ALBANY — New York Farm Bureau in July said the House Agriculture Committee is off to a good start in putting together a new Farm Bill.

House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson’s (D-Minn.) mark of the Farm Bill dramatically boosts the amount of money dedicated to specialty crops and continues critical programs for the dairy industry. “This is something that New York Farm Bureau is fighting for, since so much of our state’s agricultural make-up is in specialty crops and dairy,” New York Farm Bureau President John Lincoln said.

A special thanks goes to Rep. John R. “Randy” Kuhl, R-Hammondsport, and Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-Greenport, who both sit on the House Agriculture Committee, Lincoln said.

New York Farm Bureau is encouraging its farmer members to call and support Chairman Peterson’s version of the Farm Bill today.

The Peterson bill, supported by American Farm Bureau Federation and New York Farm Bureau, contains the following provisions that are particularly important to New York farmers:

u $1.6 billion over five years in mandatory funding for specialty crops programs, including block grants for research and organic certification;

u MILC program for the dairy industry is continued in its present form and the support price program for milk is also continued but based on the price of dairy products;

u an additional $4 billion in funding secured from House Ways and Means Chair man Rep. Charles Rangel, D-Manhattan, specifically for nutrition programs, which will significantly help producers of fruits, vegetables, and dairy products access the school and state and federal institutional markets;

u an additional $2.5 billion for the energy title, which will assist in the further research and development of renewable fuels;

u interstate shipment of state inspected meats will be allowed if state inspection is identical to federal inspection;

u increases EQIP funding by $2 billion by 2012 and enhances other environmental programs.

“They are clearly fighting for the interests of New York farmers,” Lincoln said.

Committee leaders agreed to put in $1.6 billion in funding for specialty crop block grants, research, conservation and produce purchases. That number is roughly double the funding for specialty crops in the last Farm Bill.