3 days ago
Riley protecting Lisle dairy farmer betrayed by government
TOWN OF LISLE, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – Congressman Josh Riley says he has stepped in on behalf of a Lisle dairy farmer who was being betrayed by the federal government.
Riley met with seventh-generation farmer Scott Glezen on wednesday.
Glezen has 2,400 milking cows and about 2,000 calves on his farm in the Town of Lisle. He also grows 3,300 acres of corn and 2,300 of wheat.
Glezen had entered into a five-year contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in which the USDA would pay him roughly $192,000 to plant winter wheat on a portion of his land.
Winter wheat or rye is a cover crop that grows well in lower temperatures, allowing it to conserve soil and absorb rain in late fall and early spring.
Riley suspects that because the contract referred to improving resilience to climate change, DOGE canceled the deal.
'In Upstate New York, when you make a promise to somebody, a handshake means something, and you keep your word. In Washington, these folks are so hell-bent on giving tax breaks to Wall Street that they want to break a contract with somebody like Scott so that they can pay for it. It is everything that is wrong with Washington and the opposite of what we believe here in upstate New York,' said Riley.
Glezen says he had already laid out the money to plant the crops last fall and that they've done a great job absorbing all of the rain we've been receiving this spring. He says the grant is to protect the environment and doesn't benefit him financially.
'It's been really difficult for us to understand how politics creep into things like this. It's been puzzling to us. I have my own political beliefs, everybody has their own political beliefs. I don't know how sustainable practices and conservation practices become so political. It just surprises me,' said Glezen.
The grant was recently reinstated after Riley addressed the House Agriculture Committee, demanding that the contract be honored.
Riley has also introduced bipartisan legislation called the Honor Farmer Contracts Act, which would require the federal government to fulfill its obligations to small family farms.
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