By Joyce Kryszak
East Aurora, NY – Erie County Lawmakers are letting the grass grow under their feet Wednesday. Nine new legislators, or their staff, met at the Botanical Gardens where they begin a regional farm tour. Some lawmakers and farmers want to raise awareness about the importancce of the Cornell Cooperative Extension Services.
Farmer John Zittel will be pretty busy today. It's summer, and that means there's hay to be made. The combines are running. And 260 cows have to be fed a milked. But he's taking a little time out to show nine lawmakers in suits what farming is all about.
He said agriculture is crucial as an industry - from the sustainability of our nation's food supply to the sustainability of our local economy.
And Zittel said that should include supporting the Cornell Cooperative Extension Services.
The Extension provides a host of support and informational services to the local agricultural industry. But since the county budget crisis, the extension's budget has been cut more than in half.
So, that means dairy consultants were also cut. Zittel said it costs him about $9,000 a year to hire outside experts. But he said there's no way to count the loss to future generations of farmers.
The Extension is asking lawmakers to restore their county funding to the roughly $300,000 pre-crisis level.
Twelfth district legislator Robert Reynolds said keeping the Extension healthy will provide a positive yield for the county.
The Giambra administration is currently putting together its 2007 budget. Extension officials and lawmakers said there is no indication yet how much money would be allocated for the Extension.
Click the "listen" icon above to hear Joyce Kryszak's story now or use your podcasting software to download it to your computer or iPod.