals was to help strengthen the rural economy of Upstate New York," said Congresswoman Gillibrand. "This Farm Bill will help our local economy through strengthening the safety net for dairy farmers, encouraging industry to save money by buying locally, increasing conservation funding by $4 billion - including the creation of an organic transition program - and creating a program to provide more public land for hunting, fishing and recreation."

Congresswoman Gillibrand's most significant accomplishment was succeeding in increasing the MILC payment limit from 35% to 45% and increasing the size of herds covered from 120 cows to about 165 cows. Both provisions were main components in the first bill the Congresswoman ever introduced, the American Dairy Farmer Protection Act.

To address the problem of high feed costs - which in turn have increased the price of milk - Congresswoman Gillibrand worked with her Northeastern colleagues to add a "feed cost adjuster" to the MILC program to help dairy farmers pay for the higher cost of feed.

"Dairy farms are the backbone of our state's agricultural economy and this bill helps build economic security for family farmers struggling with the rising cost of feed. I am proud to have worked with my colleagues to advance this critical provision," said New York Delegation Dean, Rep. Charles Rangel, who was a conferee for the Farm Bill.

All three of the amendments that Rep. Gillibrand offered in committee were also included in the final Farm Bill. She was successful in creating a program to provide farmers up to $20,000 to transition to organic farming as well as creating a preference for federal industry loans to go to companies that buy and sell locally. She also worked with her colleagues in the Senate to create the Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program to provide New York communities with public land for hunting, fishing and recreation.

The Farm Bill also includes more than $10 billion for nutrition programs to help struggling families manage the increased cost of food as well as an increase in the tax credit to promote the production of ethanol using food waste and other non-food cellulosic ethanol crops such as switch grass, willow and wood pulp, instead of corn. If we reduce the demand for corn for ethanol, food prices will decrease.

"In a time of food shortages and tight budgets, I wish the final bill had included stricter limits on direct payments and eliminated the corn ethanol incentive program," said Congresswoman Gillibrand. "However, I was extremely pleased that we were able to deliver a bill that will ensure that farming remains a powerful economic force in New York for years to come."

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