Gillibrand gets Ag appointment

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will be the first New Yorker to sit on the Senate Agriculture Committee since 1968 (that according to the Watertown Daily Times). Our new senator has no farming background, but has enough of an interest to have garnered big support from the New York Farm Bureau. In a press release, Gillibrand said “the Agriculture committee has a little bit for everyone in New York, from funding for low-income families that need food assistance, to programs to support the growing organics markets, to technical assistance and insurance for the vineyards of Long Island and the dairy farms of Western New York.”

So now we have Gillibrand in Washington and Aubertine in Albany with influence in ag policy. It’ll be interesting to see to what extent they’ll be able to carry the ball in the direction of the diversified, relatively low subsidy farming of New York.

FYI, Gillibrand will also sit on the Foreign Relations and Environment and Public Works committees, too – both also very relevant to North Country issues (Adirondacks, St. Lawrence River, Fort Drum, etc.)