Borrello, Gallivan host agriculture roundtable
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Senator George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay and ranking member of the state Senate Agriculture Committee, and Sen. Patrick Gallivan brought together 40 farmers and agricultural leaders recently for a roundtable discussion focused on the rising costs and workforce challenges confronting New York agriculture.
Held at Hidden Valley Lodge and hosted by Hans Boxler of Boxler Farms, the discussion included farmers from Wyoming, Genesee and Erie counties as well as representatives of leading agricultural organizations.
"Agriculture is one of New York's most important industries and an essential part of the economy and way of life here in Western New York. Yet even in the best of times, farming is a difficult business with tight margins and circumstances that are often beyond a producer's control," Borrello said. "What we heard today reinforced just how many pressures are converging on our farmers at once."
Much of the discussion centered on the widening gap between what it costs to operate a farm and what farmers are able to earn. Higher utility rates were cited as a major source of strain, along with difficulties getting the electrical service needed to expand their farms. Other key issues they cited as difficulties were New York's high labor costs including the farmworker overtime mandate, diesel prices and declining milk prices.
These pressures come as New York continues to lose farms. According to the state Comptroller's Office, the state lost 500 farms and 100,000 acres of farmland between 2024 and 2025, twice the national rate. This comes on top of the 8 percent drop in total farms and 40 percent decrease in dairy farms the state experienced between the 2017 and 2022 USDA Agriculture Censuses, marking one of the steepest declines in decades.
"The only way for policymakers to understand the challenges of dairy farming and the volatile markets we are dealing with, especially right now, is to see first-hand the work taking place on our family farms and to have open dialogue," said A.J. Wormuth, Northeast Dairy Producers Association chair and dairy farmer. "I commend the senators and their colleagues across the state for continuing to seek out farmers to better understand the detrimental impacts rising utility, labor, diesel and other input costs have on family farms. We simply cannot rely on importing food and through conversations like these, we're able to work toward solutions that strengthen our local food supply, support the sustainability of farms, and ensure a future for the next generation of farmers."
Participants also raised concerns about local regulations that can conflict with state protections for farms in agricultural districts, forcing farmers to seek state intervention, a process that can be especially burdensome for new and startup farms.
"We produce some of the highest-quality dairy products, meat, fruits and vegetables anywhere in the country, and our farmers benefit from the world-class research, innovation and technical expertise of Cornell CALS and Cooperative Extension," Borrello said. "We're also seeing roughly $3 billion in new and expanded dairy processing investments across upstate New York. That is a tremendous vote of confidence in the future of New York agriculture and an opportunity we cannot afford to squander. One of the most valuable things we can do as legislators is get out of Albany, sit down with the people affected by these policies and listen. There are issues we can address at the state level, others that require action in Washington, and some where state and federal policies overlap. We will take what we heard today back to Albany and continue advocating for policies that give our farmers a fighting chance to succeed."