Federal government pitches idea to connect out-of-work veterans with potential careers in agriculture ~ O'Mara cites it as another potential avenue for assisting NYS veterans and strengthening agriculture in keeping with Senate's 'Grown in NY' strategy

Since 2013, State Senator Tom O’Mara (R-C, Big Flats), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and his Senate colleagues have pushed a comprehensive legislative strategy called “Grown in New York” aimed at keeping New York State's leading industry competitive for the next generation.

"We need to keep taking actions that can help keep our next generation of farmers competitive for the long haul.  We can’t risk New York State’s young farmers being taxed, regulated and priced out of business.  The ‘Grown in New York’ plan is a bold, common sense blueprint to keep New York a proud and strong agricultural state, and we’re hopeful that we can enact even more pieces of the strategy this session,” said O’Mara, who also serves as one of 10 members on the Legislature’s joint, bipartisan Commission on Rural Resources.  “Farming has been a mainstay of upstate New York’s culture and economy for centuries, and it remains the backbone of many of our communities.  But the challenges and the competition are tougher than ever.”

Over the past few years, including in the 2015-2016 state budget, Grown in NY has helped initiate critical new laws and programs to assist farmers and the entire agricultural industry, including a new program last year to provide start-up grants to beginning farmers.

Now out of Washington comes the idea to try to connect out-of-work or underemployed veterans with careers in farming and the agricultural industry.

Noting the a high percentage of the nation's veterans grew up in rural America, United States Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently said, "We want to give them an opportunity if they want to return to a small town."

Read more, "Feds work to make farming attractive to veterans"