CONGRESSMAN PAT RYAN LEADS HUDSON VALLEY FARMING COMMUNITY IN SPEAK OUT AGAINST HARMFUL TRUMP ADMINISTRATION POLICIES
Congressman Pat Ryan Leads Hudson Valley Farming Community in Speak Out Against Harmful Trump Administration Policies
Representatives from the Ag community included local farmers, small business owners, researchers, distillers and food bank representatives
Ryan and community members discussed everything from USDA funding cuts, research cuts, the “Big Beautiful Bill” kicking independent farmers off their Medicaid, to how tariffs are threatening Hudson Valley small businesses
WALDEN, NY – This morning, after months of working to combat the harms of Trump Administration policies on the Hudson Valley agricultural community, Congressman Pat Ryan led local stakeholders in a Community Speak Out at Crist Brothers Orchards in Walden.
Members of the Hudson Valley Ag community – including farmers, small business owners, researchers, distillers, and representatives from the food bank – joined Congressman Ryan to raise concerns about and discuss the harmful impacts of recent Trump Administration policies. Among the topics discussed were USDA funding cuts, Ag research cuts, the “Big Beautiful Bill” kicking independent farmers off their Medicaid, and how tariffs are creating an existential threat to Hudson Valley small businesses.
“The entire Hudson Valley agricultural ecosystem works tirelessly hard to feed people in every corner of our community. We should be advancing policies that help our farmers. Instead, Trump and Rollins are doing the exact opposite,” said Congressman Pat Ryan. “They’re gutting family farms, slashing critical food assistance, kneecapping food banks’ abilities to feed kids, seniors, and veterans, and ripping health care from small, independent farmers in order to fund tax breaks for billionaires and hand-outs to corporate mega-farms. Not to mention the barrage of ego-fueled tariffs, which are squeezing small businesses already struggling to make ends meet. The president’s cronies get a massive payout while local Hudson Valley businesses go under – that’s fundamentally un-American. Once again, our community is showing up in force to rally against these policies. Today and every day, I’m going to keep pushing and doing everything I possibly can to fight these cuts, fully fund the Agriculture Department, and protect our Hudson Valley farmers.”
Since January, Trump has fired and forced out thousands of USDA employees from their jobs, both in DC and at local USDA offices in rural communities across the country. Recently, Secretary Rollins announced another major staff reorganization within USDA, which will lead to another staff exodus from the agency. President Trump and Secretary Rollins are forcing career staff out of their roles, and our agriculture industry is already suffering from the loss of institutional knowledge.
“The threats to Ag research, cuts to food assistance programs, as well as general uncertainty with USDA support programs has made things incredibly challenging for our family farm business these last few months,” said Jeff Crist of Crist Bros. Orchards. “We have been here supplying fresh healthy food for 5 generations and it’s our partnership with research institutions like Cornell and the USDA that have helped to keep our farm viable. The harms inflicted on family farms like ours by these cuts and uncertainty cannot be overstated and must be corrected quickly if we want family farms like ours to survive. That’s why I’m hosting folks here today as we all recommit to fighting for the future of family farms like ours in the Hudson Valley.”
The Trump Administration has proposed substantial cuts to agricultural research programs that would be immensely harmful to the Hudson Valley Ag community. Our farmers rely on research that is conducted locally, right in our backyards to help inform their planting decisions and protect their crops. Federal funds allow this research to be done at organizations right in our backyard, like the Hudson Valley Research Lab (HVRL), that has helped keep family farms in business for more than 100 years.
“Publicly funded research is foundational to American agriculture, helping our farmers build one of the strongest and most resilient food systems in the world. For over 100 years, the Hudson Valley Research Lab has exemplified this vital collaboration between farmers and scientists,” said Dr. Jared Buono, Hudson Valley Research Lab Director. “In New York's 18th District, fruit farms, which represent one of the largest economic impacts within our agricultural sector, have relied heavily on research advancements to boost yields through improved varieties, robust rootstocks, and high-density planting systems. They also depend on cutting-edge science to protect their crops from evolving threats such as plant diseases and invasive pests like the spotted lanternfly. Sustained public funding is critical to maintaining these research capabilities and developing innovative solutions that enhance the efficiency and sustainability of fruit production for our entire food system.”
