Metzger touts farm jobs for laid-off workers
State Sen. Jen Metzger has introduced a bill to help connect people who have been laid off due to the coronavirus pandemic to jobs in farming.
Metzger, D-Rosendale, said the bill (S8134) would “connect people seeking employment with job opportunities on farms to ensure an adequate workforce for food production.”
The bill currently is before the Senate’s Agriculture Committee, which Metzger chairs. There is not yet a companion bill in the Assembly.
The bill directs the state Department of Agriculture and Markets to create an online farm employment portal and then work with the state Department of Labor and other organizations to publicize the portal’s availability statewide.
“People who have been laid off from their jobs in other sectors, and college students who have returned home earlier than expected, may welcome the opportunity to work on a farm,” Metzger said in a prepared statement. “Agriculture is an essential industry in which labor is in short supply, and this legislation would help make the connections between farmers and workers.”
Metzger said the shortage of farm labor in New York has been exacerbated by recent disruptions to the federal government’s agricultural guest worker program as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
New York Farm Bureau President David Fisher said in a prepared statement that the “employment portal proposed by Senator Metzger could be a useful tool to link farms with prospective employees looking for work, especially in times of need.”
Rondout Valley Growers Association Executive Director Matt Igoe also praised Metzger’s bill.
“In these difficult times we all need to expand our thinking and be creative with our solutions,” he said.
Metzger represents New York’s 42nd Senate District, which comprises parts of Ulster, Orange and Delaware counties and all of Sullivan County.
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