Thank you for inviting me to make remarks today on the 131st birthday of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  One of my very favorite things about my new district, the newly designed 106th Assembly district, is that it includes this very first American Presidential Library, the FDR Presidential Library and Museum, and the birthplace and home of Franklin Roosevelt.

I grew up hearing stories from my parents of gathering around the radio to listen to FDR’s reassuring fireside chats.  And my longtime admiration for Eleanor Roosevelt grew from a childhood visit with the beloved “first lady of the world” when she came to tea with my Brownie Scout Troop. Turned out Eleanor Roosevelt was godmother to one of my fellow troop members. 

What I find especially remarkable about the legacy of Franklin Roosevelt — and Eleanor, as well — is how relevant his words, his policies and his programs remain today four score years later.

Last week in a conversation with Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey and some colleagues over the challenges facing our state parks, we all cited Roosevelt’s pioneering Civilian Conservation Corps as a visionary way to put people to work while also protecting our environment and natural treasures.  His advocacy on behalf of environmental conservation and the rich farmland here in his beloved Hudson Valley is captured in this prescient and still timely quote, “A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.” 

And just yesterday in the State Capitol — March of Dimes, which FDR founded 75 years ago on January 3, 1938 — as a response to the US epidemic of polio, had a big display in the Legislative Office Building, with a picture of the Roosevelts and recognition of the anniversary.  

And rarely does a month go by when there isn’t some article in the papers discussing architecture, a museum or gallery show, newly restored murals, music or plays that have some link to the far-reaching WPA Federal Arts Project. 

How fortunate are we here in the Hudson Valley, in New York State and in the United States to have that extraordinary Roosevelt legacy to continue to benefit from and to learn from. I believe President Roosevelt understood his role, as well as our role in that continuum when he said in a 1936 radio address:

“I do not look upon these United States as a finished product. We are still in the making.“

That celebration segued into the ritual and fun of the opening of the legislative session, the thrill of attending the Governor State of the State for the first time, and then a lovely reception for legislators and their spouses or partners hosted by Governor Cuomo at the gracious 19th century Executive Mansion, the official residence of the Governor of New York.

I was pleased to hear in Governor Cuomo’s State of the State message many of the same themes that I spoke about in my own swearing-in speech. I’m particularly optimistic that many of his proposals will have a positive impact on the mid-Hudson Valley, notably his TasteNY program which will help our local farms and food producers by spotlighting and promoting what they do so well. I am pleased with his focus on economic development and education, and, having spent my adult life advocating for the empowerment of women and girls, I am especially thrilled that the Governor has made equality, safety and reproductive health a priority of his agenda.

The following are my remarks from the January 5, 2013 swearing-in celebration at the FDR Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park:

Thank you for joining me and my family on this very special occasion. My election was truly a team effort and I am grateful to all of you for being part of that team. Our victory could not have happened any other way. Your friendship, your phone calls and canvassing, your time spent ringing doorbells at my side, your financial support — it all added up to a solid, “no questions asked” victory — more than 54% of the vote — in November. I thank you all for making that happen.

Suffragist Alice Paul being sworn in to vote in 1920.

I am thrilled to have you all here and thrilled to be here in Hyde Park, the home of Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt, two extraordinary Americans who personify visionary, progressive leadership and the very best of public service.

I grew up hearing stories from my parents of gathering around the radio to listen to FDR’s reassuring fireside chats. And my longtime admiration for Eleanor Roosevelt grew from a childhood visit with the beloved “first lady of the world” when she came to tea with my Brownie Troop — back then being a Brownie was the first step to becoming a Girl Scout. Turned out Eleanor Roosevelt was godmother to one of my fellow troop members.

And you should know, the FDR Presidential Library, where we are today, is the nation’s very first US Presidential Library, and it happens to be here in the Hudson Valley — here in Dutchess County. It is a remarkable resource to have in our community and a powerful legacy for all of us to draw upon. Each of you here today, came in part because you care about our region, our state and our country. You care, as I do, about ideas and about making a positive difference in our world. There are many relevant lessons to be learned from Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and their time in the White House and much of that can be found right here.