Congressman Ryan was an early critic of USDA’s slashing of funds for food banks, and has consistently rallied against catastrophic cuts to food assistance with our local food bank. The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) – which partners local farms with food banks to serve food insecure populations – is facing a 50% cut, which will force the Hudson Valley branch of the Regional Food Bank to provide 2 million fewer meals than last year. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) also slashes Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by nearly $186 billion – taking food off the plates of hungry children, seniors, and veterans, as well as siphoning business from local, rural farms to large corporate farms. By kicking people off their SNAP benefits, by gutting TEFAP funding that helps food banks purchase locally-grown produce from independent farmers, the Trump administration is closing major markets for our farmers, who are losing out on real, once reliable income.
Additionally, by revoking SNAP benefits from previously eligible Americans, demand at food banks will surge despite their funding pools running dry.
“The federal cuts, which began earlier this year, are having clear and negative impacts on New Yorkers who are struggling with food insecurity,” said Susan Lintner, Regional Food Bank Chief Advocacy & Engagement Officer. “Less food for food banks means less food for our partner agencies, which means less food on shelves, which means less food on plates for New Yorkers. These cuts are also affecting our local economies. With the loss of funding, we are not able to purchase directly from local farmers and producers, like Crist Orchards. This is cutting revenue to our local partners who have generously given back to their communities for years.”
On top of cuts at USDA, Trump’s tariff policies have thrown Hudson Valley farmers and small businesses into uncertainty and financial instability. Farmers have already experienced a jump in their input costs over the past few years, and now President Trump’s unpredictable trade policies are leading to further increased costs across the board. Many family farms and small businesses in the Hudson Valley already operate on tight margins, and they are forced to make critical business decisions, like planting and purchasing equipment and materials, amidst this tariff uncertainty and without knowing if these decisions will be profitable.
“70% of the raw materials used by New York farm distilleries come from local farmers, including primarily corn, rye, potatoes, apples. Federal funds being clawed back and the barrage of tariffs are putting every distiller and the farmers who produce their raw materials at grave risk,” said Ralph Erenzo of Tuthilltown Spirits Farm Distillery. “Distillers and brewers statewide depend on Canadian malted barley as a necessary ingredient in production, so the tariffs on imported Canadian malted barley substantially adds to the already costly process of making craft spirits. This puts all the smaller producers at an enormous disadvantage when pricing of their premium products rises to meet the cost of the tariffs; a cost which will pass through to the American consumer and put small businesses on the line. If action isn’t taken, catastrophic damage will drive many farmers and farm distillers out of business.”
Further, Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill rips health care away from 17 million Americans – including up to 244,000 people on Medicaid in the Hudson Valley – changes that place a huge burden on self-employed independent farmers.
“I’m a farmer, a senior citizen, and a small business owner, and I’m incredibly concerned about how these new policies — especially Medicaid work requirements — are going to impact me and my small staff,” said Lynn, a farmer from Millerton. “I barely break even as it is and don’t pay myself a salary. Everything is harder now because of supply chain issues and tariffs, and now I’ll have to prove I qualify for Medicaid every six months. I’m worried that the state and county don’t have the staffing or resources to process these new requirements quickly. I’m already seeing delays that could jeopardize my access to Medicaid, SNAP and HEAP — which affects my energy assistance credits from Central Hudson. I’m also concerned about further reductions to Medicare coverage, and whether reduced reimbursements to medical providers will limit my access to my doctor, specialists and the rural hospital nearest my farm. I just don’t know how I’m going to be able to meet these burdens and I’m afraid my business won’t survive.”
Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” gives special treatment to mega-farms at the expense of smaller, family-owned farms like those in the Hudson Valley. Funded by cuts to SNAP, the legislation increases payments by $54 billion over 10 years to two commodity support programs, the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and the Price Loss Coverage (PLC), that mainly benefit large commodity growers – more than 80% of New York farms do not qualify for either of these programs.
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