Another Voice / Thanksgiving
Consumers, public officials must protect our farms
Updated: 11/27/08 6:47 AM
As New Yorkers gather to share the bounty of this Thanksgiving, many are looking for foods that connect them with local farms and farmers. They are seeking out fruits, vegetables, meats, milk and other foods that are grown down the road or in the countryside nearby. There are many opportunities in New York to enjoy this bounty as the state is in the top five in the nation in the production of 24 fruits, vegetables and dairy products — including apples, grapes, sweet corn, milk and maple syrup.
Buying local foods isn’t just good for your taste buds; it benefits the economy, too. Purchasing foods from local farmers keeps money flowing in the region as farmers buy goods and services from hardware stores, machinery dealers and others, or have their raw products processed. Farms and food enterprises are big business in New York and generate more than $23 billion in economic activity annually.
When we invest in local farms, we get the added benefit of scenic landscapes that can filter water, sequester carbon and provide wildlife habitat. Farms are a dominant player in Erie County’s landscape as the county’s 1,285 farms comprise 24 percent of the county’s land base.
This year, support for local farms and food needs to extend beyond the decisions we make when we go to the grocery store. All levels of government have an impact on farms, food and farmland. We are excited to see 52 New York towns developing proactive strategies for supporting local farms, including the towns of Eden in Erie County, LeRoy and Batavia in Genesee County, and Pomfret in Chautauqua County.
Erie County is also poised to take action by developing a new county agricultural economic development and farmland protection strategy. The county could be a statewide leader by proactively addressing issues that affect the City of Buffalo and neighboring communities; including economic development, smart growth and the availability of fresh, healthy, local food.
Actions of our state leaders in the coming months will have a direct effect on our farms and food.Gov. David A. Paterson and our state legislators will be forced to make difficult budget decisions that will impact important programs, like New York’s Farmland Protection Program, that help farmers protect their land, use environmentally sound stewardship practices, enhance farm profitability or increase the availability of local foods. State leaders will have to decide whether to make targeted investments that strengthen our farms and help them produce the foods and other economic, environmental and community benefits that we have come to cherish.
Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate food and the farms that are helping to produce it across New York. In the coming year, let’s be sure to carry forward this toast to local farms and food with actions that sustain them.
Diane B. Held is Western New York field representative of the American Farmland Trust.