We are so very lucky to live, work and love here in the Hudson Valley. Magical moments happen all the time here — watching a glorious sunset over the River, savoring a view of the Catskills while stuck behind a slow moving farm vehicle, enjoying the charm — and the challenges — of our small towns and communities, reading an historical marker that teaches you something new about the region. A recent favorite came while driving from Albany across the Rip Van Winkle Bridge on a glorious fall day just as WAMC was finishing it’s last fund drive — and yes I listen to those fund drives. I was crossing the bridge looking up at Olana nestled in a cocoon of sunlit fall colors and suddenly Kate Smith bursts forth on the radio singing God Bless America. That happens to be the way the Albany-based NPR station signals it has reached its fundraising goal. It was gorgeous moment and I got goose bumps.

As many of you know, I have deep roots in the Hudson Valley as my grandfather and great uncle first bought a farm in Ancramdale, in Columbia County, in 1937. It was exactly fifty years later that David and I bought our lovely old farmhouse in Dutchess County to which we brought home our two babies, Alec and Annabel.

I am so honored and privileged to represent this awesome district in the New York State Assembly. This very large — 70 miles from one end to the other — swath of Dutchess and Columbia Counties is truly a snapshot of America. We have the great city of Hudson and 19 picturesque Towns that range from suburban to very rural. We have Vassar and Marist colleges, the Culinary Institute of America and two fine Community Colleges – Columbia Greene and Dutchess. We have world-class soils and farmland, critically important small and midsize family farms, and a growing cohort of young farmers who are literally putting down roots to become the next generation to feed New York. We have spectacular natural resources, rich American history, diverse cultural talent and a flourishing tourism industry that recognizes all these assets.

We have a wide range of small businesses and a strong core of hard-working middle class families. We have remarkable places doing visionary work like Omega’s Center for Sustainable Living and their new Women’s Leadership Center which attract visitors from around the world. And we have pioneering projects like Habitat for Humanity’s new passive solar townhouses in Hudson, the first to bring energy efficiency to unprecedented levels in affordable housing. We also have cutting edge social service providers like the Anderson Center for Autism and the several Camphill communities that serve our more vulnerable neighbors in enlightened and effective ways.

I am truly bullish on the Hudson Valley. I believe this is the Hudson Valley’s moment. We have it all right here. We simply need to proceed by working collaboratively with wisdom, smart growth principles and a recognition for what makes this region so special. We can create a sustainable economy with good jobs that stay in the region by engaging the very things we love about living here.

We have a rich history to build upon: Smart innovators from the Shakers to IBM; an industrial past that has rekindled new uses for neglected places like the thriving Wassaic Project arts center located in an old barn in Amenia just steps from where Gail Borden developed condensed milk. And the Copake Iron Works, being reborn as part of an industrial history site in Taconic State Park, one of 8 state parks and historic sites in my Assembly district. Nine if you include our views of the marvelous Walkway Over the Hudson.

We bask in magnificent natural resources and biodiversity and we feel passionate about protecting them. The region’s 1962 battle over the proposed siting of a hydro-electric plant at Storm King Mountain marks the birth of the modern environmental movement and prompted Congress to pass the National Environmental Policy Act in 1969, which for the first time required an environmental impact study on major projects.

We have a rich history that includes Native American traditions as well as landmarks from before and during the Revolutionary War. And we have a diverse cultural legacy of music, dance, theatre, and art that includes the Hudson River School of Painting and its iconic artists like Frederick Church, Thomas Cole, Asher Durand, Sanford Gifford and others. How many other regions can claim a school of painting?

Perhaps most importantly, we have a talented, hard-working, educated and caring population. It is a population committed to community. Most of us live here because we choose to; we love this region and we love the sense of community. Folks are engaged in their local schools, their places of worship, their town and village committees and boards. They are volunteer fire fighters and emergency service providers. They are there for the neighbors in time of need as well as times of joy.

These are my constituents. I thank you all for putting your trust in me.

We were upbeat and positive throughout the campaign because I am bullish on the Hudson Valley. I know we can work together to create the private sector jobs that stay local, that we can bring tax relief to our families, farms and small businesses while being sure our kids get the best educational opportunities possible, and that we can assure that folks feel safe in their homes, schools and communities. I know we can do this together because we’ve already worked together to do something many folks doubted we could do: Win two times in eight months in a region that local son Franklin Delano Roosevelt never could carry when he ran for President!

Thank you for your support.

Warmly,

Didi

“One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it’s such a nice change from being young.”  Will Rogers

It has been a privilege and a learning experience to be a member of the New York State Assembly Committee on Aging. The Committee is responsible for analyzing all issues related to the aging population: transportation assistance, long-term care, healthcare, prescription drug coverage and aging in place, which refers to ways to help seniors continue to live and be active in their communities.

