New York Agriculture OK
GLENMONT, N.Y. New
York Farm Bureau, the state’s
largest general farm advocacy or
ganization, worked hard with the
State legislature to ensure the fu
ture of agriculture in New York
State. The recently ended legisla
tive session proved to be chal
lenging for farmers, but with sig
nificant support from the Senate
Majority and key Assembly sup
port, agriculture will be able to
face another season. Many key
measures which passed, such as
Agricultural Environmental
Management, Sales Tax Reform
and the restoration of various ag
ricultural programs that will
have a tremendous positive im
pact on agriculture in the future.
“Although we faced signifi
cantly devastating legislation this
year, in the end. New York’s
Legislature proved to realize the
importance of agriculture to New
York State,” stated John W. Lin
coln, President of New York
Farm Bureau. “We truly appre
ciate their support.”
Franklin County Dairy Farm Open House
MERCERSBURG (Franklin
Co.) Dairy producers and agri
business personnel are invited to
Stoner’s Hijos Hill, Inc., Mer
cersburg, on July 18, 2000 from
7:15-9 p.m. The Stoner family is
sponsoring this educational event
in cooperation with Franklin
County Cooperative Extension.
According to Extension Agent
Philip Wagner, the focus point
for the evening will be the special
cow bam which was constructed
in 1998. The bam, which is over
300 feet long, is a three row
freestall design with drive-by
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The 2000 Legislative session
also produced one of the most
supportive budgets for agricul
ture in recent years. After several
years of low commodity prices
and one weather disaster after
another, agriculture needs as
much support as possible, both
financial and legislative.
Although agriculture can be
thankful for the many successes
from the past year, there are still
several immediate challenges to
be faced. New York Farm Bu
reau will continue to work on
pesticide neighbor notification,
citizen suit legislation, farm
worker labor issues and agricul
tural biotechnology. The future
of all of these issues will bear di
rect results on the future of one
of New York’s largest industries
agriculture.
“We are thankful for the level
of support we received this year,”
added Lincoln. “We look for
ward to working closely with our
leaders in the years to come to
keep agriculture viable in this
State.”
feeding. The bam has 110
freestalls for dry cows.
Cows move from the freestalls
to a pre-fresh bedded area three
weeks before expected calving.
The next stage is a maternity
area with pens and a bedded
pack for the post-fresh group. A
milking parlor located at the end
of the building is dedicated to
fresh and treated cows. Current
ly, S2O cows are milked.
Tim Stoner, president of the
corporation, will give his com
ments at approximately 8 p.m.
125 King Court/
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Dairylea Cooperative Presents Testimony At
New York Senate Hearing On Ag Labor Issues
SYRACUSE, N.Y. At a re
cent joint Senate hearing on New
York State agricultural labor is
sues, Dairylea Cooperative as
serted that the lack of a suffi
cient, competent work force has
become a major concern for
farmers in the Northeast.
F. Brandon Mallory, Director
of Agri-Placement Services an
employment sourcing and train
ing subsidiary of Dairylea tes
tified about the farm labor short
age that has developed in recent
years. Citing his more than 20
years’ experience in state govern
ment, dealing with the areas of
agriculture and labor, Mallory
said, “I am very keenly aware
that it has become increasingly
more difficult to find farm em
ployees who will perform at a
level consistent with today’s de
mand for high quality milk,
fruits, vegetables, and other farm
commodities.”
Mallory state that there were
several factors contributing to
Joining us for the evening will
be Dr. Arlen Mills, DVM. Dr.
Mills came to Penn State Exten
sion on June 1 as Regional Dairy
Herd Health Agent for the Capi
tal Region. He is based at the
Lebanon County Extension Of
fice.
To reach the farm, take exit 3
off 1-81 at Greencastle, Pa. Pro
ceed west on Route 16 for seven
miles to Oellig Road. Turn right
onto Oellig Road and travel 1.5
miles to the farm. If you have
questions, call the Franklin
County extension office at
717-263-9226.
ul For
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the shortage including, the low
unemployment rate, a “negative”
image of farm work, the season
ality of some farm work, the lack
of awareness of farm labor op
portunities, and a governmental
labor procurement program that
is too complicated and cumber
some.
“The need for a proactive ap
proach to ensure a sufficient
farm labor supply is critical,”
said Mallory.
To help address this problem,
Mallory noted that Dairylea cre
ated Agri-Placement Services
earlier this year. Although it has
only been in operation for a short
time, Agri-Placement Services
has emerged as a much-wel
comed resource for locating and
training agricultural laborers, he
said.
According to Mallory, Agri-
Placement Services meets with
farm owners, assesses their
needs, and then explains an out
line of services to be provided; lo
cates farm employees who meet
the specific needs of the farm;
custom trains workers at the
owner’s farm and/or at Agri-
Placement Services’ training fa
cility according to the farm own
er’s specific needs; helps estab
lish a strong employer-employee
relationship; transports employ
ees to the farm, explains proto
cols and procedures, and helps
the workers get acclimated to
their new surroundings; com
pletes all required documents for
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the workers and draws up the
work agreement; and provides
translation services and cultural
orientation to the employer and
worker, as needed.
“In a very short time, Agri-
Placement Services has been suc
cessful in placing 35 farm labor
ers from Mexico and Central
America on dairy and fruit farms
in New York. The initial feed
back from both the farm owners
and the workers has been very
positive,” Mallory said.
In identifying ways that the
state of New York could impact
the farm labor issue, Mallory
said, “It would be beneficial for
the state to help fund the start
up costs for organizations such
as Agri-Placement Services, as
well as expand job training fund
ing to include this type of agri
cultural initiative. Additionally,
the state should examine the pos
sibility of assisting in the funding
of a public/private venture for
the development of managerial
skills for farm laborers. The in
dustry also needs financial and
educational assistance from the
state in dealing with cultural ac
climation matters for both the
employees and employers.”
In addition, Mallory said the
agriculture industry would like
to see a revision of the current H
-2A program, as well as new legis
lation, making it easier for the
current Mexican and Central
American workers to remain and
work in this country.
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