West Seneca, N.Y. (WBEN) – It was last week when Congressman Nick Langworthy (NY-23) voted to pass the "Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024", also known as the Farm Bill, during the House Committee on Agriculture's markup of the legislation.
Langworthy was in Western New York on Friday to highlight and discuss his priorities he voted to secure for Western New York and the Southern Tier as part of the Farm Bill in Washington, D.C.
"Agriculture is big business, and one of our jobs - I, as one of the two New Yorkers on the Agriculture Committee - is to remind our colleagues around the country that New York is an ag state. It's big business, it's our top industry," said Langworthy on Friday at Upstate Farms' Niagara Cultured Facility in West Seneca. "Our farmers, our producers, they depend on these cooperatives to get their products to market, and we need to have their backs. The work in the Farm Bill, which we were very proud to produce out of committee, I think is going to help them do that very much."
The Farm Bill is a comprehensive piece of legislation passed roughly every five years that sets national agriculture, nutrition, conservation, and forestry policy. It includes provisions for crop protections, rural development, conservation, nutrition assistance programs like SNAP, and more. The bill aims to support farmers, ensure food security, promote sustainable agriculture, and allow our nation to compete on the world stage.
The markup is the last step in the committee process, allowing members to add amendments before the legislation is voted to the House floor — including an amendment to add Congressman Langworthy's GRAPE Act that would provide comprehensive crop insurance for grape growers who suffer losses due to freeze events, which passed unanimously.
Overall, six bills sponsored by Rep. Langworthy were included in the Farm Bill, reflecting his commitment to addressing the unique needs of Western New York and the Southern Tier.
As a member of the committee, Congressman Langworthy worked to include pieces of legislation he had previously introduced to benefit farmers and rural communities in Western New York and the Southern Tier. In addition to supporting our critical dairy farms and burgeoning maple syrup industry, he has also made workforce development and rural healthcare top priorities, and this Farm Bill has been an important vehicle for advancing those initiatives.
"If passed, and we do need to keep the pressure on to get this bill passed on the floor of the House, it has the potential to empower our farmers, bolster our rural communities and ensure that our agricultural sector remains a cornerstone of our economy," Langworthy said. "I look forward to working closely alongside producers and cooperatives like Upstate Niagara to support our local farms, and ensure their voices are heard loud and clear in Washington."
Pieces of legislation sponsored by Congressman Langworthy included in the 2024 Farm Bill are:
H.R. 1756: Dairy Pricing Opportunity Act
This bill will authorize mandatory reporting of cost and yield information from dairy processors. This will add transparency to dairy pricing, reducing the risk of unfair fluctuations and ensuring that dairy farmers aren't cheated out of their hard-earned income. It also includes a provision that will revert the dairy pricing method to a previous system, changed by the 2018 Farm Bill, to benefit dairy farmers.
H.R. 7015: Creating Access to Rural Employment and Education for Resilience and Success (CAREERS) Act
This piece of legislation will allocate funds within the Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) Grant Program to support career pathway programs or industry or sector partnerships in key industry sectors, including public utilities, conservation, health care, child care, manufacturing, agribusiness, and others. This provision aims to address the skills gap and workforce shortage in rural communities.
H.R. 7667: Making Agricultural Products Locally Essential (MAPLE) Act
This bill will add maple syrup to the list of eligible products under the Seniors Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP), which would both provide a new market for maple syrup and would allow seniors increased access to nutritious, locally sourced maple syrup products.
H.R. 5308: Rural Telehealth and Education Enhancement Act
This legislation will reauthorize the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program (DLT) at the USDA, which allocates grants to assist rural communities in acquiring the essential technology and training needed to establish connections between educational and medical experts, students, teachers, and patients residing in rural areas. New York's 23rd District has benefitted from this program, previously utilizing funds to combat the opioid crisis and train first responders.
H.R. 3512: Supporting All Producers (SAP) Act
This bill requires the USDA to consult with maple syrup producers on where to focus annual research and education priorities under the Acer Access and Development Program. This program is a competitive grant program for research and education related to maple syrup production and the industry as a whole.
H.R. 8359: Grape Research and Protection Expansion (GRAPE) Act
This piece of legislation will provide comprehensive crop insurance for grape growers who suffer losses due to freeze events, addressing a significant gap in current agricultural support policies. This legislation follows the unexpected hard frost that the Lake Erie grape belt suffered in April, causing substantial damage that threatened the entire crop and resulted in major financial losses for local producers.
