NY Farm Bureau Outlines 2024 State Legislative Priorities

[TTL News 308]

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Dairy prices to the farmer are down at the same time labor costs are up. On January 1st the Labor Department began phasing in a new overtime threshold for farm laborers, gradually lowering hours from 60 to 40 hours. A new tax credit was created to help farm owners with the cost of the new overtime standard. Governor Hochul announced Tuesday that the portal has now opened for farmers to apply for the credit. But neither of the Farm Bureau officials are optimistic. Williams says other states with similar programs have encountered problems.

“I’ve seen two different reports," says Williams. "One from Washington and one from the state of California, where employees are upset that employers are limiting their hours. They too are going through the same kind of overtime implementation and the complaints haven’t been from the employer’s side in those states. They’ve been from the employee’s side because their hours are being limited.”

Fisher, a dairy farmer, says it’s too early to determine the impact in New York, but farm owners don’t like the overtime rule.

"I’ve heard from many farmers, especially smaller ones, that they’re not going to deal with it," Fisher says. "Some are probably going to look at exiting. It’s quite a bit of extra hassle.”

 

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