Agriculture

Farmworkers in New York will be entitled to overtime after 40 hours beginning Jan. 1, 2032, under an order signed yesterday by the state labor commissioner.The overtime threshold will be reduced incrementally every two years as the 40-hour threshold is phased in over the next decade.

The Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center in Baiting Hollow, founded in 1922, provides a crucial service to the region's growers. Yesterday the center celebrated its centennial with a gala at its sprawling 68-acre campus on Sound Avenue, attended by the president of Cornell University.

Two longtime members of Long Island's agricultural community were honored by the L.I. Farm Bureau Friday night at the group's 101st gala awards dinner.

"He was the face of Long Island farming." Colleagues and friends remember Joe Gergela as a tireless advocate for farmers and farming on Long Island who fought for survival of the industry with passion and dedication.

Learn more about "The Immigrant Experience on Long Island's East End" during a tour and workshop on Saturday, April 30 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon at Hallockville Museum Farm.

Lowering the threshold for time-and-a-half overtime pay below 60 hours a week could devastate local farms already reeling from the effects of the COVID pandemic, local farmers told state lawmakers yesterday.

The New York State Legislature yesterday approved sweeping farm labor legislation that would give farmworkers the same employment rights as workers in other industries.

In a 4-1 decision, an Appellate Division panel ruled “unconstitutional as a matter of law” the exclusion of farmworkers in the state labor law provisions granting employees the right to organize and bargain collectively.

“Always one to get ahead of the curve, he was constantly searching for ways to push the envelope with new crops to the area, farming techniques or innovative distribution networks,” the Lyle C. Wells Passion for Agriculture said. A $5,000 grant will be awarded to an existing or new Long Island farmer committed to these causes.

The potential for the federal government shutdown to disrupt the H2A temporary visa program concerns local farmers. The shutdown is also impacting the ability of farmers to apply for loans, insurance and grants.