House Ag Committee Chair Glenn GT Thompson recently held a Farm Bill listening session in New York where producers laid out their priorities for this year’s legislation, including more funding for research.
“As part of our ask, we would like federal funding that would support research and marketing programs for specialty crops that has remained flat over the last five years and is our hope that the Farm Bill would correct this. On a dairy front, New York state is also a leading dairy-producing state ranking fifth in the nation. We are home to approximately 3,200 dairy farms. As part of the Farm Bill ask, we’re asking for a better incorporation of the Dairy Margin Coverage program for the farms that we have here in New York state, which are mainly family-owned. We also would like permanent the 2021 supplemental feed changes that were made to DMC that will expire this year,” said New York Department of Agriculture Deputy Commissioner, Jennifer Trodden.
Right now, there is a little more than five months to go before the current Farm Bill expires. This year’s legislation is expected to top nearly $1.5 trillion over its five-year run.
