The right to unionize and collectively bargain was granted to New York farm employees by the Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act recently signed into law and slated to go into effect in January. While the law still needs some clarification, the Northeast Dairy Producers Association asked Chuck Palmer, labor attorney at Michael Best & Friedrich, for some insight on labor unions, collective bargaining and how these new provisions might impact farms. The second article discusses Dairy Revenue Protection; a risk management option that gives producers the opportunity to establish a price floor for milk shipped based on current futures markets.
Farm Credit’s FarmStart program is pleased to announce the approval of its 300th investment to Whitemarz Farm in Lunenburg, Mass. FarmStart is a unique program that invests working capital of up to $75,000 in northeast agricultural, fishing and forest products ventures showing promise of success. Since the first investment approved in August 2006, FarmStart has invested more than $14 million with over 300 entrepreneurs throughout the Northeast.
The Farm Credit Northeast AgEnhancement Program, a joint effort of Farm Credit East, Yankee Farm Credit and CoBank, recently provided $62,925 in grant funding to 22 organizations for their efforts to support young and beginning farmer initiatives, encourage youth leadership development, and promote northeast agriculture, forestry and commercial fishing.
Farm Credit East’s Board of Directors approved a reduction in the financial cooperative’s base variable interest rate pricing by one quarter of one percent (.25%). This interest rate reduction applies to all Farm Credit East variable interest rate loan customers and will go into effect on October 1.
