When LI farms go, they're gone forever

When LI farms go, they’re gone forever

As a daughter of a North Fork potato farmer, I have witnessed the struggles and eventual demise of a family farm [“Winds of change challenge LI’s legacy farms,” News, July 29].

Many farmers still suffer from government regulations and zoning and basic lack of support and understanding of the hardships imposed on our local farmers. The Long Island Farm Bureau

is no longer the source of help that it once was.

I can speak personally of the sacrifices, futility and loss of dignity that farmers continue to endure not only against ever-increasing odds and now the weather, too. As Doug Cooper of Mattituck said in the article, “The government has sucked all the joy out of farming.”

The shortsighted, poor decisions of our elected officials have brought Long Island to a critical crossroad between individual survivability and making a quick buck by selling to developers.

Long Island needs to keep its independence by being able to feed its population without going away from its own backyard. Next time, visit a local farm stand for your veggies and fruit while they’re still there. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.

A winery or high-end housing will never fill the void left by vanishing local farmers.

— Sharon Breitenbach Tanzi, Mastic Beach

If farmers can’t make a living without chemicals and fair wages, we are in big trouble. Change is possible, but it won’t be easy.

Policymakers need to revisit who gets governmental funding. Real estate markets need to conserve land for working farms. Conventional growers need to transition to sustainable methods. Consumers need to change their habits.

Farms such as mine work hard to do right by our employees and the land, and we get accolades for it, but we need more. We need secure access to land. We need health care and affordable housing. We need funding for retirement. And we need investment in future farmers.

The era of cheap food must come to an end.

— Caroline Fanning, Amityville

The writer is founder and head grower of Restoration Farm in Old Bethpage.

The legacy farmers interviewed said some reasons that their way of life is dying are increased minimum wages for farm workers, regulation of dangerous chemicals and pesticides, and union organizing. I see a small handful of landowners trying to hold onto the past by not paying a livable wage and endangering Long Island’s drinking water.

Sometimes, necessary change for the many is hard on the few. This is one of those times.

— Scott Miller, Shoreham

Once, indictments also mean withdrawal

There was a time when political candidates under the cloud of indictment would withdraw from a campaign, expressing a desire to devote their full time and energy to defending their good name “What’s new, what’s next for Trump,” Nation, July 30]. Running for office at such a time would be deemed inappropriate and a disservice to the candidate’s family and constituency.

No longer, and certainly not former President Donald Trump. He wears each criminal charge as a badge of honor in his fight against the “vast liberal conspiracy” seeking the defeat of his noble cause.

It has been said that not learning from past errors invites their repetition. A past that would not tolerate the likes of Trump should be welcomed back.

— Ed Weinert, Melville

Forgive debts? Our tax money has done it

It seems like readers are opposed to student loan forgiveness [“Revamp interest on student loans,” Letters, July 25]. They ask why their tax dollars should go to bailouts for these loans.

Well, our tax money has been given away to subsidize oil companies while the corporations and shareholders have realized record profits. We’ve subsidized farmers’ loans for equipment and more that they willingly used.

Many lenders prey on young people and their families, who often can be steered toward unfavorable terms.

It seems counterintuitive to hurt Americans and our economy by holding people back while the banks, protected by the government through lobbyists and lawmakers, clean up with profits.

— Stephen O’Connell, Mineola

Biting questions for the Secret Service

As a lifelong dog owner, I understand that even the best-trained animal can be unpredictable and act aggressively in certain circumstances “Records: 2nd Biden dog in WH biting incidents,” Nation, July 27].

The article points out the unique nature of the White House and pets. Commander bit or attacked Secret Service agents at least 10 times within a three-month span. While it seems that fortunately there were no serious injuries, a satisfactory resolution is needed.

This begs the question: Will House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan and some of his colleagues call for an investigation into possible conspiracies involving the Secret Service? Could a foreign power be behind this?

— Juan Subirana, East Meadow