Highlighting the importance of agriculture to her district and New York State, Assemblymember Didi Barrett (D-Mid Hudson) is promoting scholarships available for high school seniors and college undergrads who are interested in studying agriculture at a college or university.

“The future of agriculture and food production is dependent upon attracting the next generation of farmers and producers to our region and state,” said Assemblymember Didi Barrett. “The boom in local farming, artisanal cheese making, breweries, wineries, distilleries and other value added products has been one of the real success stories in the Hudson Valley in recent years, even as the economy has struggled on other fronts. We must assure that our future farmers have the financial support to get the education and training to quite literally put down roots.”

There are several prominent scholarships offered, including:

• New York Farm Bureau Agricultural Youth Scholarship for high school seniors who are members of the Family, or Student, Farm Bureau and wish to pursue a career in agriculture. (Note November 18th deadline.) Learn more about the New York Farm Bureau scholarship at nyfb.org/young_farmer_promotion_education/Young_farmers_82_pg.htm
• Farm Credit East Scholarship for individuals pursuing a post-high school education in agriculture, forestry or commercial fishing who are residents of New York, or another Farm Credit East-served state. Learn more about the scholarship program by visiting farmcrediteast.com/en/Industry-Support/Scholarship.aspx.
• Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Scholarship Program for students interested in learning about agriculture. Learn more about the scholarship opportunities offered by visiting nofany.org/events/2014scholarships.

You can also find information regarding several agriculture scholarships by visiting Assemblymember Barrett’s website at assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Didi-Barrett.

“Agriculture, as an industry will never go away and in fact needs to find a way to increase production to feed a growing world with the same resources we utilize today; the only way to do this is through agricultural education,” said Chris Mac Neil, Agricultural Teacher and Future Farmers of America (FFA) Advisor for Pine Plains FFA. “We need to support our students efforts in continuing education in any way we can in order to develop the technology and knowledge we need to reach our food and fiber goals.”

In addition to promoting scholarships for those who are interested in agricultural studies, Assemblymember Barrett has been an ardent supporter of farmers and agriculture legislation that will:

• reduce the property tax cap from 10 percent to 2 percent on annual agriculture assessment value increases (Ch. 385 of 2013);
• create a coordinating council to promote the use of New York-grown products (A.2701); and
• establish the “Shop: Pride of NY” program to help sellers of New York food products promote their goods (A.3802).

She has also penned legislation that will establish a tax credit for farm vehicles that pay tolls on the NYS Thruway (A.7347). Because of her support for local farmers, the New York State Farm Bureau named Assemblymember Barrett to its “Circle of Friends,” a list of state legislators who demonstrate a commitment to the state’s agriculture industry.