Farmers from Orange and Ulster counties, along with public officials
and leaders in Cornell Cooperative
Extension discussed agricultural issues with Sen. Schumer
MIDDLETOWN – Top officials of natural food producer Amy’s
Kitchen met Wednesday in Middletown with local farmers and government
officials to discuss how the farmers could provide their crops for the
company’s massive Goshen facility, which will be under construction
in the months ahead.
Senator Charles Schumer brought everyone together as federal lawmakers
discuss what to include in the farm bill which is being prepared for next
year.
Two main focuses emerged from the one-hour session, those being the emerging
organic produce market and immigrant farm workers.
Schumer said Amy’s Kitchen will open up new opportunities for regional
farmers.
“It’s a whole new market for our organic farmers so we have
to do everything to strengthen that industry, which I have worked on in
the Senate,” he said.
Amy’s Kitchen CEO Andy Berliner had a thought on how to deliver
dairy products to his facility more quickly.
“I had this idea of we could somehow form a processing facility
for IQF (individually quick-frozen food processing) within the area,”
he said, noting they are doing business in India getting milk from small
family farms with one or two cows. It is all pooled together and brought
to a depot. “It’s one crazy idea I had and I didn’t
know how the government to help with that, to have a local processing
facility for things that you wouldn’t want to fresh market,”
Berliner said.
Amy’s currently spends $115 million annually on products to manufacture
their foot dishes.
When the Goshen facility opens, it will initially employ some 700 people
in the $95 million, 369,000-square foot facility.
