New York Farm Bureau Helps Set National Agenda at American Farm Bureau Convention

New York Farm Bureau Helps Set National Agenda at American Farm Bureau Convention

NEWS FROM NEW YORK FARM BUREAU

Contact: Amanda Powers, Director of Communications

(518) 573-3617 / [email protected]

For Immediate Release: January 14, 2026

NEW YORK FARM BUREAU HELPS SET NATIONAL AGENDA AT AMERICAN FARM BUREAU CONVENTION

NYFB wins New Horizon Award;

Young Farmer Discussion Meet contestant reaches Sweet Sixteen

Anaheim, CA - New York Farm Bureau President David Fisher and Vice President Kim Skellie joined delegates from all 50 states and Puerto Rico for the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Annual Meeting of Voting Delegates yesterday, the culmination of AFBF's 107^th Annual Convention & Trade Show held Jan. 9-14, 2026. Ten NYFB members and staff attended the convention, which brought nearly 5,000 people together from across the nation and from every part of American agriculture.

With a theme of "Imagine, Grow, Lead," the convention showcased a wide range of educational programming, networking events and thoughtful public policy discussion. A total of 330 delegates and 168 alternate delegates were present for Tuesday's annual meeting, where delegates voted on a broad slate of public policy positions. NYFB's grassroots efforts across New York and in Washington, D.C. contributed to the issues raised for discussion.

Policy positions submitted by New York Farm Bureau that were adopted at the AFBF conference include:

· Support of the United States Department of Agriculture implementing a plan to permit vaccination of poultry against Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).

· Support of the Department of Labor's new Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) methodology effective October 2, 2025. Further, NYFB supports wage methodology that would cap year-over-year increases and is based on sound data.

· Support of congressional oversight of food labeling enforcement by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

· Opposition of mushrooms being seeded in another country and then shipped to the United States where they are fruited and labeled as "American grown."

In other developments, NYFB was honored with the New Horizon Award, which recognizes new and innovative initiatives at the state level. With 25 entries from states across the nation, New York faced tough competition. The winning entry highlighted NYFB's improved State Annual Convention, which has seen tremendous growth under the stewardship of Director of Events and Development Laurie Beach.

Schoharie County Farm Bureau Vice President Brendan Scoralick was a contestant in the highly competitive Young Farmer Discussion Meet, where he advanced to the Sweet Sixteen round. Scoralick underscored the value of connecting with fellow young farmers and promoting Young Farmers events year-round, praising New York Farm Bureau for helping him prepare for the challenging Discussion Meet.

Tompkins County Farm Bureau member CryoBio, based in Ithaca, competed in the final round of the Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge. This highly competitive business start-up competition, now in its 12^th year, provides opportunities for Farm Bureau members to showcase business innovations developed for agriculture. While CryoBio did not take home a prize, representatives Murli Manohar and Abe Pressman presented a compelling pitch for their innovative product, which helps prevent frost damage in crops.

NYFB also received Awards of Excellence for outstanding programming in all four possible categories: Advocacy, Coalitions & Partnerships, Engagement & Outreach and Leadership & Business Development.

Finally, NYFB President David Fisher, who serves on the American Farm Bureau Board of Directors, was appointed to another term on the national board's Executive Committee.

"At New York Farm Bureau, we often say we are the voice of agriculture. This convention is a great example of that promise to our members. We helped form and pass policy positions that will help our farms succeed, thanks to the grassroots efforts of our members," said New York Farm Bureau President David Fisher. "Aside from policy work, we also shared valuable ideas with representatives from across the country. We plan to use those ideas to improve our communications, programming and member benefits. In this way, we provide our members with the best value in their NYFB membership, which ultimately supports our family farms," Fisher said.

For more information on national policy development and convention events, please visit www.fb.org.

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New York Farm Bureau is the State's largest agricultural lobbying/trade organization. Its members and the public know the organization as "The Voice of New York Agriculture." New York Farm Bureau is dedicated to solving the economic and public policy issues challenging the agricultural community.