MADRID — The Farm Labor Wage Board made the decision to delay consideration of lowering the 60-hour farm labor overtime threshold during this unprecedented year.

New York Farm Madrid daily farmer and New York State Farm Bureau President David Fisher supported Chair Brenda McDuffie’s position of delaying a decision and avoiding any unintended consequences that could negatively impact New York’s farmworkers, family farms and access to local food.

“I had encouraged giving the process more time to fully evaluate what a lower threshold would mean for all involved, especially with such limited data from this challenging year. I’d like to thank my fellow wage board members for their time and professionalism and encourage the Department of Labor to continue to work with the farming community to do what is best for our farms and employees. We need each other for agricultural production and our rural economies to flourish,” said Fisher.

New York Farm Bureau also thanks its members who testified and submitted written comments. The care they have for the men and women who are essential workers on their farms is evident. We all value their work and want the very best for farm employees, that includes the ability to earn a good livelihood in the profession they have chosen.

New York Farm Bureau is the state’s largest agricultural lobbying/trade organization.