Schumer Issues Report Detailing How Veto-Proof Farm Bill Will Deliver Huge, New Benefits To Upstate NY Farmers; Bill Includes Major Wins For Dairy And Specialty Crop Farmers To Offset Spiraling Fuel And Feed Costs

Press Release

Schumer Issues Report Detailing How Veto-Proof Farm Bill Will Deliver Huge, New Benefits To Upstate NY Farmers; Bill Includes Major Wins For Dairy And Specialty Crop Farmers To Offset Spiraling Fuel And Feed Costs

Schumer - who Worked on the 2007 Farm Bill with New York Agricultural Leaders- Releases County-By-County Report Detailing how Upstate Farmers will Benefit Under New Bil

For the First Time, the Farm Bill Includes Major Expansions of the MILC Repayment Program and Significant Funds for Specialty Crop Growers and Conservation Programs

Schumer: Bill Comes in the Nick of Time for Upstate NY Farmers Getting Slammed by Soaring In-Put Costs; In 2006 Feed Prices Spiked Nearly 9% and Fuel Nearly 8% - And Both have Continued to Climb

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer released a new report detailing how Upstate New York's 35,000 farms will benefit under the new veto-proof Farm Bill that was just passed by the full Congress last week. With Upstate NY farmers currently getting socked by rising feed and fuel costs, the 2007 Farm Bill will offer much-needed relief by providing major victories for the state's dairy and specialty crop farmers. The bill greatly expands the MILC program, which will benefit the state's thousands of dairy farmers who produce over 12 billion pounds of milk each year, as well as increase funding for the state's farmers of specialty crops. This funding will help farmers with grape, onion, apple, and other fruit and vegetable crops maintain crop health and market their product. The bill also includes a significant spike in funding for conservation programs.

Schumer spent last year meeting with the agricultural community across Upstate New York and pushing his Northeast Marker Bill to ensure that the unique needs of the state's small farmers were not drowned out by the interests of large, corporate Midwest and Western farms. Today the Senator released a county-by-county report detailing how farmers across the state will be benefit under the new Farm Bill. Upstate New York has 7.5 million acres of farmland, returning about $3.4 billion to the New York economy annually.

"This bill is a huge win for New York State's farmers, as they struggle with the now staggering cost of feed and fuel," said Senator Schumer. "It has two solid provisions that will give the twin pillars of New York's farm community - dairy farmers and specialty-crop farmers - a much-needed shot in the arm. The MILC program, a vital safety net, is vastly expanded over the House version, and specialty-crop farmers - producers of apples and tomatoes and cherries and onions - can expect to receive a windfall in additional funding. Agriculture is the lifeblood of the upstate economy and Congress needs to do everything it can to ensure it stays that way."

The 2007 Farm Bill is part of Congress's efforts to reauthorize the provisions passed in the 2002 farm bill, which is massive legislation that supports the farming economy across the country. Schumer today said that in years past, the needs of farmers and the agricultural community in the Northeast have been left behind in favor of major agriculture conglomerates in the Midwest and on the West Coast.

"Under this bill, the dairy farmers and fruit and vegetable farmers who are the heart and soul of New York's growers are no longer the forgotten orphans of American agricultural policy. This bill is by no means perfect, but I think that its treatment of specialty crops and the MILC program are going to bring enormous relief to our farmers in every region of the state," said Senator Schumer.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source