Rep. Delgado Visits Fifth Generation Dairy Farm, Continues Push to Keep Flavored Milk in Schools

Statement

Today, U.S. Representative Antonio Delgado (NY-19) visited Clark Farms in Delhi, NY as part of a call for New York City leaders to stop the proposed ban on flavored milk in schools and preserve both flavored and unflavored milk options for students. Congressman Delgado was joined by Kyle Clark of Clark Farms (a fifth generation farmer), Duane Martin from the NYS Farm Bureau, Dale Dewing of the Cornell Cooperative Extension and other agricultural stakeholders.

"New York dairy farmers do so much to support our local economies and communities by providing milk and nutritious dairy products to folks across the state," said Rep. Delgado. "It was great visiting Clark Farms, a fifth generation farm, and seeing their forward-looking agricultural practices in person. I will keep fighting on behalf of upstate dairy farmers and will work to stop policies that hurt our producers and overlook the nutritional value of milk for young students."

"Dairy farming is massively important in our state, it's one of our biggest agricultural commodities," said Kyle Clark of Clark Farms. "We're one of the top producing dairy states in the country, so there are a lot of jobs and a lot of money in this state for our industry and it's kind of dying out. The number of farms is constantly shrinking or they're consolidating, so we need to do something to keep our small farms profitable, especially in this region."

"Dairy Farming has been the foundation of the Delaware County economy for generations. Our farmers are blessed with productive land and favorable climate they expertly use to produce abundant nutritious forages that allow their cows produce healthy, high-quality milk," said Dale Dewing, MS CCA, Watershed Extension Team Leader, Cornell Cooperative Extension. "At Clark Farm, they are proud to provide outstanding care to their herd, and great milk to their customers. The farm is more than just happy cows and great milk, along with hundreds of other farmer participants in the Watershed Agricultural Program, they are committed to stewarding their land to protect the air and water for their neighbors near and far. Cornell Cooperative Extension is proud to serve as part of the vital local support system, helping local farms apply effective technology and techniques to be productive, profitable and environmentally responsible."

Since the beginning of his time in Congress, Rep. Delgado has fought for dairy farmers and the thousands of small, family farms across New York's 19th District. Along with legislation tobring whole milk back to schools and support the next generation of farmers though agriculture education programs, Delgado pushed to include farmers in COVID-19 relief funding efforts. Most recently, the Congressman led a letter pushing back on the possible ban of flavored milk in NYC schools. As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, he has consistently worked to give farmers and local agriculture producers a seat at the table in Washington and ensure they receive the funding and support they need.

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