Wine industry issues

The Agriculture industry in New York is a very divers industry.   The products range from   grapes, apples, a verity of vegetables, dairy, grains and livestock. New York has a number of small family farms to large production farms, totaling about 34,000 farms. There is a vast mix of agriculture in Western New York and Finger Lakes agriculture particularly important to the NY economy. The finger lake region is the largest supplier of grape wines in NY.

Preserving and improving the H2A program for seasonal workers is one issue that concern farmers in NY. The farms have to ensure that they have access to a seasonal workforce within the bounds of the law. The reason farms need foreign seasonal work is because they are more willing to do harder jobs that Americans would prefer not to do.

The Estate Tax is another issue that impacts farmers. Farms in 2009 were able to act later and kept the rate at 35%, as opposed to 55%. Farms were also exempt from the first $5 million when the tax automatically returned in 2011.

One of the best kept secrets of the Finger lakes Region is the excess of wineries surrounding the lakes. Nutrients in the soil give Catawba and other varies of grapes a distinctive flavor which local vintners turn into award-winning wines. Over 100,000 people visit the finger lake wineries between the months of  June to October. The average annual sales for the individual wineries were around $700,000 in 2010. Supporting local agriculture will help the New York State economy.

The Crisis in Japan

            On March 11 at 2:46pm JST a massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake occurred near the northeastern coast of Japan, creating extremely destructive tsunami waves which hit Japan just minutes after the earthquake, and triggering evacuations and warnings across the Pacific Ocean. The earthquake and tsunami have caused extensive and severe damage in Northeastern Japan, leaving thousands of people confirmed dead, injured or missing, and millions more affected by lack of electricity, water and transportation.

“Foods from and near the center of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan last week had been found to contain high levels of nuclear radiation. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano confirmed in a press conference, on Saturday (March 19, 2011), that the milk produced by farm in Fukushima prefecture near nuclear installations which are destroyed, and spinach from Ibaraki prefecture had been found contaminated with nuclear radiation slightly above of the standards set by the government. However, Edano said that contaminated foods do not have a direct threat to human health. He stressed that people must remain calm. About the milk, he said, drinking it for a year would only expose consumers to nuclear radiation which is equivalent to a medical scanning ‘CT scan’.” (FDA)

The Japanese food only makes up about 4% of US’s Imports, but that still will have an impact on how we get foods from foreign countries. The FDA States they expect no risk to the U.S. food supply from radiation. Officials and health experts say the doses are low and not a threat to human health unless the contaminated products are consumed in unusually large quantities.