Assemblyman Chris Tague (R,C-Schoharie) is happy to report that another successful agriculture tour has come and gone.

A two-day exhibition of diverse farm and community hotspots were featured on the tour, from Raven’s View Genetics, a cannabis farm that has partnerships with SUNY Delhi and Cornell University, to Fly Creek Cider Mill and Orchard, which was recently rated #1 on a list of the country’s best cideries by USA Today. They also visited Don’s Dairy Supply, Inc., Ommegang Brewery, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Susquehanna SPCA, the Farmer’s Museum, Chobani, and Curtain Dairy, LP.

Elected representatives from both parties and both houses of the Legislature attended the tour to learn about the unique challenges farmers face, from regulatory burdens to unreliable instruction from state institutions, and gave the legislators feedback on where they could help improve the laws moving forward. Tague, who has run the tour in bipartisan spirit for six years now, was honored to host it once more.

“It’s no secret that one of my passions as a legislator is my desire to serve the farmers of this state better. I’m just glad that so many of my colleagues from both the Assembly and Senate took the time out of their busy schedules to join me in this exercise so we could better represent the farmers of this state,” Tague said.

“If there’s one thing I hope all members of the tour learned on this trip, it’s that these farmers are hardworking, organized, dedicated and passionate about their livelihoods. They know what they’re talking about, and they have their communities behind them, because they provide a direct benefit to these communities. It’s now our job as legislators to continue to support their enterprise and make farming in New York sustainable, not just for the land, but for the men and women who want to work in this industry. Let’s always remember: No Farms, No Food!” Tague concluded.