Budget cuts hit farming markets

Some programs that help Northern New York farmers will survive by seeking funding outside of the state budget.

Others won't.

"I think there are other ways to provide that funding without actually bringing it out of state coffers," said Darrel J. Aubertine, acting commissioner of the state Department of Agriculture and Markets. "We aren't as flush with cash as we were at one time."

His remarks came in a wide-ranging interview with NNY Business, which — like the Times — is published by Johnson Newspaper Corp.

Asked about the possibility that some programs won't be able to find outside funding and would cease to exist, Mr. Aubertine said: "That's a reality that could come to pass."

A slew of educational, research and promotion programs for farmers are at risk, which has rankled agriculture advocates in the state.

Mr. Aubertine, a Cape Vincent dairy farmer and former state senator who chaired the chamber's Agriculture Committee, said that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's decision to reduce further the funds that those programs receive, and make them compete over the smaller pot that is left, will bear fruit for farmers.

Four years ago, the programs received dedicated funds totaling more than $15 million.

In Mr. Cuomo's proposed budget, the programs will compete for $1.2 million. The New York Farm Bureau lists 18 programs, which in the past have individually received tens of thousands to $4 million, that would have to apply for the smaller sum.

But the programs can survive — even thrive, Mr. Aubertine argued — with outside funding.

One idea the department is considering, he said, is using market-order funds.

In the milk market order, for example, 15 cents of every hundredweight of milk produced in the state goes toward marketing — 5 cents to the federal promotion board and 10 cents to the state's efforts.

Mr. Aubertine said the state was looking at diverting one penny of that 10 cents — which would raise $1.2 million — to fund Pro-Dairy, a program that shows dairy farmers how they can become more profitable. The state budget allocated $822,500 for the program last year.

"You'd never have to go back to New York state, hat in hand, and say, 'Can you give us $800,000 for Pro-Dairy?'" Mr. Aubertine said.

He said the state was considering a similar idea for the likes of the Wine and Grape Foundation, a marketing program for the state's wines that received $713,000 last year.

That means that the programs wouldn't be subject to the whims of a budget process, and would receive consistent funding every year, Mr. Aubertine said.

That still leaves $1.2 million that the state will give out in competitive grants. Mr. Aubertine said there has been talk, though nothing definite, of creating three categories for grants for the programs: promotion, education and research.

The state then would figure out which program would be most beneficial. For example, Mr. Aubertine said, if two education programs applied for grants, the state might look at how many students are enrolled each program, and act accordingly.

"It remains to be seen just exactly how we're going to break it out," he said.

The question-and-answer session with Mr. Aubertine, which will be published April 2, took place before his confirmation hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. He is expected to pass easily, but plans for the hearing remain a mystery to him and others involved in the process.

Meanwhile, he has done everything that a commissioner would do, including traveling to events, running the department and sending out news releases, with the "acting" caveat.

He said Wednesday that he was unsure when he would be confirmed by the Senate panel. Extensive state police background checks are just one of the hurdles before he gets the nod.

But even before that pro forma move, he's carrying out the wishes of the Cuomo administration, and he said the competitive grant system was the best way to go.

"That mindset is changing the way the state is budgeting and funding a lot of these programs," he said. "I think this administration is certainly on the right track."