Sen. Gillibrand visits to endorse Owens

LOWVILLE — Democratic U.S. Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand on Friday made her first official visit to Lewis County, endorsing her party's candidate for the 23rd Congressional District seat and getting input from local dairy farmers and officials on milk pricing.

Mrs. Gillibrand, New York's junior senator, met William L. Owens at the Tug Hill Winery in West Lowville to give him a personal endorsement in Tuesday's Congressional election.

"I think he's going to be able to walk in the shoes of John McHugh," she said.

Mr. McHugh, a Republican, served as the region's representative in Congress for nearly 17 years before becoming Army secretary in September. That appointment necessitated a special election to replace him.

The senator applauded Mr. Owens for being a family man, understanding the needs of the military and emphasizing job creation, alternative energy development and the protection of dairy farmers.

"And he's as independent as the north country is," Mrs. Gillibrand said.

Mr. Owens said he was pleased with the endorsement of Mrs. Gillibrand and other area Democratic officials present, including state Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, and Assemblywoman Addie J. Russell, D-Theresa.

"I think creating this team that will fight for the north country is extremely important," he said.

Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Aubertine and Mrs. Russell also spent about 30 minutes talking with farmers and other local officials at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Lewis County office.

"I'm really here to listen," Mrs. Gillibrand said.

Lewis County Manager David H. Pendergast said the director of Lewis County Dairy Producers Cooperative recently told county legislators that his group's 188 members — about one-third of the county's farmers — would likely receive $22 million less for their milk than they did last year.

"That certainly is a loss to the community," he said.

Gary P. Rosiczkowski, a former county legislator from Turin, said he recently sold his dairy herd through the Cooperatives Working Together herd retirement program after 38 years of farming. He suggested that all of the nation's dairy farmers should be required to contribute to that program or other milk-supply-control measures, noting that about one-third do not.

"I think it's a terrible mistake to allow one-third of the farmers to get a free ride," Mr. Rosiczkowski said.

Mrs. Gillibrand outlined some ideas raised at a recent Congressional hearing on milk prices. They included increasing the reimbursement rate for the Milk Income Loss Contract program, setting an artificial floor for milk prices and requiring greater transparency and oversight of dairy supply figures, upon which prices are based.

Many dairy product manufacturers may voluntarily report supply figures without oversight, Mr. Aubertine said.

"It leaves the market open to shenanigans, for lack of a better term," he said.

Mrs. Gillibrand also said that imported dairy products should be held to the same food-safety standards as domestic products.

"It's really important from a national security standpoint," she said.

Others suggested that fluid milk should be priced separately from the cheese market and that the MILC program be funded from the retail market instead of through government.

Mrs. Gillibrand encouraged the audience to consider joining her agriculture advisory committee to help develop a more equitable milk pricing system that could be included in the next federal farm bill.

"This is our first conversation of many," she said.

Earlier on Friday, Mrs. Gillibrand told Jefferson County officials she would work to secure funding to extend the 10-28 runway at Watertown International Airport, Dexter.

County officials want to extend the runway by 2,000 feet to allow planes with up to 80 passengers to land. The extension project is currently in the design phase, but the Federal Aviation Administration has approved an extension of only 1,000 feet.

"I will work hard to support the project," Mrs. Gillibrand said.

Mrs. Gillibrand flew into the airport to begin a swing through Northern New York, which also included stops in Old Forge and Blue Mountain Lake.

Times staff writer Nancy Madsen contributed to this report.