Ira Frieband, of Hampton Bays, Long Island, is not and never was a farmer, although he did graduate from the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Farm Bureau may be the closest he gets to farming these days.

No, not really. There are farms all around him in Suffolk County. He sees them from the windshield of his new Dodge Ram 2500 all the time, as he heads to his favorite fishing spots, or stops by to pick up fresh-grown produce.

Freiband, a retired computer systems manager with the law enforcement department of Long Island Rail Road, loves the idea that by being a Farm Bureau member he can qualify for a five hundred dollar rebate on the purchase of Dodge pickup trucks.

“It works for me,” says Freiband. “This is the second time I have bought a Dodge here at Riverhead Dodge and gotten the rebate. It’s a heck of a deal.”

And farms? Oh, yeah. He uses his Long Island Farm Bureau membership card to get a 10 percent discount on farm-fresh produce at dozens of participating stands.