 Aging is a timely issue.  Face it, we are all aging.  And as a member of the Baby Boom generation I am part of a cohort that is about to become the largest senior population in history, a daunting fact for our society as a whole, and one we should be preparing for in a thoughtful, pro-active way.

With all this in mind, we launched a Senior Tour last month that is taking us to a half dozen community senior programs throughout the region, senior picnics, an elder abuse conference, and on a tour of a pioneering new model for aging in place, right here in the Hudson Valley.  The goal of these visits is to talk directly with our seniors to hear their concerns and priorities first hand and to encourage them to reach out to our District Office if we can help in any way — from questions about Medicaid, to advice on getting more local fruit and vegetables in their diets to worries about unwelcome solicitations or fraud.

Unfortunately, the aging population has increasingly become a target of con artists and scams.  These can take the form of sweepstakes making false claims that you have won something.  Or they can be a seemingly sympathetic plea for money, sometimes from someone who claims to be a family member.  As part of our Senior Tour, we have partnered with the office of NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who recently launched a Smart Seniors program aimed at educating our older consumers.  We have made the Attorney General’s excellent new initiative part of our visits, giving folks the tools and information to protect themselves from fraud and abuse.   In addition, we are working with the regional office of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand to inform our older neighbors about federal programs her office can help with, including Veterans, Social Security and Immigration issues. Our office is happy to direct calls to the best place to get help.

Many of the programs we have been visiting on our Senior Tour are run by the Division of Aging in Dutchess and the Office for the Aging in Columbia Counties and are funded by New York State.  We hear in our conversations how budget cuts in the last year have resulted in cutbacks in activities;  four-day weeks, meaning fewer mid-day meals for many people; and in some cases the closing of a program site altogether, which means folks must travel long distance or simply stay home. For many of the seniors we visited with, especially in the more rural parts of the region, these daily bingo and card games are a major part of their social life and the lunch their one hot meal.

A new model for aging in place in a rural setting is being explored at Camphill Ghent, a recently opened integrated residential long-term care facility set among 122 acres of  rolling hills in Columbia County. Embracing the values of the worldwide Camphill movement, an initiative for social change, their mission is to “care for, celebrate, embrace and honor the special strengths and needs of those in their elder years.” A sustainable community incorporating green architecture and technology, Camphill Ghent offers both independent living and an adult residence.

Our senior citizens are one of the true great resources in all our towns, but they are too often taken for granted. Listening to an older gentleman’s delightful anecdotes at the Poughkeepsie picnic or hearing how a group of older women in Hudson serve meals regularly at their churches, it’s hard not to be inspired. How fortunate we have been to hear first hand the recollections, insights and wisdom of these great community treasures.

So, having these conversations in a diner — even a virtual diner — was a natural fit.  My family and I are longtime diner fans.  A local diner will always be our first choice to stop — any time of day. And we in the Hudson Valley are so fortunate to still have a number of fabulous classic diners throughout the region. Those retro stainless icons are among my favorite images, whether roadside or in town, and what’s not to love about any dining establishment that serves breakfast all day.

When I was elected to the New York Assembly this Spring, my team and I started brainstorming about how best to be available to our new constituents who live as far south as East Fishkill and Beekman in Dutchess County and as far north as Ghent and Hudson in Columbia County.  While our district office in Red Hook is somewhat central, it is still not particularly close for most of our our communities.

A series of real Diner Dialogues became our solution — and the reception has been just great.  A few weeks ago we launched our first of five Mobile District Office Diner Stops. Irving Farms Coffee House  in the village of Millerton was our first venue and we held a terrific series of conversations with both elected officials and residents on topics ranging from shared services in adjacent towns to Lyme disease awareness.  Our second Mobile District Office was in a comfy booth at Grazin’ Diner in Hudson where the topics ranged from support for a youth center in the city to the impact of real property tax law on local businesses.

In addition to meeting constituents in their own communities, our goal in this series of Mobile District Office Diner Stops is to highlight our local eateries that are themselves hubs of their community. They support nearby farms and partner with other local businesses; they are where neighbors regularly meet to catch up on local news. We are very grateful to all our hosts for graciously welcoming us and the community to their tables.

