(WNY News Now) – Upstate lawmakers and farmers push back against proposed 700-cow limit, warning of economic harm to family farms.
Following the shocking report that two New York City-based legislators were looking to add further restrictions and regulations on the state’s dairy farmers by capping the number of cows allowed on a dairy farm to 700, Assemblyman Chris Tague (R,C-Schoharie) and Sen. George Borrello (R,C-57th Senate District) held a press conference to voice the frustration and anger not just for upstate legislators but of the wider farming community in New York.
Following the spread of the story, and in a bid to educate legislators uninformed on the matter, Tague and Borrello rallied representatives from both the New York Farm Bureau and the Northeast Dairy Producers Association to highlight the damage such a proposal could do to family farms across the state. Ray Dykeman of Dykeman and Sons Dairy Farm also joined to share his perspective as an on-the-ground farmer working under the state’s already-overbearing rules and procedures.
“The only thing Assemblymember Rosenthal and Senator Brisport have ever milked is the taxpayers of New York state,” Tague said. “Ninety-four percent of this state’s farms are family-owned, and a number of them already surpass this arbitrary number while still adhering to the state’s careful regulations of herd, land and product management. We’ve got some of the hardest-working, efficient and dedicated farmers this country has ever seen, and I don’t like it when members who are clearly uninformed on the industry write legislation with the potential to harm the workers and the market further.”
Sen. George Borrello, ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee says, “This outrageous proposal is a slap in the face to every hardworking dairy farmer in New York. It’s yet another example of radical New York City lawmakers trying to control an industry they know nothing about. These farms aren’t factory operations, they’re family businesses built over generations. And instead of helping them grow, Albany is threatening to regulate them out of existence. The same extreme ideology that gave us the Farm Labor Act—a law that’s already done lasting damage to agriculture in this state—is now back to finish the job. If the goal is to
drive dairy production out of New York and into other states, this bill will get it done—at the expense of rural communities, local economies and our state’s food security.”
Ray Dykeman says, “This problem is only a problem for the majority of farmers because in order to make a profit, farms have had to increase in size to make up the difference. The rules operating dairy farming in this state make it hard to deliver enough product at a fast enough rate without a large number of cows. Our facilities are regularly reviewed, and our producers work closely with the state to ensure we are following animal care and conservation goals. Each new rule makes it harder for farmers to support their operations and their families, and a measure like this would absolutely hurt farmers more than help them.”
New York Farm Bureau President David Fisher says, “The dairy industry is a huge economic driver in New York, and it plays a critical role in the state’s ranking as the fifth-largest dairy producer in the nation. Our dairy farmers represent a long tradition of family farms and are the cornerstone of agriculture in the Empire State. We as a state should be doing whatever we can to support these hardworking, dedicated farmers so they can preserve and grow their farms for the next generation.”
Allyson-Jones Brimmer, Northeast Dairy Producers Association vice president of regulatory and legislative affairs, says, “Sustainability and care are at the forefront of each dairy farmers’ mind when operating in New York because they need to, in part, ensure that their animals and land are cared for well-enough for long-term work. Limiting the number of cows to a dairy farm only works to hurt the family farms across this state and lowers the state’s output of quality product at the same time. Our farmers know what the job requires and how to do it well, and in this instance, we just need to let them do it.”
“This bill is nothing less than an attack on New York’s family farms. It’s written by people who have never milked a cow, never walked a pasture, and never once asked how their milk gets to their morning latte. But they’re ready to tell us how to run our farms. This proposal punishes efficiency, it punishes innovation, and worst of all, it punishes family farms trying to survive,” Tague concluded.
Assemblyman Chris Tague represents the 102nd Assembly District, which includes Greene and Schoharie counties, and parts of Albany, Delaware, Otsego and Ulster counties.
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