As First New York Senator In Nearly 40 Years To Serve On Senate Agriculture Committee, Senator Gillibrand Is Improving Nutrition, Standing Up For New York Farmers

Press Release

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is hosting the ninth annual "New York Farm Day" tonight in the Senate Kennedy Caucus Room in the Russell Building in Washington D.C. Senator Gillibrand has invited producers of New York's award-winning wines, farm-fresh products and fresh seafood, as well as leading restaurateurs to travel to the nation's capital to showcase the quality and diversity of New York's agriculture, and its importance to the state's economy. Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton hosted New York Farm Day during her time as New York's junior senator, and Senator Gillibrand is continuing the tradition.

"I'm proud to continue the Farm Day tradition in Washington, DC, where we will highlight the fantastic produce and foods from across New York State," Senator Gillibrand said. "As a member of the Agriculture Committee, I am focused on improving the health of our economy and the health of our families. From rising childhood obesity and outdated nutritional standards to the economic crisis facing our dairy farmers and specialty crop farmers, agriculture issues in Washington affect families in every corner of New York. Strengthening our agricultural sector and promoting good nutrition for New Yorkers are essential to our long-term health and economic growth."

Over the years, New York Farm Day has become one of the most popular events at the nation's Capitol. Nearly 1,000 people are expected to attend. With approximately one-quarter of New York made up of farmland and an agriculture sector contributing nearly $4.5 billion to the state's economy each year, Farm Day offers an ideal opportunity to showcase the importance and quality of New York's agricultural industry.

A complete list of all the participants in this year's Farm Day can be found at the bottom of the release.

Senator Gillibrand is the first New York Senator in nearly 40 years to serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee. Last month, Senator Gillibrand began holding listening sessions around the state to discuss new efforts to help New York farmers and farming communities, which she will continue holding in the coming months. Senator Gillibrand plans to focus on key areas of the Farm Bill that will have major influence on New York, including access to financing, new market opportunities, assistance for specialty crops, and investments in renewable energy. From dairy farms, black dirt farms, and apple orchards to vineyards, artisanal cheeses, and other specialty crops, New York farmers and communities will have a lot to gain in the next Farm Bill.

Today, Senator Gillibrand announced new efforts that have been generated through the Senator's listening tour.

CREATING FAIR OPPORTUNITY FOR DAIRY FARMERS:

In July, the European Union (EU) announced that it would no longer accept any exports from the U.S. unless they adopt a national standard somatic cell count of 400,000 cells/milliliter or less. The EU will start banning exports from the US this December. This would have disastrous consequences as the EU is a major market for U.S. cheese and whey products. New York daily is a national leader of milk quality and would easily meet these standards.

Senator Gillibrand today called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make an emergency rule change to preserve this export market for U.S. dairy farmers. She also introduced legislation that would lower the legal somatic cell count (SCC) in fluid milk from 750,000 cells/milliliter to 400,000 cells/milliliter. This legislation would also change the method of calculation to update U.S. milk quality standards and bring them in line with those of our major dairy trading partners and competitors, including Canada, the EU, and New Zealand.

SCC is the basic barometer of milk quality. Somatic cells themselves are not a health risk, but they are an indirect measure of overall animal health and milk quality. An elevated SCC is indicative of poor hygiene practices, improper sanitation, and/or mammary infection. All dairy herds participating in DHI testing receive monthly SCC counts for each individual cow as well as daily bulk tank counts and monthly averages for the farm as a whole, enabling farmers to cull chronically ill animals and pinpoint the exact cause of elevated SCC counts. In 2008, the average SCC in the U.S. was 262,000 cells/ml, which is far below the legal limit of 750,000 cells/ml.

Lowering the SCC legal limit will have potential benefits for both producers and consumers. Milk with low SCC has a longer shelf life, better taste, and greater cheese yield. Studies have shown that for every doubling of somatic cell counts in a herd, milk production drops by 400 pounds per cow per lactation. Many cooperatives already provide incentives for farmers to produce milk under the legal SCC limit, and for the last 7 years the national average SCC count has declined.

EXPANDING FARM CREDIT:

The recent economic downturn has caused many farm families to suffer. As a result, the balance sheets of millions of farmers are considerably weaker, making access to loan guarantees and direct loans from the Farm Service Agency (FSA) critical.

Unfortunately, two types of business structures that are increasingly common among family farms do not qualify for loans through FSA. Today, many family farms have both a farm ownership LLC and farm operating LLC to facilitate ownership of multiple family members. This may be done for liability protection and to facilitate the transfer of a farm business between generations. However, because the operator of the farm (the operating LLC) does not own the farm (farm ownership LLC), the farm is not eligible for a loan.

Farms operating with an embedded entity structure are also currently ineligible for an FSA guarantee. An embedded entity occurs when one entity is owned wholly or partly by another entity. This embedded entity situation is occurring more frequently as more farmers complete estate planning. For example, Joe and Jane Farmer may decide to transfer their individual ownership interests in Farm Operating, LLC to Joe Farmer Revocable Trust and Jane Farmer Revocable Trust per their estate plan. However, once the trusts own the LLC, the LLC is no longer eligible for a FSA guarantee although the farm operation has not fundamentally changed.

Senator Gillibrand is introducing the Farm Credit Expansion Act in the Senate which would make these two structures eligible entities for FSA loans. The financial challenges facing family farms due to the economic downturn have made access to credit critical.

ASSISTANCE FOR SPECIALTY FARMERS:

Senator Gillibrand is introducing the Conservation on Muck Soils (COMS) Act, a program that would provide $300 to $500 in payment to farmers who implement specific soil conservation practices on muck soils. The conservation practices set out by the COMS would significantly reduce wind and water erosion. The COMS program would promote good conservation practices while keeping valuable lands in farming production. This program would benefit historically under-served vegetable and fruit farmers.

Muck soils, a highly organic, very valuable soil, are a minority soil type found in limited locations across the country, including New York. Crops grown on it produce high yields and require significantly less commercial fertilizers than crops grown on other soil types. Being such a highly valuable natural resource, which produces bountiful yields of various vegetables and fruits, it requires significant attention and protection.

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