Our next three Mobile District Office Diner Stops are on Friday, June 15 at Marisa’s Bagel Cafe, Chatham, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm; on Friday, June 22  at the Village Restaurant, Pleasant Valley, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm; and on Saturday, June 30 at Plaza Diner in Greenport from 8:30 am to 10:30 am.  Appointments are suggested. To sign up for an appointment please contact either of our offices: Red Hook at 845.758.9790 or Albany at 518.455.5177.

I hope you’ll pull up a stool and join us for a Diner Dialogue in the district.

Fittingly, my colleagues are a strikingly diverse group.  They reflect New York State’s rich and longtime immigrant tradition and they represent a mix of ages and sexual orientation. I continue to be surprised, nonetheless, that I am one of only 36 women in the Assembly, a shockingly low number for a state that was the home of the Seneca Falls Convention and has long been a bellwether of progressive social issues.

My colleagues on both sides of the aisles have been incredibly welcoming, warm and helpful.  I am pleased to report that unlike what we see in Washington these days, the culture in the N.Y. State Assembly is respectful and collegial, with a healthy dose of humor.  Debates are thoughtful and heartfelt. My colleagues all understand that we work for the same boss — the people of New York State.

As the time has passed, I feel less like I’ve been dropped in the middle of an impressive movie set, the feeling of the first few days.  I have been assigned to several great committees –  Agriculture, Veterans Affairs and Aging — and have co-sponsored excellent legislation in all these areas. We are currently putting together an Agricultural Advisory Council to work with us on the best way to support local farmers.

Our two legislative offices — the District Office in Red Hook and our Albany Office — are up and running, and we regularly meet with constituents and others in both.  To make it even easier for folks to meet with us, I am pleased to share that we are taking our Diner Dialogues concept beyond the virtual and making it real with a series of Mobile District Office Diner Stops at local eateries throughout the district.

We held our first this past weekend at Irving Farms Coffee House in Millerton and had a terrific series of conversations with both local officials and nearby residents.  This Saturday, June 2, we will be at Grazin Diner in the City of Hudson from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm to meet with residents and local officials about their issues and concerns. Please stop by to say hello and let us know how we can help.

I have had terrific meetings and phone chats with many Town Supervisors, Mayors and Town and Village Board Members throughout the district – Democrats and Republicans —  to hear first hand about their local issues. It is my goal to talk with the leaders of each of the municipalities in the district.  I’m finding these local leaders welcome my interest in their communities and respect my longtime community activism and passion for the Hudson Valley. My priorities of creating quality local jobs, curbing unfunded mandates, providing middle class tax relief and protecting and supporting what we love about living in this region are right in sync with many of theirs.

I was pleased to hear that job creation and economic development were among the top priorities expressed by the new Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro when I attended his first State of the County address.  I’m hoping that he is looking to develop the region’s agricultural economy as part of this effort.  While Molinaro didn’t specifically talk about agriculture in his speech, I couldn’t help but notice that the Dutchess County seal, which was prominently displayed on the screen behind him, features what appears to be a shaft of wheat and a plow, reflecting the critical role farming has played in the develoment of Dutchess County.   We may no longer have as many farmers as we once did, but that makes those we still have — and the young farmers who want to join them —  even more important to support.  After all, we all do eat.

The farm economy is so essential to this region that even while on the campaign trail I continue to stay on top of important ag-related events in the region. Here are a few of note:

*American Farmland Trust ‘s annual No Farms No Food Rally in Albany on February 15 where they urge legislators to strengthen New York’s farm and food economy; protect farmland and the environment and increase access to locally grown food.

*A community conference, Farming our Future, will look at growing food, farms, and community in the context of a rapidly changing local, regional, and global food system.  The day long conference, featuring Steffen Schneider, Director of Farm Operations at Hawthorne Valley Farm, as the keynote speaker, will take place on Saturday, February 25 at Taconic Hills Central School in Columbia County. This inaugural conference is geared to local and regional farmers, educators, farmers’ market managers, agricultural students, providers of goods and services, and consumers — all those interested in exploring the future of farming in our community.

*Pure Catskills is currently assembling their annual buy local guide which focuses on farm and food producers in New York’s Watershed area. Pure Catskills farms are located on farmland that protects clean drinking water for 9 million New Yorkers in an innovative partnership that focuses on healthy, working farmland and the water protection practices it takes to keep streams and reservoirs safe.

Lots of creative ideas out there.  I look forward to bringing this outside the box thinking to Albany!

