Arriving in Albany, the bus rolled past The Egg, a performing arts center ( photo on left, above), before pulling around the corner to the Federal Building ( right, above) where we were met by Jen Small, a member of the AFT staff. I sat with Choi Wah Wong (who, along with Tonice Sgrignoli, was there from Astoria CSA) and I chatted for a bit with Nadia Johnson who heads both the Food Justice and the City Farms Market Network programs at Just Food. The ride was fairly quiet, with everyone mostly napping, reading or working on laptops. The buses were arranged (at no charge to the attendees) by AFT, and they were well organized – the trip even included a breakfast of croissants and Red Orchard juice. I took one of the two early morning buses that left from Union Square. Local food is fresh, nutritious, bolsters the local economy and is better for the environment. Having farms in our own state provides food security as it ensures availability of local food. A variety of field crops are grown (mainly to support the dairy industry), including corn, oats, wheat and soybeans.228 million pounds of meat were produced in NY in 2007.Apples and grapes are the highest value fruit crops in the state.Our biggest crops are cabbage, sweet corn and onions. for production of fresh market vegetables. ![]() Milk is New York’s biggest crop and the state ranks 3rd in U.S.Why? Because New York is an important agricultural state – agriculture is our biggest source of revenue – and we are losing farmland at an alarming rate (approximately 9,000 acres per year, or one farm every 3.5 days)! I traveled to Albany last Week to attend No Farms, No Food – a rally and lobby day organized by American Farmland Trust (AFT).
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