MANSFIELD — The Telaak family has been milking dairy cows on Hinman Hollow Road for decades, and a new bill working its way through Congress is hoping to help them keep their livelihood going for many decades to come.

U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy visited the Telaaks and toured their farm Friday, learning about the current state of their dairy operations and what’s planned for the future. The farm currently milks about 360 cows but has about 900 animals altogether on 1,000 acres. Construction of a new barn that the Telaaks expect to be finished by fall will allow them to increase operations by 120 cows.

“Since joining the Ag Committee, I’ve had the pleasure of visiting many local farms in our district,” said Langworthy, whose 23rd District covers about two-thirds of Erie County as well as Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Steuben, Schuyler and Chemung counties — all mostly rural. “It’s a massive piece of territory … but it’s heavily agricultural.”

Numerous policy priorities that benefit farmers in Western New York like the Telaaks are included in the House Committee on Agriculture’s Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 — known as the Farm Bill.

As a member of the House ag committee, Langworthy said that in addition to supporting critical dairy farms and the burgeoning maple syrup industry, he also made workforce development and rural health care top priorities as part of the $1.5 trillion farm bill-crafting process.

“I wanted to make sure our region had a seat at the table this year in particular,” he said. “Upstate New York is very well represented here. I grew up in South Dayton and went to Pine Valley Central School where I knew many families who had dairy farms.”

While about four-fifths of the bill pertains to nutrition, Langworthy said, the Republican proposal led by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Centre, provides federal support for crops and insures farmers against natural disasters along with funds programs to feed low-income Americans including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps.

“The Farm Bill is a five-year piece of legislation,” Langworthy said. “It’s all the issues — agriculture and nutrition policies.”

Delayed since last year, the legislation includes several bipartisan measures such as restoring SNAP eligibility for those convicted of drug-related felonies. Thompson has said that the proposal would provide more funding for some nutrition programs, but also prevents the U.S. Department of Agriculture from increasing SNAP benefits on its own.

U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy (at podium) discusses the 2024 farm bill working its way through Congress along side members of the Telaak family on their dairy farm in the town of Mansfield Friday.

LANGWORTHY also thanked Thompson, whose Pennsylvania district abuts much of his own along the state line, for his support of upstate New York in the bill’s legislation.

“He gets us. Our industry is very similar to his industry, and he understands the plight and challenges that many of our dairy farmers face,” he said. “He was kind enough to come to Chautauqua County last year at my request for a farm bill listening session.”

Langworthy said the session was an eye-opening event to hear the range of challenges facing farmers in the region, from rising input costs to smaller profit margins to state and federal regulations.

“Our agricultural producers need a strong farm bill that will support the industry and get them back on the right track, especially following the pandemic,” he said. “Our hard-working farmers are grappling with trying to run a business, feed our country and, frankly, help feed the world.”

Mike Telaak said the farm bill could help their operations because they can only control how much milk they produce, not the prices the farm gets for making it.

“If we can get better pricing coming back to the home farm, that means the world,” he said.

Langworthy said if the bill is passed by the Senate, it has the potential to empower local farmers, bolster rural communities and ensure the agricultural sector remains the cornerstone of the region’s economy.

“I look forward to continuing to work alongside our small family farms like the Teelaks here and ensuring that their voices are heard loud and clear in the halls of Washington,” he added.

Mike Telaak (right) tells U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy about operations on the Telaak family’s dairy farm in the town of Mansfield Friday.

PIECES OF legislation sponsored by Langworthy included in the House’s base text of the Farm Bill include:

• H.R. 1756, the Dairy Pricing Opportunity Act, to authorize mandatory reporting of cost and yield information from dairy processors. Langworthy’s office indicated this will add transparency to dairy pricing, reducing the risk of unfair fluctuations and ensuring that dairy farmers aren’t cheated out of their hard-earned income. It also includes a provision that will revert the dairy pricing method to a previous system, changed by the 2018 farm bill, to benefit dairy farmers.

• H.R. 7015, the Creating Access to Rural Employment and Education for Resilience and Success (CAREERS) Act, to allocate funds within the Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) Grant Program to support career pathway programs or industry or sector partnerships in key industry sectors, including public utilities, conservation, health care, child care, manufacturing, agribusiness, and others. This provision aims to address the skills gap and workforce shortage in rural communities.

• H.R. 7667, the Making Agricultural Products Locally Essential (MAPLE) Act, to add maple syrup to the list of eligible products under the Seniors Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP), which would both provide a new market for maple syrup and would allow seniors increased access to nutritious, locally sourced maple syrup products.

• H.R. 5308, the Rural Telehealth and Education Enhancement Act, to reauthorize the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program (DLT) at the USDA, which allocates grants to assist rural communities in acquiring the essential technology and training needed to establish connections between educational and medical experts, students, teachers and patients residing in rural areas. New York’s 23rd District has benefitted from this program, previously utilizing funds to combat the opioid crisis and train first responders.

• H.R. 3512, the Supporting All Producers (SAP) Act, requires the USDA to consult with maple syrup producers on where to focus annual research and education priorities under the Acer Access and Development Program. This program is a competitive grant program for research and education related to maple syrup production and the industry as a whole.