This week I was nominated by the Democratic and Working Families Parties to be their candidate in a special election for the 103rd Assembly District seat vacated when Marc Molinaro was elected Dutchess County Executive in November. The election, called by Gov. Andrew Cuomo,  is March 20, 2012 — less than two months away.  It is one of five special elections to be held that day in open seats around New York State.

I am honored by the nomination and touched by the outpouring of support for my candidacy from up and down the district. I have lived in the Hudson Valley for 25 years and my family roots in the region go back three generations. I work, play, eat out, shop, get my haircut, have coffee with colleagues in the towns of the NY 103rd AD. As an elected official I would expand my work with our communities to develop jobs, services and partnerships within the district.  I would be enormously proud to be a voice for my friends and neighbors in Dutchess and Columbia Counties in Albany.

I know these are challenging times for too many folks in the Hudson Valley.  I am committed to working hard to bring the resources to our towns that will create and keep local jobs.  I will work with our municipalities and schools to get relief from unfunded mandates. I will partner with Governor Cuomo to move our state economy forward, control spending and cut taxes.  I will continue to be a passionate advocate for this beautiful region and help us realize the untapped potential of our natural, cultural, historical and agricultural resources as economic engines and job generators.

Two months is a short campaign but this is an important election for this region. I will be working hard going door to door, stopping in every diner and talking to as many folks in the 103rd as wish to share their thoughts with me.

I’ll continue to keep you posted.  Here are stories from the Poughkeepsie Journal and Columbia County’s Register-Star.

A proper community, we should remember also, is a commonwealth: a place, a resource, an economy. It answers the needs, practical as well as social and spiritual, of its members – among them the need to need one another.
Wendell Berry, The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry

Several events over the last weeks reminded me once again why I love living in the Hudson Valley.  Beyond the breathtaking natural beauty, beyond the glorious American history, beyond the rich legacy of creativity,  it is that sense of community that ultimately matters the most.

Community comes in many shapes and sizes but for many of us in the Hudson Valley, our identify is tied in with the town or village in which we live.  And we all know these towns have their own personalities, whether we feel we fit them or not. In fact, we identify even when our relationship to our town is a bit estranged.  Too many of us joke, somewhat sadly, that after 20 or 30 or 40 years as an engaged tax-paying resident in our towns we are still considered “newcomers” by those who find comfort in that sort of label. But we identify for the same reasons we choose to live here: we cherish the sense of community that our villages and towns can provide for us — and do at the best of times, including the need to need and to be needed.

A beautiful example of community was played out this New Year’s Eve in Millbrook where the local Rotary Club hosted the eighth of its annual family-friendly New Year’s evening  – 4 to 8:15 pm  –  festivities.  This year some 1500 smiling celebrants of all ages filled the village on a conveniently balmy winter’s night to enjoy terrific entertainment that ranged from the popular Bindlestiff Family Cirkus to the Handman String Quartet, which actually numbered six this year since two talented members of the younger generation performed with the gifted Handman siblings.

The Larry Ham Duo (of the local Ham family) entertained with classic jazz, the Evergreen Chorus of Sweet Adelines harmonized a cappella and the Sankofa African Drummers and Dancers had everyone bopping in the aisles of Grace Chapel.  I got a special kick out of the ever gracious Peter Muir’s piano medley of the most popular songs of 1912 — all of which, for some reason, I knew. (I somehow doubt I’ll be able to say that about the top songs of 2012.) In 1912, they were: Waiting for the Robert E. Lee, On Moonlight Bay, and Oh, You Beautiful Doll.  So, maybe you know them, too?

The New Year flurry of swearings-in, particularly those of recently elected Mayors, Town Supervisors, Trustees,  Council members and so on – most of which are practically volunteer positions, and often thankless — was another moment to reflect on community.  Despite the acrimony of election season and the incredibly close races in places like Stanford and Rhinebeck in Dutchess County (three votes each; every vote truly does count), these events felt like small town public service at its best. Family members beamed with pride; grandchildren held the Bible or sang. Friends and neighbors brought home baked goodies. Hopefully that spirit of collegiality will carry on throughout the term because when communities work together good things actually happen.

Case in point is the just announced Dial-A-Ride program launched by the Millerton-based North East Community Center (NECC) – there’s that word, again — to serve six towns that have largely been without any public transportation for years. The process took several years of research and negotiation. Buses and drivers are provided through an agreement with the Dutchess County Division of Mass Transit. The bus service requires free pre-registration (fares range from $1 for seniors and veterans to $3.50 for the general public) and will serve residents of the towns of Northeast, Pine Plains, Stanford, Washington, Amenia and Dover, taking them directly to doctors appointments, shopping, school or work. Available six days a week, service is provided on a first come, first served basis.  To register or to make reservations, people should call Justin Svingen at (518) 789-4259 or email justin@neccmillerton.org.

