Home News Local News Farmers turn out for Calverton forum, question Bishop, federal officials

Farmers turn out for Calverton forum, question Bishop, federal officials

Local farmers convened Thursday at a forum hosted by Congressman Tim Bishop and Edward Avalos, United States Department of Agriculture’s under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs, to discuss challenges faced by the agricultural community.

Also present at the event were Congressman Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the Democatic Whip of the United States House of Representatives, as well as Joe Gergela, executive director of the Long Island Farm Bureau.

The event took place at the J. Kings Grapes and Greens facility in Calverton, with the tour also making stops at Shinn Estate Vineyards and Harbes on the North Fork.

Gergela and Karen Rivara, president of the LIFB, kicked off the event by presenting Bishop with the “Friend of the Farm Bureau” award for his “consistent support” of the local agricultural industry.

Bishop discussed how important “agriculture is, to the economic stability and heritage of Suffolk County.” The best way to preserve open space, he said, is through keeping farming viable.

The congressman, who’s from a 12th generation Southampton family, said he grew up farming with his great-grandfather and grandfather on a Sagaponack potato farm

Avalos outlined his background in New Mexico, also growing up on his family’s farm, growing onions and peppers.

Having worked in Washington for the past five years, he said, “Since I’ve been at the USDA, my focus has been on the farmer.” As under secretary, Avalos said he dictates many policy programs. “I always ask, ‘What does this do for the farmer?’ because that’s why I’m there. I”m there as a voice for the farmer.”

Avalos discussed a number of programs available at the federal and state level to help farmers, including $1.4 million set aside by New York State to study specialty crops, including grapes, wine, hops and corn.

“There’s a wide spectrum of how those funds can be used,” he said.

Another program discussed was the USDA’s Farmers’ Market Promotion Program, which can be used to promote agritourism. “I encourage you to apply for this,” Avalos told the farmers present.

One brand-new program, Avalos said, is the USDA’s Local Food Promotion Program, which “offers grant funds with a 25 percent match to support the development and expansion of local and regional food business enterprises to increase domestic consumption of, and access to, locally and regionally produced agricultural products, and to develop new market opportunities for farm and ranch operations serving local markets,” according to the USDA.

Avalos also discussed the Farm Bill, which he said was difficult to pass, and which he said Bishop worked “very hard” to see come to fruition.

He said that farmers need to research a number of issues, including value-added opportunities, distribution, marketing, promotion, food safety, environmental issues, water, and the needs of the consumer.

“At the USDA, we are a part of the agricultural team and we are there to make sure our programs and policies meet the needs of farmers all over the country,” he said.

The audience at the forum was able to ask questions on a number of issues.

John King said one of the biggest challenges involved the demands of the corporate customer for food safety, a “challenge for each individual farmer.”

in the past, King has discussed how North Fork farmers face difficulties placing their produce into large chains such as Whole Foods and Stop and Shop, one of the compelling reasons he gave for creation of the Grapes and Greens facility, to allow local farmers to refrigerate their produce and ship it to larger chains, as well as provide a way to create value-added products such as chopped vegetables and other ready-to-eat choices.

King asked if a Suffolk County grant might be possible to facilitate getting local produce to larger markets quickly.

“At Stop and Shop, Whole Foods, there is a breakdown between the farmer’s perception that ‘No one gets sick when they eat at the farm,’ and the corporate investors,” King said. “We’ve seen sales diminish because our farmers don’t qualify for the minimum of food safety standards.”

“Food safety is not going to go away,” Avalos agreed. He added that assistance for farmers  to scale new food safety challenges under the Good Agricultural Practices, or GAP, certification, might be to utilize specialty crop grant funding so that farmers can get GAP certified.

“I’m looking to use it as matching money to growers, to make improvements on their farms to make GAP requirements,” Avalos said, adding that the USDA was open to any ideas or suggestions on how to assist farmers receive GAP certification for food safety.

Steve Bate, executive director of the Long Island Wine Council, asked about grant money allocated to states for specialty crops based on rankings; some states, he said, make funds available for individual producers, while New York often allocates funds to an overall branding campaign.

Since New York’s standings for specialty crops include ranking number three nationwide in grapes and number two in apples, Bate asked if the USDA could allocate funding to individual producers via a competitive grant program.

The idea, Avalos said, was one he’d look into.

Lisa Lowenstein, who is working with the creator of the popular Waterfire production to bring the event to downtown Riverhead, said agritourism brings “serious, hard cash” to communities and said agritourism should be promoted.

Avalos said the USDA’s farmers’ market promotion program includes agritourism. He discussed how, in New Mexico, the creation of a corn maze in Las Cruces, in the Mesilla Valley, through specialty crop funding, helped bring in in more money in two months than the farm did, in a year. “Agritourism is important to the USDA and there are programs to help,” he said.

Greenport oyster farmer Mike Osinski, who owns Widow’s Hole Oyster Farm, suggested delivering oysters or other produce to New York City by train, not truck, where a  Long Island farmers’ market could be created in the new Penn Station. Farmers, he said, “can get Manhattan retail prices, with no more vans or pollution on the roads.”

John Halsey, founder of the Peconic Land Trust in Southampton, also discussed GAP certification and the challenges to small farmers.

Southold’s Chris Baiz described his beginnings as a potato farmer; he later turned to wine and marketing value added products. For years, Baiz has described the challenges to farmers as land values continue to escalate and “snowball”. “There’s going to be great change of land ownership in the next 20 years, and we’re not talking about $15,000 to $20,000 an acre. Right now it’s $120,000 an acre to make a living and it will double in the next 20 years. The two concerns we have are how to make a living on our average farm of 22 acres, just the same way as someone in Illinois on a 4,400 acre soybean farm — and make the same kind of revenue off of those acres.”

Remaining sustainable on some of the highest priced land in the nation is a challenge,  Baize said. And, when farmers turn to preservation of development rights to preserve open space, federal restrictions mandate that the lot coverage on those acres be reduced to no more than two percent structures.

“One route to success will be greenhouse lot coverage, where we need to cover 60 to 70 percent of a farm with specialty crop greenhouses,” he said. “We can’t afford to take one or two crops per square foot of this very expensive land. Our concerns are continuing to be able to operate on the most expensive land in the country,” Baiz said, adding that he’d like to see the legacy passed on for the next 100 years, for his children and grandchildren.

Democratic Whip Hoyer said he represented “the 99 percent. I eat the stuff. I consume the stuff. I need the stuff.”

He applauded Osinski’s suggestion about bringing produce by train to New York and said the future of farming was critical.

“Those voters in suburban areas will not be okay if you guys are not okay, for their sustenance, health, and enjoyment,” Hoyer said.

Hoyer also said the comprehensive immigration reform bill was important, to keep agricultural workers in the country.

“Everyone admits that the immigration system is broken,” he said.

In closing, Avalos said, “Our focus is on keeping farmers on the farm, and farmland in production. We support our rural communities. Today, farmers make up less than one percent of the population in this county but they produce 85 percent of the food we eat. To the farmers in the room — the USDA hasn’t forgotten you. Agricultural production is the future of this nation.”

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