US EditionDairy Farms Split $21M in State Funding as Proposed Bill Raises Alarms
- New York State announced over $21 million in Dairy Modernization Grant funding to more than 100 farms to support equipment upgrades and storage expansions, including 13 farms in Western New York receiving $2.7 million.
- The funding follows debates over legislation introduced in Albany that would cap farms at 700 cows and ban new mega-dairies, amid claims such farms harm the environment and concerns from local officials about impacts on family-scale farms.
- The agriculture coordinator for Jefferson County expressed strong opposition to the bill, arguing that dairy farms with more than 700 cows are small, family-run operations essential to local communities, while proponents emphasize the importance of increasing dairy processing capabilities and sustaining investment in New York’s food industry.
- State Senate Republicans and agribusiness groups condemned the legislation as driven by downstate politicians disconnected from upstate farms, with Sen. Joseph Griffo calling it 'preposterous' and Rep. Stefanik warning it would block new dairy permits and dismantle the supply chain.
- The debate highlights tensions between efforts to support dairy industry growth and environmental concerns, as mega-dairies expand while family farms decline and environmental groups call for stopping new factory farms to protect communities and ecosystems.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Farmers oppose bill to limit dairy cows on NY farms
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)----At the New York State Capitol on Wednesday, Ray Dykeman stood alongside Republican lawmakers, the New York Farm Bureau, and the Northeast Dairy Producers Association to oppose a bill that would limit the size of dairy farms in the state. "To say that I’m a frustrated dairy farmer in New York State would be an understatement. I don’t understand how a bill like this even gets remotely this far," said Ray Dykeman of Dykeman…
Industry “Dairy Day” Sells False Image of NY Mega-Dairies
Albany, NY — Today, state Senate and Assembly Republicans will join big agribusiness groups to hold a press conference at the State Capitol in support of the mega-dairy industry. The move comes on the heels of the introduction of new legislation to ban new mega-dairies and factory farms in New York. Recent Food & Water Watch analysis of New York’s mega dairy industry reveals the following: Mega-Dairy explosion: From 2002-2022 about two thirds o…
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