Assemblyman Chris Tague (R,C,I,Ref-Schoharie) led his fellow legislators from across the state and political aisle on a bipartisan tour of farms and agribusinesses in the 102^nd Assembly District for the second year in a row on September 23 and 24. Tague started this annual tour to give insight to legislators from throughout the state, including regions without a significant agricultural economic sector, into the daily operations of farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs and how state laws affect their livelihoods.

“I started this farm tour last year in an effort to give legislators of both parties from all throughout the state a look into the agricultural industry of upstate New York and give farmers, workers and entrepreneurs a chance to discuss the issues they face in the industry directly with lawmakers,” said Tague. “The farms and agribusinesses in our area have so many amazing things to offer that many people have never seen, and this tour shows the entire process of how our farm goods are produced from farm to table. Last year’s tour was a great success, and I look forward to showing legislators from places such as New York City how our laws directly impact people in agribusiness. This year's event was even more successful than last year's, and the top issues were the strangling regulations continuing to be put upon our farmers that put them at a competitive disadvantage, the one-size-fits-all approach to legislation in Albany that has negative effects on agriculture in rural upstate New York and our economy, getting whole milk and dairy products back in the school lunch program and increasing processing in New York state for livestock farmers. Now we need to get to work and help solve some of these issues. The simple point about food security and feeding our people is best said like this: No farms, no food!”