First Lady has 'listening session' on ag issues

Hillary Rodham Clinton talks informally with participants following her "listening session" in the Biotechnology Building July 31. Nicola Kountoupes/University Photography

By Roger Segelken

Too much competition and not enough rain, high electricity costs and low labor supplies, overregulation and underappreciation all make New York state a tough place to farm, agricultural industry representatives told Hillary Rodham Clinton at a July 31 "listening session" in Cornell's Biotechnology Building.

On the other hand, the undecided candidate for a New York seat in the U.S. Senate in 2000 was told that farming in the Empire State is feasible because of well-educated farmers, closeness to markets, good land and the help of Cornell, New York's land grant university.

"We are here to talk about agricultural and farm issues that are important to everyone in New York and around the country. This is a listening event," Clinton said to 47 invited representatives of agriculture in the region. "I want to hear from every kind of New Yorker. If I pursue this," she said of the Democratic nomination for the seat now held by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, "I would want to represent people from every part of the state."

Mostly Clinton did listen, taking copious notes, asking follow-up questions and venturing occasional opinions on issues under consideration in Congress that affect farming. The participants, who were chosen without regard to political party affiliation, represented a cross section of agriculture in the state, including dairy, field-crop, fruit and vegetable and organic farming interests.

"We are not getting sufficient returns to justify investing in this business," said Mary Beth Holub, a graduate of Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and partner, with her husband, in an 80-cow dairy farm in Newfield. "New York state has land that grows good forage and also has consumer markets nearby, but it also has disadvantages. This is a high-tax state for farmers and processing plants with high costs of electricity and a shortage of qualified labor. It is difficult to find people who want to do hard work for low pay. I didn't learn anything here obviously," the Cornell-educated farmer said, eliciting sympathetic chuckles from the other participants.

"Do people understand your problems?" Clinton asked. "No, we are such a small part of the population," Holub noted. "And most Americans don't realize how inexpensive our food is," Clinton added.

Another CALS graduate, Mecklenburg crop farmer David Irish, said the current drought will cut his production by one-third to one-half this year and that the price offered for his kidney beans is well below his cost of operation. To make matters worse, Irish said, government regulation is taking away the pesticides and other farm chemicals he needs to grow crops. "Farmers are environmentalists; there is no way we would jeopardize the land we live and work on," he insisted. "If gasoline was regulated like farm chemicals, we would all be walking to work."

Also worried about the loss of a valued pest control was Carol Stull, a producer of herbs and vegetables and president of Finger Lakes Organic Growers. Stull said concern for possible harm to monarch butterflies by Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) toxins in pollen from genetically modified corn could end all uses of Bt, which organic farmers regard as environmentally safe when applied externally to crops. The so-called terminator gene, which some seed producers incorporate to keep genetically modified crops from spreading, also troubles farmers who like to harvest seed for next year's planting, Holub said.

Sensing the opposition to biotechnology for genetically modified crops and farm animals, Daryl Lund, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, said Cornell does more than research genetic engineering. "Biotechnology helps us understand the genome of plants and animals," said Lund, "but we also have to understand the society and policy implications of biotechnology in order to met the needs of today's society without jeopardizing [the well-being of] tomorrow's society.

"One thing Cornell University is good at is looking at life, particularly at the molecular level," Lund continued, referring to the recently established Nanobiotechnology Center (see story), which he said would make advances in food safety, medicine and the detection of pesticide residues. "We need to listen to the producers and formulate partnerships to address the issues. We need a long-term, sustainable agricultural system."

Candor dairy goat farmer Rita Kellogg wasn't happy with county-level regulations, which she said prevent her from offering farm tours to school children and threaten a year's imprisonment if she doesn't comply. Federal-level regulations angered John Lincoln, a dairy farmer and president of the New York Farm Bureau. Compliance with federal clean-water rules costs dairy farmers an average of $1,000 per cow -- at no advantage to the farm's profitability -- Lincoln said.

Winery owner Dick Peterson said Indian land claims affect tens of thousands of land owners in upstate New York, including farmers, and that estate taxes on inherited assets, such as farmland, mean that "preserving family farms is, in many cases, virtually impossible." Regarding the so-called "sin tax" on wine, Peterson said. "We don't think we're sinners. We're family farms, and wine is an important part of the food system."

"New York does not get its fair share of what it sends to Washington. This has to have an impact on local taxes," Clinton said. She also said she hopes Congress approves a regional dairy compact to stabilize milk prices for New York farmers; that federal lending institutions should extend credit to small, low-debt farmers; and that "we have to be creative in looking for ways to be more productive in the marketplace." For example, Clinton proposed, farmers could eliminate the middleman, start a web site called "milk.com" and sell directly to consumers via the Internet. "Food security is part of national security," she said. I hope more Americans begin to understand that."

Dean Lund ended the one-and-one-half-hour session by presenting Clinton with a wicker basket stuffed with New York food products, wine and information about agriculture in the area. The First Lady promised to visit Finger Lakes wineries when she and President Bill Clinton vacation later this month in nearby Skaneateles. She thanked participants for their contributions to the listening session and predicted, "To be continued. I hope."