(The Center Square) – New York Gov. Kathy Hochul went to Long Island on Monday to launch a statewide tour where she and other officials will talk directly with farmers to address their concerns about the agriculture industry.
The tour started as some farmers and their supporters anxiously await a state ruling on a reduction in the overtime labor threshold that could severely impact their operations.
Hochul, Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado and state Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball will meet with industry leaders to discuss the federal Farm Bill, which is due to be renewed by Congress next year.
The governor said she has placed “a special emphasis” on agriculture as the state emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the listening tours are an extension of that. She also said the state will invite U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to join in “a major summit” about making New York a national agricultural leader.
“I wanted to challenge people across the state and help us define the future of farming going forward,” Hochul said. “And that’s what this is all about. We know the challenges that exist. We also see incredible opportunities.”
One of the opportunities she touched upon in her remarks at Bruno Farm, home of the Long Island Farm Brewery in Manorville, was helping farmers fight the high cost of their trade.
She said the state has increased the tax credits available to farmers to help them cover the expenses associated with bolstering their infrastructure. In addition, she said the state would look to work with farmers should the overtime threshold drop from its current 60-hour per week standard to 40 hours. That could involve additional tax credits or finding other ways to offset any cost the overtime provision would create.
In January, the New York State Department of Labor’s Farm Laborers’ Wage Board voted to approve a 10-year plan to gradually move the threshold from 60 to 40 hours by 2032. Several groups have opposed the move, including the New York Farm Bureau and the Business Council of New York.
Several Republican lawmakers have also questioned the plan.
“At a time when we need to be doing everything possible to help our family farmers, farm workers and local communities, Albany’s political ruling class continues to pass policies and issue burdensome mandates that harm New York’s critically important agriculture industry,” Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, said Monday in a statement to The Center Square.
Opponents say farming is unlike other industries and is not conducive to a 40-hour workweek. Such a cap would deter seasonal visa workers from coming to the state because they could work more hours elsewhere.
In a statement, the Department of Labor told The Center Square Monday that the board’s official report is still “in process” and that once it’s ready, Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon will have 45 days to approve or reject the board’s action.
That will happen after the board meets once more to adopt the report. The date for that meeting, which will be public, has yet to be announced.
