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For Immediate Release: August 14, 2012

Tedisco, Lopez & McLaughlin: Legislature Should Forget Pay Raise

and Come Back to Albany to Keep NY Family Farms WorkingAssembly members call for special session on tax relief legislation to help struggling

apple growers and family farmers faced with worst crop since 1948

In light of a troubling new report by theU.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) thatNew Yorks apple crop will be the smallest since 1948, Assembly Members Jim Tedisco (R,C,I-Schenectady-Saratoga), Pete Lopez (R,C,I-Schoharie) and Steve McLaughlin (R,C-Melrose)today called on state leaders to hold a special session of the legislature to provide relief to NewYorks struggling family farms.

This years wild weather has negatively impacted New Yorks apple production by 52percent (lowest since 1948); grapes are down 39 percent (lowest since 1977); peaches are down

60 percent and pears are down 79 percent (both the lowest on record), according to the USDA.Dairy farmers also are facing cost concerns over the price of corn to feed their herd due todrought.

In June, the three lawmakers joined with Senate Agriculture Chair Patty Ritchie (R,C-Oswegatchie), Senator Hugh T. Farley (R,C,I-Niskayuna), and Assemblyman George Amedore(R,C,I-Rotterdam) to introduce the Family Farmers and Apple Growers Relief Act to help applegrowers and farmers who have lost a significant amount of their crops due to the extremeweather.

Its time to provide some light at the end of the tunnel with a tax credit for small familyfarms. If not, the only light at the end of the tunnel could be an oncoming financial train wreckfor the folks who feed us. New York should have the backs of our small family farmers , saidTedisco, former Minority Leader and current Assistant Minority Whip.

The legislature needs to return to Albany this year to help save our states family-ownedfarms and not to vote on a pay raise, said Tedisco, who noted that he never has and never willvote for a legislative pay hike.

Supporting our family farms is critical to our state as a whole, said Lopez, who servesas a member of the Assembly Agriculture Committee, and whose sprawling 7-county districtincludes many family farms in the Mid-Hudson, Northern Catskills, and Southern Tier. In thelast year, our farms have been battered by floods, drought and extreme temperature. Thispressure added to the serious challenges of the recession and global competition could be thestraw that breaks the camels back. We need real leadership to make sure our family farms

survive.

Our local family farms are a major part of the economic backbone of our community,but the wild weather this year has placed a tremendous strain on Upstate farmers and there's nodoubt they will endure greater hardships over the next several months, said McLaughlin.Lawmakers must make the responsible decision to return to Albany for a special session not tovote on a legislative pay raise, but vote to provide tax relief to these farmers who help put food onour tables each night for our families. It's critical we do everything possible to protect andpreserve these farms for generations to come.

http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/New_York/Publications/Current_News_Release/Fruit/2012/frt120810.pdfhttp://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/New_York/Publications/Current_News_Release/Fruit/2012/frt120810.pdfhttp://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/James-Tedisco/press/http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/New_York/Publications/Current_News_Release/Fruit/2012/frt120810.pdfhttp://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/James-Tedisco/press/

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New York is the second largest apple-producing state in the nation and the states 694family apple farms employ over 10,000 people and support another 7,500 jobs indirectly thatdepend on a robust apple crop, according to theNew York Apple Association. The appleindustrys economic impact alone on the states economy is valued at $233 million.

The bill (S.7551) has bi-partisan support and was filed on June 4th

in the Assembly afterdiscussions this spring with farmers. While the bill was introduced in the Senate with 15 sponsorsincluding Democratic Senator David Valesky, and has received 25 sponsors in the Assemblyincluding 3 Majority Democrats, the Assembly Majority leadership has so far refused to issue abill number for the measure so it can be debated and move forward for an up or down vote.

The Family Farmers and Apple Growers Relief Act would establish a specialized taxcredit for the 2012 tax year that will allow a farmer to claim 35 percent of their crop losses.

The measure is supported by the New York Farm Bureau, the New York AppleAssociation and the New York Chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business.

The Senate Finance Committee estimates enactment of the tax credit would cost $5

million, which the sponsors believe would be more than made up from income and sales taxrevenues received from agri-tourism to the farms.

Tedisco, Lopez and McLaughlin noted that without this help farm owners would faceadded pressure to give up their businesses and sell their land.

Once a farm owner says, enough is enough and sells their land to a developer the openspace and quality of life that farms provide a community is gone forever, said Tedisco.

People who enjoy eating locally grown produce and seeing open spaces should supportthis bill. Our farms are important to the vitality, sustainability and character of our localcommunities. The alternative of seeing our farms and apple orchards go out of business would bea cultural and economic tragedy, said Tedisco.

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http://www.nyapplecountry.com/fastfacts.htmhttp://www.nyapplecountry.com/fastfacts.htmhttp://www.cce.cornell.edu/Pages/Default.aspxhttp://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/bill/S7551-2011http://www.nyapplecountry.com/fastfacts.htmhttp://www.cce.cornell.edu/Pages/Default.aspxhttp://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/bill/S7551-2011