Chuck Schumer: “I know for me to speak on the floor about agriculture raises some eyebrows, let's say. I have found that as I, along…”

“I know for me to speak on the floor about agriculture raises some eyebrows, let's say. I have found that as I, along with others, have been trying to help my colleague from Vermont who has been fighting a lonely battle, for Northeast agriculture. When I spoke in the Democratic caucus, I heard someone sort of singing ``Old McDonald,'' and other things. So people ask, why am I so interested in agriculture, coming from a State such as New York? For one thing, people forget how much agriculture there is in the State of New York. We are a large agricultural producer. We rank third in dairy production. We rank second or third, depending on the year, in apple production. We are high up in onions and many kinds of specialty products. In fact--and these are numbers that even surprised me--New York has 38,000 farmers. That is 13,500 more farmers than Idaho; 10,400 more than Montana; 7,700 more than North Dakota; 5,500 more than South Dakota; and 28,800 more than Wyoming. So those States which are regarded as agricultural States have fewer farmers, many fewer, than my State of New York. We do have a large city--we have several large cities. Thank God, we have lots of other kinds of industries. But agriculture is a vital industry. The second reason I care about agriculture--and it has been new to me; 18 years in the House serving a district in a corner of Brooklyn and Queens, we didn't have any farmers--is meeting the people who do it.”