FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: June 16, 2008
Contact: Michael Blaine, 607-278-9910
Don Barber Offers Plan for Farming Revival
Says Opponent Has 'Failed the Family Farm'
Completing a family farm swing that took him through Greene, Herkimer and Cortland counties, state Senate candidate Don Barber (D-Caroline) expressed concern about how out-of-control fuel prices and the sagging economy are impacting upstate farmers. Speaking from his Tompkins County headquarters yesterday, Barber said, "Oil jumped over $10 per barrel in a single day. It hit another record." Barber, who met with farmers in their barns and milking parlors, added, "I'm listening to dairy farmers, and they say with fuel prices this high and no corresponding increase in milk prices, they can't stay in business much longer."
Barber, who runs a 65-acre family farm himself, believes that high fuel prices call for local economic solutions. "As we move to an economy that isn't as dependent on oil, upstate farmers will find opportunities. Our farmers can produce vast quantities of non-food source biomass that can be refined into both ethanol and natural gas. Upstate New York can become an energy exporter. We can build a new economy and new jobs on the farm and in local, clean fuel refineries. And we can run our farm vehicles with the lower-priced alternative and enter the national energy market as a producer."
With the price of food increasing along with the price of gas, Barber believes upstate New York has the potential to become the breadbasket of the eastern seaboard. "The days when produce can be flown cheaply from the other side of the world will end. New local and regional markets for our farmers will open up, but we have to position ourselves to take advantage of these opportunities."
Barber plans to lead a farming resurgence when he takes office. A proponent of buying locally, he said, "When we buy local farm products the money circulates locally. When we buy strawberries from Chile, our local dollars go back to Chile. We can change all that through our own purchasing decisions. And the state can provide incentives to create these new markets. Upstate New York can capitalize on its tremendous agricultural resource potential to create a vibrant economy. The time is now."
Barber was critical of the incumbent, Jim Seward, who hasn't delivered for the family farm. "Here's a perfect example," Barber said. "In 2006 the dairy industry was being decimated by ridiculously low milk prices. Farmers went hat in hand to our state Senate and asked for a minimum of one dollar per hundred weight. The Senate ended up giving them .30 on the dollar."
At the same time, he said, "Farmers also appealed for changes in the Rogers-Allen Act. They wanted family farms to be able to go directly to the Ag Commissioner instead of a corporate middleman when the price of milk dipped below the cost to produce it. The state Senate turned a deaf ear. Senator Seward is the Majority Whip, part of the leadership, but he didn't protect local farmers one bit in this instance."
Barber put his case directly. "Jim Seward has failed the family farm. If farmers get any more of this kind of leadership, they'll all be out of business." |
