Delayed NY Budget Delays Support Services for NY Farmers

Jim Bedient, president, NYS Wine Grape Growers Ass

It’s springtime in New York State.  As they do every year, farmers turn their eyes to the sky and their hands to the ground in an annual ritual to gauge the timing of planting and a new year on the farm.

Seeds are ordered, and farmers are waiting for the ground to get warm and dry enough to plant.

This year, many New York farmers also have an eye on the state capitol, where past-due budget deliberations have resulted in a freeze on dozens of research projects and support services farmers rely on.

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Budget Delays Support for NY Farmers

Dairy Farmer Association Upset at Beakman and Jax

Last Sunday’s Beakman and Jax regarding a question about dairy farming has upset many dairy farmers. American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman has reportedly sent a letter to Beakman and Jax creator Jok Church and Universal Press. The comic, which answers children’s questions about science, responded to a question about the age of cows when they give birth. The strip, which I cannot find online, reportedly over uses the term “farm factories,” and misrepresents cow diets and lifespans.

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Upset at Beakman and Jax

NY Study Shows Biofuel Could Decrease Pollution, Create Jobs, and Increase Energy Security

New York sources of biofuel made from wood, grass and other forms of biomass could reduce New York’s gasoline consumption by as much as 16 percent of projected use in 2020 and play a significant role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report issued today by Pace Law School’s Energy and Climate Center.

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NY Biofuel Study

Oswego County Farmers to Sound Off in Ag Listening Sessions

Oswego County, NY -- A series of listening sessions with farmers is being conducted by the Oswego County Legislature.

Sessions are scheduled for 7 p.m. May 3 in the Hastings Fire Barn; 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. May 10 in the Halfshire HIstorical Society in Richland; and 7 p.m. May 17 in the Granby Community Center.

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Ag Listening Sessions