Calverton - The Long Island Farm Bureau hosted its annual breakfast Saturday morning to discuss the many issues facing agriculture both locally, and on the national level with Congressman Tim Bishop of New York's First Congressional District.

The event was attended by several notable guests including Southampton Town Board Member Bridget Fleming, New York Farm Bureau Representative Kenneth Schmitt, and LI Farm Bureau scholarship winner Jessica Anson of Yaphank.

After an introduction by Calverton based sod farmer and LI Farm Bureau President Frank Beyrodt, the floor was opened to Bishop to update Farm Bureau members on current and future legislation in Washington that will have an effect on Long Island farmers. Bishop took a moment to reflect on the role that farming has played in both the history and culture of Long Island, as well as to stress the importance of maintaining our agricultural heritage. "I think that our area would be diminished if farming were diminished," he said.

Since the new members of Congress were sworn into office in January, one of the central issues which has been hotly contested in Washington has been curbing federal spending and arriving at a budget for fiscal years 2011 and 2012. According to Bishop, there are three decision points that will have a tremendous impact on the role the federal government plays in support programs: (1) The continuing resolution currently funding the government is set to expire on April 8, (2) The budget President Barack Obama submitted for the fiscal year 2012 (which includes the Farm Bill), will be evaluated, and (3) The government will bump up against the national debt limit. Fortunately for farmers, the proposed budget cuts will have little to no effect on the agriculture community, with the bulk of the cuts pertaining to education, science and safety net programs.

"There must be an increase in the debt limit," Bishop said, "You've all heard a lot about the chances of a government shutdown. One could come as early as April 8, the second and more likely one will take place when we have the debate over increasing the debt limit."

For Bishop, it is the freshmen members of Congress' evolution from campaigning to governing that will determine how the issue is solved, "A great many of the new members of Congress ran on a commitment that they would not vote to increase the debt limit and they feel honor bound to honor that commitment. Those new freshmen are going to have to be able to differentiate between being a candidate and governing. You say things as a candidate that sound good," he explained.



After Bishop's opening remarks and assessment of current legislation in Washington as it pertains to the agriculture community, the floor was opened to Farm Bureau members and guests to ask questions. LI Farm Bureau Executive Director Joseph M. Gergela III began by expressing the Farm Bureau's concern over the direction the Environmental Protection Agency is taking in regards to promulgating regulations such as pesticide regulations on farmers. "We cannot farm without protecting our investments, whether its wine grapes, horticulture, row crops. We've got to be able to protect the hundreds of thousands of dollars were putting into the fields," said Gergela.

Bishop, who sits on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee referenced a new piece of legislation which will be coming to the House floor which will eliminate EPA regulation of pesticides, and instead, defer regulation to FIFRA (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act). While Bishop is hesitant about parts of the bill, many house Republicans, led by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton of Michigan are determined to reign in and deregulate the EPA, which would be to the delight of Farm Bureau members.

Gergela spoke to the issue of over regulation, stating, "Agriculture is blamed for a lot of problems and not given credit where credit is due. We like to say that farmers are not environmental activists, but active environmentalists. No one cares more about the land and water than the farmers do"

He also referenced other businesses such as the pharmaceutical and petroleum businesses as comparable to farming, "We're finding pharmaceuticals in groundwater. Does that mean we should ban medicine? We're finding breakdown of fuel products in water. Does that mean we should ban cars?"

One attendant of the meeting asked that the issue of importing food be addressed. As of now, pesticides banned in the U.S. such as DDT are exported to third world countries, where they are used improperly, without regulation, and then food grown with these pesticides is imported into the United States. "Every year we import 40 or 50 percent of our food from countries where pesticides are being applied at higher levels that our people ever applied to them, with less than one percent of the food being tested as it comes across the border. If you're going to ban the pesticide use in this country, it should be banned for export as well," he explained.

Another farmer expressed his concern that compliance with regulations such as food safety, pesticide regulation and fertilizer regulation is putting too much pressure on the small family farm, and as a result, fears that we will lose the basis for the country's food supply, with the loss of over regulated family farms. In response, Bishop referenced a food safety bill which passes out of the House and Senate, which had a carve out for small farmers whose income is less than $250,000 a year.

In reply, 12th generation vegetable farmer Lyle Wells said, "I think a diminution of the regulatory oversight would help in regards to fiscal responsibility on the federal level as well. We're overregulated - as a society we need to take a step back and say look we're spending way too much money on the federal level."

"A lot of problems today you're blaming on the new Republican majority," said another farmer, to which Bishop replied, "That's where it belongs."

Farm Bureau members were also concerned with the issue of illegal immigration reform as it pertains to farming, especially in regard to the chance of the universal institution of e-verification cards which farmers believe would devastate their workforce. Though Bishop does not see any chance of immigration reform legislation on the horizon, he is troubled by what he calls the graphic failure of the federal government. "We have allowed demagoguery, anger and emotion to rule the debate on immigration instead of fact, reason and living in the real world," he said.


Again the issue of raising the national debt was brought up by a farmer who said to the Congressman, "There are very few times where you are justified in raising your ceiling for your debt load. From a business perspective, it has to be 'Can we afford that?' and to be honest with you this country has way overspent for way too long to say the solution is 'Okay, let's raise the debt.'"

In reply, Bishop sought to put his view of the federal budget into context. "One out of every three dollars we spend is in two programs: Social Security and Medicare. Add three more programs and you've described two out of every three dollars we spend. Those other three are the Pentagon, Veteran's benefits and interest on the national debt. You have now described $2.4 of the $3.6 trillion that we spend," he explained, "I find it unreasonable to argue that we can't increase the national debt. This is not a partisan comment that is a factual comment. I'm not an unreasonable guy. I'm not a partisan guy. I'm a problem solver. I'm a pragmatist. I also embrace reality and live in the world. What I just described is the real world."

Bishop's explanation begs the question that many in the room at the Farm Bureau breakfast asked: Are programs such as Social Security and Medicare being run efficiently? Is there a better to deliver benefits to veterans?

The annual 'Coffee With the Congressman' event held at the Long Island Farm Bureau was a wonderful opportunity for growers to share their concerns with their elected official, and an excellent demonstration in community debate and discussion. While many hotly contested issues that affect farmers will be debated in Washington over the next few months, only time will tell whether the challenges that face farmers will be alleviated or resolved.