Farm Bureau President David Fisher and Public Policy Director Jeff Williams said the major issues are based on member approved public policy positions.

Their first priority is asking New York State lawmakers to replenish the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. Williams said this has been a big issue for Farm Bureau members who have been saddled with assessment charges on their quarterly contributions to the unemployment insurance fund.

New York State borrowed billions from the federal government during the pandemic to cover increased Unemployment Insurance costs. New York has been the only state that has not begun to make payments on the debt or interest, and instead passing those costs on to employers.

Williams said members are also concerned about efforts to raise the minimum wage once again. Minimum wage increased a dollar an hour at the end of the year for upstate New York and will possibly be raised to $15 by the end of this year. The farm overtime threshold will begin to drop as well next year.

The Farm Bureau is also looking to maintain funding for important animal health, promotion, and research programs along with full funding for the Environmental Protection Fund. Williams said the EPF is responsible for helping farms implement best management practices that include soil health and nutrient management programs that protect land and waterways. He said this also includes efforts to help farms meet the state’s climate goals.

The Bureau is also hopeful the governor’s proposal for a refundable investment tax credit is included in the final budget. They said this will incentivize investment.

Continued funding for the Nourish New York program and legislation allowing for direct-to-consumer shipping for New York produced farm beverages, including beer, cider, and distillates are also on the agenda.

Gov. Kathy Hochul signs Nourish New York into law, codifying it as a permanent state program as Sen. George Borrello, Assemblyman Chris Tague, Sen. Michelle Hinchey and Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz and the bill’s supporters look on.

State Senator George Borrello joined Governor Kathy Hochul as she signed the “Nourish New York” program into law this weekend.

The Nourish New York initiative reroutes New York’s surplus agricultural products to the populations who need them most through the state’s food banks. The program also provides much-needed support for the food producers and farmers who have lost markets as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic because the state’s food banks are buying agricultural products from New York farmers and food processors.

Hochul said some food banks had over 200% more demand for what they offered then they had the previous year, “Because of the three rounds already, $65 million allocated. We’ve had 35 million pounds of food go from New York State farms to the homes and kitchen tables of New Yorkers throughout this date. That equates to 30 million meals. When I first took office and they said, that’s a great program, but it’s not working. We still need more. We added another $25 million to this which allowed for nearly 7 million more pounds of food, 6 million more meals.”

Borrello co-sponsored the bill with Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz.

He said in a statement, “The pandemic laid bare the fragile nature of our food supply chain in New York. It also gave us an opportunity to unite and address it. By strengthening the connection between New York agriculture and our food banks with a consistent, recurring program that farmers can plan for and food banks can count on, we can create a resilient program to the benefit of farms and families in need across our state. ”

Nourish New York was supported by both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and Assembly and was passed unanimously by both houses.

To learn more about the program, visit https://agriculture.ny.gov/NourishNY

The legislation mandates the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance to apply for USDA approval to authorize the program, which would allow homeless, elderly and disabled SNAP recipients to use their benefits for prepared or hot food from participating restaurants.

The Governor also announced the launch of the $25 million Restaurant Resiliency Program to provide relief to the restaurant industry, which continues to face severe challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program, proposed by the legislature, will build on the Nourish New York initiative. It will provide funding to New York’s network of food banks and emergency food providers to purchase prepared meals from New York restaurants and deliver them to families in need.

The Nourish New York program will distribute an additional $25 million to emergency food providers in the state to bring food products to those in need. This brings the total funding for the program to $85 million since its launch during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The re-funding of the initiative allows emergency food providers to continue purchasing surplus products from New York farmers and dairy manufacturers to deliver to families in need through the end of the year, including the holiday season. Since its launch during the height of the pandemic in May 2020, Nourish New York has helped New York’s network of food banks and emergency food providers purchase more than 35 million pounds of food from local farmers and delivered more than 29 million meals to communities across the state.

A bill co-sponsored by State Senator George Borrello to make the Nourish New York program permanent was unanimously passed by the State Legislature. It is still awaiting Governor Kathy Hochul’s signature.