Community matters in the here and now, but most of us harbor the hope that future generations, our children and their children, will also know the embrace of community spirit.  That’s one of the reasons we do the things we do to make our communities viable.  As is often the case, it is a Chinese Proverb that says it best: “One generation plants the trees. Another gets the shade.”  Happy New Year!

“Serve Your Country Food,” exhorts The Greenhorns, the activist young farmers group that has produced an engaging film and an upcoming book with their same name. “Young farmers are poised to redefine the American landscape along with our food scene,” said Severine vT Fleming, The Greenhorns’ Director. ” We are strong of will and determined to make farming sustainable in this country.”

So who are these intrepid young agrarians?

“The ‘good food’ movement—the interest and enthusiasm for organic, local and sustainably grown food now spreading across the country—is one of many factors bringing young people back to farming in the United States,” according to the National Young Farmers Coalition, a grassroots advocacy and support organization of young and sustainable farmers headquartered here in the Hudson Valley. ”The young men and women pursuing agriculture today have a different profile than generations past: they come from diverse backgrounds and experiences, they embrace sustainable growing practices, and many did not grow up on a family farm. Their families may have abandoned rural areas for the city many generations ago. Pursuing a farming career is a return to these roots. Young people increasingly view farming as a physically engaging and fulfilling career that guarantees independence and leadership.”

Indeed, earlier this month, a capacity crowd filled the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture‘s 4th annual Young Farmers Conference which covered a range of subjects from Basic Soil Science and Handling Skills with Sheep to Helping Farmers and Landowners find Common Ground.

This fall,  the NYFC released a report, which may well be the first of its kind.  It zeroes in on the barriers beginners face launching a farming career in America today. Based on surveys done with more than 1,000 farmers from 34 states across the country, the report found that access to capital, access to land and health insurance were the greatest obstacles for starting farmers; on the other hand, apprenticeships, local partnerships and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) were the most helpful programs.

More than three quarters of those who self identified  as farmers described themselves as first generation farmers. To highlight the youth of this population, sixty-eight percent of the farmer respondents in the survey were under age 35, with the majority between 25 and 29 years old, and most already had between one and five years of experience in the field.

This crop of youthful farmers is actually very good news for the country. Over the last hundred years the number of American farmers has dropped from 6 million to 2 million, and we all know what direction the American population has gone in during that same period.  Furthermore, the average age for American farmers is now 57 and the USDA reports they expect 500,000 — one quarter of them — will retire in the next 20 years.

So, it behooves us to pay attention to what beginning farmers need to make a go of it. After all, we really need them.  Unfortunately federal and most state agriculture policies at the moment don’t sufficiently acknowledge this need or provide the support to keep America farming through this century and beyond.

Here are some of the things on the young farmers wish list:  Better credit and micro credit programs — or grants like Massachusetts has — for beginning farmers,  as well as individual development accounts (IDAs) geared to start-up farmer needs;  tax credit programs like Nebraska and Iowa have that encourage landowners to lease long term or sell land to beginning farmers; land protection policies that make farmland affordable, keep it as working land, and facilitate transitioning land within a family or to new farmers. Young farmers also want states to do a better job legalizing safe and fair apprenticeships and they want health care programs for small businesses that would make it affordable for small farms to provide health insurance for themselves and their employees. Way too many farmers go without health insurance. Young farmers would like to see more programs like Pennsylvania’s Agriculture Education Loan Forgiveness which works with folks who return to the state to work in designated agriculture jobs.

On a local level, young farmers welcome zoning that protects farmland from development and inclusion of farmers at the table where planning conversations are held. Local farmers markets, CSAs and farm-to-school programs are win-wins for the community and the farmers.

Now that the super committee no longer controls the 2012 Farm Bill,  there are opportunities for Congress to do right by sustainable agriculture and the country and pass policies that support the next generation of American farmers. For their part, these young farmers are not afraid to speak up and speak out.  ”We know who our senators and representatives are, we vote and our friends and families vote,” said Tierney Creed of the Washington State Young Farmers Coalition.  ”We need USDA and government support to succeed and we’re going to let the nation know that.”