Agricultural Lenders Support NY FarmNet Consultant Continuing Education
Four banks midway through five year pledge to support customized consultant training sessions

Agricultural lenders Community Bank, Farm Credit East, NBT Bank, and Tompkins Trust/Bank of Castile have each given $5,000 this year to support training for NY FarmNet consultants. These multi-day training conferences provide the 40+ consultants with continuing education three times each year (during normal times). The last training scheduled for late March 2020 was cancelled due to COVID. On August 18th and 19th, for the first time since October of 2019, the group was able to meet in person and receive training in financial and human risk, enhancing leadership and supervision, exploring life after farming, gun safety, and farm trusts.

Agriculture is an increasingly complex industry, particularly when you consider that 96% of farms in New York State are family owned and operated. Farmers, their families, and those who support agriculture are facing new challenges and pressures every day as markets, environmental issues, labor and environmental regulations evolve. Farm families are continually challenged to implement innovative management strategies. The well-trained consultants working for NY FarmNet are critical to strengthening farm viability throughout the state.

Thanks to their dedication to New York’s agricultural industry, NY FarmNet consultant trainings are sponsored by Community Bank N.A., Farm Credit East, NBT Bank, and Tompkins Trust/Bank of Castile. These four banks have pledged $5,000 each year for a period of five years – totaling a whopping $100,000, to support the NY FarmNet Conneman Consultant Training Fund. This allows primary funding to NY FarmNet from NYS to go directly to casework with farm clients.

“The support these four banks have shown to both NY FarmNet, and New York’s agricultural community as a whole, these past few years has been remarkable,” said Kate Downes, NY FarmNet outreach director. “Without industry support and collaboration, our program would not be able to provide the high quality, free and confidential services that we do.”

Call 1-800-547-3276 or complete the webform at https://help.nyfarmnet.org/contacts/new to start a farm/agribusiness case or to learn more.

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NY FarmNet helps farmers and farm families navigate times of crisis, growth, and opportunity. The program was founded by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University in 1986 in response to the national farm crisis. NY FarmNet still operates at Cornell as part of the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management. The Dyson School is part of both Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the SC Johnson College of Business. NY FarmNet is funded primarily by grants from the NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets and the NYS Office of Mental Health.

Contact Kate Downes, outreach director at 315-816-2442 or kdownes@cornell.edu with any questions.