Antonio Delgado, who represents the 19th District in New York which includes part of Dutchess County, introduced the Family Farmer Relief Act earlier this year, which will ease the process of reorganizing debt through Chapter 12 bankruptcy rules, created specifically to help family farmers during tough economic times.
“On Friday, as the President signed the Family Farmer Relief Act, I had the opportunity to join farmers at the beautiful High Meadows Farm in Hoosick Falls & discuss organic dairy farming in #NY19," Delgado posted on Facebook. “Great to see your impressive cows shown at the Washington County Fair & learn more about how I can help advocate for small organic dairy farmers in our region.”
The bill addresses the debt cap that limits eligibility for Chapter 12 bankruptcy relief and has rendered the tool inaccessible to farmers. Delgado’s bill expands the debt that can be covered under Chapter 12 from $3,237,000 to $10,000,000.
Delgado noted that his congressional district is home to more than 5,000 farms, and 96 percent of those are family farms.
“I led the bipartisan Family Farmer Relief Act to ensure they have the flexibility to continue operations during this down farm economy,” he said. “I'm proud to see it become law.
“The Family Farmer Relief Act will bring long-overdue relief to small and mid-size farms across the country coping with this downturn in the farm economy”
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