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NEDPA Legislative Priorities
On Tuesday, February 23rd, 2021 NEDPA participated in a virtual lobby day facilitated by Rick Zimmerman of Zimmerman and Associates, NEDPA’s lobbyist on retainer. The following handouts will be distributed to lawmakers to enhance our advocacy efforts.
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NEDPA Chair Named to City and State NY’s Agriculture Power 50 List
Congratulations to NEDPA Chair John Dickinson of Ideal Dairy Farms on being named number 8 on City and State NY‘s Agriculture Power 50 list! John, alongside 8 other dedicated board members, oversee the Northeast Dairy Producers Association’s work educating, supporting and advocating for dairy farms of all sizes across the state. The organization is part of the Grow NY Farms coalition, which is pushing to keep in place a 60-hour overtime threshold for farm laborers.
This is City & State’s first agriculture-focused list, highlighting public officials, farmers, business executives, association heads, labor leaders, policymakers and others who have shaped New York’s agricultural landscape.
Check out the full list here: https://www.cityandstateny.com/…/agriculture-power-…/185206/
The Northeast Dairy Producers Association Kicks Off June Dairy Month With NYS Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball at Ideal Dairy Farms and Argyle Cheese Farmer
NEDPA Board Chair John Dickinson today welcomed NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Richard Ball to his family dairy farm in celebration of June Dairy Month. Along with Assemblymember Carrie Woerner and a representative of Senator Dan Stec, the Commissioner visited and toured Ideal Dairy Farms and Argyle Cheese Farmer in Hudson Falls, NY.
John Dickinson, Ideal Dairy Farms owner, and Northeast Dairy Producers Association board chair, said, “Our ability to expand, create jobs, and continue to provide high quality milk to our communities is due in large part to the hard-working employees who we are fortunate to have by our side on the farm every day. A passion for cow care, environmental stewardship, and teamwork is not easy to come by, and we are thankful for every employee who helps us get nutritious milk and dairy products to families across the state. As I raise a glass of milk to the Ideal Dairy Farms team, I encourage New Yorkers to not only celebrate Dairy Month in June, but year-round.”
NYS Agriculture Commissioner Ball said, “We are excited to celebrate Dairy Month, which provides us all an opportunity to recognize New York’s tremendous dairy farmers and dairy manufacturers who are producing and processing some of the very best dairy products in the world. At the Department, we are proud of our efforts to support our dairy community, especially over this difficult past year, with programs such as Nourish New York and the Farmland Protection program, while also focusing our efforts on promoting our dairy products to consumers around the globe. We have a lot to be proud of when it comes to New York dairy and I encourage everyone to support their local farms and processors this month and always.”
Assemblymember Carrie Woerner said, “The partnership between Ideal Dairy Farms and the Argyle Cheese Farmer is a wonderful venture for our community and for local agriculture. The Argyle Cheese farmer takes local milk and turns it into cheeses, cheese curds, and yogurt as well as products incorporating these into smoothies, dips and even meal prep including take and bake pizzas – all of this at their new processing facility and retail store right in Hudson Falls. The venture is a resounding success for the community in terms of creative ways to market local products and even better, it gives the community the opportunity to deliciously and conveniently “eat local”.
Read the full NEDPA Statement on today’s visit here: https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:ecdf6033-c916-42c1-98bb-c64fb1c9fc90
Call to Action: Contributions Needed for Grow NY Farms Coalition Farm Labor Campaign
The Grow NY Farms Coalition, made up of leading farmers and farm organizations in New York State, is requesting your support in building another successful farm labor campaign leading up to the reconvening of the Farm Labor Wage Board in late November. Our work towards maintaining a 60-hour overtime threshold must begin now. To amplify the farmer and farm employee voice, the coalition has elected the help of the public relations firm, Martin Group, to implement a media campaign that will demonstrate how the overtime threshold has impacted New York farms, employees and their families, and that a 60-hour overtime threshold is the absolute line in the sand for New York agriculture. In addition, NEDPA will be working with Corning Place Communications, our public relations firm on retainer, to develop on farm videos highlighting our dairy farms and industry partners. It is the voices of the farmers, employees, and third-party validators who need to be heard in Albany and beyond. The success of this campaign will be reflective of the agriculture industry’s participation and support. Read the full Grow NY Farms Coalition Call to Action Letter.
Make your contribution out to Grow NY Farms and mail to:
Grow NY Farms
8351 Lewiston Rd #3-304
Batavia, NY 14020
NEDPA Director Jon Patterson Discusses Producing RNG via Anaerobic Digestion and the Clean Fuel Standard on New York NOW
A statement from Northeast Dairy Producers Association Board Chair John Dickinson on the NYS Budget agreement:
2021 Friend of NEDPA Award
During the NEDPA Annual Meeting on March 19th, Bob Gray of the Agriculture Labor Coalition was presented the “Friend of NEDPA” award for his many years of dedication working on farm labor issues. Check out the video below to see NEDPA Executive Director Tonya Van Slyke honoring Bob Gray and presenting the award. Congratulations and enjoy your retirement, Bob!
Richard Popp Memorial Leadership Award – Maureen Torrey-Marshall of Torrey Farms
Richard “Dick” Popp was a founding member of NEDPA and a passionate man of integrity, grit and conviction. Following his death in 1997 at only 58 years of age, NEDPA established a memorial award to recognize members who portray Dick’s leadership qualities, pioneering spirit, and selfless contributions to agriculture and their community.
NEDPA is honoring Maureen Torrey Marshall as the 2020 recipient of the Richard Popp Memorial Leadership Award. Maureen’s passion for agriculture, her persistence in advocating on its behalf, and her leadership in collaborating, fostering teamwork and empowering her peers has had an impact all farm businesses.
Click Full Screen on the bottom right corner to enlarge the video.
All totaled, NEDPA member farms now represent over 216,000 milking cows! This equates to over half the milk produced in New York State. Thank you to our members for their continued support!
Go to GrowNYFarms.com for more about NYS farmers and farmworkers that care for the animals and land that produce your food. Here you can advocate for maintaining the current overtime threshold at 60 hours.